Have you accidentally left your child somewhere??

[Rubyred24]

I don't mean resulting in death / arrests / Social services. Mental Health Issues / PND.

How common is this?

I'm watching a documentary now where it says on average 37 children die from being left in a car.

I know this topic is sensitive and I apologise if this upsets you.

The father in this case was found guilty of leaving the son on purpose.

Have you yourself or known anyone to do this? Is it that common?

I myself suffer with multiple MH issues and so I hardly took my children out when they were babies so I cannot comment.

Once parked up outside Boots and took older dd in. Crossed the road and she asked had I meant to leave ds in the car!

No, never. Not because I'm a perfect parent but she definitely makes herself known (very loud!!!)so would be hard to anyway lol

Those stories horrify me and I try not to think about them. I also can't imagine what it's like for parents who have that realisation of what they've done. Also read stories where parents have done it deliberately and I feel sick.

Having said that, a lot of the stories I've read have been from Ametica and Australia. Also see a lot of puppies all over the world being left in hot vehicles.

What do you think would help this situation? Adverts? Posters? Or something to make parents always double check

This happened in America.

No because they are so bloody loud!
I notice this seems to happen more in America than anywhere else, I have no idea how or why!
I’ve accidentally locked one in when I shut the door with the keys inside but luckily I was close to home and it wasn’t hot.

He and his son had breakfast at a restaurant and instead of turning left to
take the child to nursery he continued forward for 1/2 mile and went to work.

The father said the baby was asleep and forgot about him but they said because of such a short distance that was very unlikely.

Also I don't drive so impossible for me.

I looked after a lady who had 5 kids, she got 4 of them on the bus, 10 mins later she realised she left youngest in his pram at the bus stop!

My parents left me behind at about age 10 in the supermarket. I had taken the trolley back while they finished sorting the car. They then jumped in the car and started to drive off. They got to the carpark exit before my younger sister couldn't stop her giggles and asked whether they had forgot someone!

The cross roads came after just 2 minutes of them setting off.

I suppose if you wanted to kill your child it would be hard to prove if you did it this way. I can't imagine.

My parents left me behind at about age 10 in the supermarket. I had taken the trolley back while they finished sorting the car. They then jumped in the car and started to drive off. They got to the carpark exit before my younger sister couldn't stop her giggles and asked whether they had forgot someone!

I've not asked my patents but I followed my mum everywhere so I doubt she had the chance. It probably happened with my siblings though.

Yes, when Dd was newborn and I was very sleep deprived I went to the local corner shop, spent the whole time thinking ‘god I’ve definitely forgotten something, wtf is it?!’ It wasn’t until I got to the shop and my friend working asked where Dd was

She was fast asleep in her carry cot in the pram and was completely fine. Thankfully the shop is only a minute from my front door!

I didn't forget him but I used to leave ds outside the nursery door (but inside school playground) in his pram asleep when he was a baby, whilst I popped into collect older ds. I didn't think anything of it at the time but now I think what the hell was I thinking!?! He's 5 now, so it wasn't even that long ago. I feel sick when I think about it.

Once on way home from work I went straight home, opened door, took shoes shoes off, kettle on, sat down etc, then remembered I still needed to collect ds1 from nursery! I had just returned from mat leave and genuinely forgot I had a child for a moment.

I used to have nightmares that I'd left DS1 at home and not noticed!

I have never left mine anywhere but you really must read the pulitzer prize winning article about babies left in hot cars. It's partly due to the typical layouts of business parking lots in the US but possibly also down to short maternity leaves (meaning tired parents) and laws to rear face until at least age 2. And hotter weather - there's a much shorter period in the UK that this would be a danger because it's more often cold and overcast.

I don't think you can blame parents who suffer this horrific accident. Just imagine how much they must already blame themselves.

The CCTV in the car park where the father worked saw him reverse to park and captured him going back to his car in the middle of the day and still didn't notice him.

