to leave kids in car to go get a parking ticket?!

[pjmama]

Earlier today I parked up in a car park, locked the car with the DC (2x 2 yr olds) and walked about 20 feet to get a ticket from the parking meter. DD was making alot of noise, mostly temper/too hot/tired related stuff. As I walked back to the car I could see an older couple at the other side of the canal stood looking at my car with hands on hips. Due to the racket, they were obviously worried someone had gone off and left a crying child in a hot car alone - fair enough, I'd have probably wondered too. But when they saw me returning to the car, opening the door and putting the ticket in, I would have thought it was obvious there was no problem. However, they continued to stand and glare at me as I got DC out of the car, eventually walking away tutting and shaking heads disapprovingly?!

Does everyone else take their kids with them to get a ticket? I didn't think there was any issue with what I did and am not sure why I was apparently villifed for it? I was away from the car for less than a minute?! Should I have thrown my shoe at them?

I always take the kids with me.

I would not want to pay for the privilege of getting my kids out and into puschair, then get my kit with me! If I do it AFTER I have paid on the meter, it would be eating into the time I had paid for! Which is why I always take my time, get kids out of the car, into pushchair, etc, and THEN go pay.

YANBU

I do the same, safer IMO

walking 2 toddlers across a carpark and back is far more dangerous than leaving them in the car for 30 seconds.

i do the same and have done for years

I hope you left the windows open. It gets very hot very quickly in a car, even if the air con has been on.

Yes the window was open, that's why they could hear her shouting. Incidentally, she wasn't distressed about anything - just having a bit of a temper strop because the Mr Tumble CD had stopped!

I think I'm going to give myself a break on this one...!

YANBU. You were 20 feet away which takes all of about 2 minutes to walk there buy ticket and get back, even if it was as hot as an oven, then DCs are unlikely to expire in that short time frame ( am waiting for horror stories of small children who have passed out from heat exhaustion after waiting in car for less than one minute)

Can't blame old folk for checking out originally, they weren't to know that you were just getting ticket, but unsure as to why their attitude continued once they knew the circumstances.

Yanbu, common sense really should prevale in cases like these.

Leaving your DCs for an afterenoon locked in the car while you are at the swimming pool NO,NO, NO!

Leaving your DCs in the locked car to do a 5mn shop :NO !!! even if you car is close to the shop tou cannot really see them from there and it is impossible to actually know your sho[pping trip will only last 5 min, there might be a queue at the till....

Leaving your DCS in your car while just steps away from it , in full view: YES. There is more risk that your children could eascape your attention and get run over in the car park while you are finding your change for the machine than anything happening to them in the car IMHO.

I would have appreciated people to be concern enough to let me know, but I would have been really baffled if after explaining you were just paying the parking fee they carried on having a go at me!