to leave my children in the car? Doctor who did this now on police and SS register...

[robberbutton]

My friend told me today about a doctor who was placed on the police and social services register after leaving his 8 year old in the car while he went to the bank - HERE.

I was absolutely horrified - according to the story he did leave his kid for 20 mins, which was a long time and I've never left mine for that long, but I have left them - popping into the library to drop a book off, post office car park to pick up a parcel, chemists to pick up a prescription, petrol station to go and pay...

This is not horrendous, neglectful, social-services-warrenting behaviour, right? I have vivid childhood memories of being left in the car to wait while mum did similar errands, and of pushing all the buttons on the dashboard...

(PS - I know this story is a bit old, apologies if there's another thread about this, did look but couldn't find one.)

"I'm not sure what my opinion on when it is safe to leave a child in the car has to do with anything. "

I asked because I'm trying to gauge whether you're loopy or not.

just caught up curiousity!

Er, 8 year-olds are allowed to go to our local swimming pool on their own, and are also permitted to go home from local (ofsted-inspected etc) playscheme without an adult collecting them. I think this is reasonable. Whether or not you allow your child to do these things is up to you. My DS is almost 8 & I probably won't let him do these things yet, but because of busy roads, not paedophiles. I'd (almost) happily walk him & a friend to the pool & go for a coffee nearby (where I can watch the main door ) however.

longhardlookinthemirror - no, you could face prosecution for leaving her in the house whilst you went on holiday though. If she goes out on her own with your permission that's fine. If she ran away the police could fetch her home as she's under 16. If she went around trashing stuff and drinking you and her could be given ASBOs. That law relates to leaving children alone and is open to interpretation which means theoretically you could be prosecuted for leaving a 15 year old in the car alone but this is very unlikely.

ROFL @ kathy

Oh, and I do leave them in the car if I'm just popping into somewhere - I just did this afternoon, I was 5 minutes. I'd take them with me if I were doing a big supermarket shop though, or at least the younger one (5).

I probably am loopy. It doesn't mean people won't be prosecuted under that law for this kind of thing. The law exists and people are quite regularly prosecuted under it for this kind of thing. Some successfully argue that their children were responsibly left and some don't.

Its all a bit illogical, isn't it?

So its ok for kids to go out on their own, but not stay in (house or car)?

Would the doctor have been off the hook if he'd frogmarched junior to the bank, but the boy had then decided to walk back to the car alone?

Just curious now - is there a legally defined age at which someone can be a babysitter? [remembering my embarrassment in my teens when mum wanted to get someone to stay in the house with me of an evening when I had friends who were out babysitting... not saying that was right but goodness, how times change!]

wow so im going to be in trouble will be leaving ds 12 in charge of dd6 on Friday morning while i get dropped of by friend at train staion 10 mins away with ds4 figure trying to wake her at 5am is just not worth it though will wake ds .
friend willthen go back to mine and who will drop dd of at plascheme at 8am leaving ds12 home alone till 1pm ish

Oh god - another nanny state policy. I wish people would adopt a sensible head. He was in the car for 20 mins! He wasnt left abandoned somewhere else and imo queues in banks can be horrendous! Another complete waste of police time imo.......

My daugher is 9 and she is given the opportunity when I go to the supermarket if she wants to come in with me or not. She usually has her DS to amuse herself and has her phone in case she needs to call me......I can be gone for 30 mins.....she is a sensible child and as her parent I am the best person to be the judge of this!

It is exactely interpretations of the law like this which result in us having young adults who are totally incapable of judging risk for themselves or being self sufficient in any way .It is our job as parents not just keep them safe but also to bring them up to be independent ,self sufficient members of society.If we never let them make any decisions or do anything indepndently how will they learn.

I can't imagine my 15 year olds reaction if I told him he couldn't wait in the car for me in case he chokes.

At 8 ,I and quite a few of my schoolmates caught the bus home from school;a public bus not a school bus and no one thought anything of it,at 12 I flew to the middle east on my own.

You're right Floaty - at 5 I had to walk a mile to school crossing busy roads! I was taken on the first day and after that I was on my own! All my friends were the same....

Yeah, I walked or bussed home from primary school from about 8 or 9. At 13 I got the train on my own from Newcastle to Hull (2 changes) to visit my big sister who was at university there.

at 15 I went walking and camping in the welsh moutains with my b/f and no mobile phones then and not lots of people around either , slightly more risky than leaving dc at home for few hours

I was a stroppy teenager who flatly refused to go on family holidays after 14. So when I was 15 (and ever after) I stayed at home whenever my family went away, a few long weekends and a couple of 2-week ones.

It was fine they trusted me and quite right too.

Its the nanny state gone mad. The sad thing is that this incident will come up on the doctor's CRB check, so his career gets ruined because someone disagrees with his parenting.

That law cant be right as you people let their older children walk to school on thier own.

Mind you if we all followed it to the letter we would reduce the number of school girl preganacies to nil probably.

Is their actually anyone running this country who has a brain.

and that can spell unlike me.

I really don't think leaving an 8 year old in the car for a short while is that bad at all. I always leave my 3 children in car to pay for petrol. I can see the car at all times and lock the doors. I am gone a couple of mins. We let our 6 year old stay in the car for over and hour by himself while we watch his older brother play football. We can see the car easily from the pitch and go and check on him at half time, dont lock the doors incase he wanted to get out and come to us. He knows he must not open the door to anyone he doesn't know etc etc and as I said we can see the car clearly at all times. Probably wouldn't do exactly what this man did but more because my children wouldn't like it not because I think it is so terribly bad.

Sounds like a massive overreaction by the police, if that's really the full story.

Sorry but this sounds like bollocks to me...the child was not abandoned ..he was in his fathers car..that doesn't actually make sense..now if he was on a steet corner then hey you might not be able to tell..utter bollocks

I don't believe this story for one minute. There would have been more going on for the child protection team to become involved.

This is ridiculous! A baby or toddler left for 20minutes is clearly bad, but an older child, playing on a bleedin' nintendo? What rubbish. THis would never have stood up in court, never. Officious busybodies.

Where does it say child protection were involved? I don't see it anywhere in teh story. What it says is that the report will remain on file to be shared with anyone at all who has contact with the family or kids. That is wrong. No crime was committed.

Maybe I read it wrong but I read it as the police saying that as they had spoken to the father it had to go on record. This is normal, presumably; the police have to record everything they do and say in that circumstance.
I may have misread though.