Sorry I'm now talking about two separate issues. Lighthearted and heartbreaking 💕

When our DD1 was 6 weeks old, my DH and I went to view a nursery. They said to leave her in the baby room, and they would give us a tour of the rest of the premises. Had the full tour and we then just walked out the front door and get into the car to head home. It was only as my DH went to pull out of the car park, that we realised we hadn't collected DD from the baby room. Fortunately the nursery staff didn't blacklist us.

Last year, I was a few miles into my commute when I noticed DD2s little face in the rear view mirror. I had sailed past the road to nursery and forgotten to drop her off!

@BertieBotts Oh definitely suspect most incidents happen due to sleep deprivation / MH issues or as you mentioned above.

I left my son at a friends flat, it was the first time I had taken him to visit someone and I’d only had him a week. We said our goodbyes and I left, I didn’t realise until my friend phoned and asked if I had left anything behind, even then it took me a while to figure out what was missing

Went on a drive with a friend around this time last year, we used my car so she had to bring a babyseat with her. When we got back to my flat she put the babyseat and baby in the coat cupboard. I went straight to start cooking my lunch so it wasn’t until I went and sat on the sofa about half an hour that I realised the baby wasn’t there.

I left my eldest in a shop when she was a few weeks old, realised about 10 minutes later, she was still fast asleep when I flew back to the shop.

I did a thing about forgetting kids in cars on part of an ou course a few years ago. Apparently its tied in to us being creatures of routine, and if something throws us off, roadworks, traffic jam, change in routine ( like going out for breakfast or whatever) it can throw everything out and cause us to forget stuff. Plus, if yoi have a rear facing child who's quiet, possibly asleep, I can see how it could happen.
Thats one of the reasons they suggest putting your handbag in the back with the kids, not because your handbag is more important, but, you need your purse/office keys/umbrella wherever you go, whereas if you don't normally go that way but had to because of roadworks, and you've totally forgotten to stop at nursery to drop off the baby (or whatever), you'll not be looking for the baby when you park at the office.

I went to pick my boys up from school left my dd in the buggy in the playground and took the boys half way home before a friend called 😳 were human poor kids 🤣

I haven't, though mine are still young so I guess there's time. I've always been their primary carer though and I think even subconsciously I'm always a bit aware of them eg of where they are in the house, like even before I've fully woken up, I'll know if one of them is awake etc.. When I've seen these accidents before its mostly not done by the primary carer, and it's often when there's been a break from normal routine for some reason-I think it's often dads who aren't really used to being responsible for anyone else and they sort of get on autopilot. Tragic

I have ADHD and have always said I’d be terrified of doing exactly this. I can understand 100% how this happens. Particularly if it involves a change in routine which is usually the case in these tragic circumstances. E.g Wife usually drops toddler off at nursery in the morning, but today has asked husband to drop child off before work. Child is asleep in the back of the car. Husband drives to work as usual and forgets child is in the back of the car.

I haven’t but I read a really interesting (and obviously very sad) article about children being left in cars once. Basically a psychologist was explaining that it usually happens when there’s a change in routine- for example normally you go straight to work and your husband takes your child to nursery, but on this occasion he’s ill so you have to take your child. You go into autopilot and drive to work the same way you always would, your kid goes to sleep in the back of your car, and you forget they’re there.

Not me but my dad was left in the park in his pram by his cousin as a baby. Tbf the cousin would only have been about 9 or 10! He was probably there for nearly an hour!

No but I've had the opposite, First time I went out after having my DD and left her with her dad, I thought I had left her on the train. Had a moment of complete panic as the train pulled off thinking the buggy was still on it, had to ring DP to check I had actually left her with him. I know it's not the same but it did make me realise your mind can play tricks on you, especially in the early days, easily done IMO.

My sibling left the baby in a car seat at the end of the drive while they strapped in eldest child. Got in the car and was waving bye to use, while we all pointed at the newborn asking "Forgetting something?" 😂