Tragic case of stressed mother leaving her child alone in car

[GiantSquirrelSpotter]

www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=458063&in_page_id=1811

This is a dreadful case, but what I found quite heartening, is that the Belgian child protection authorities have not immediately bayed for the mother's blood; they've responded with compassion, not condemnation, acknowledging that tragic mistakes happen and forgetfulness does not equal lack of love.

I just wish the English could learn a bit about compassion in cases like this.

Poor woman. I have done similar things with none living things...It haunts me that I might have been so forgetful myself.
It is the sort of mistake I might have made in the sleep deprived early months.

Gosh that is so sad

I once forgot to drop DD at nursery. When I got to work, I turned round to get my bag out of the back and there was DD laughing at me from her baby seat. I had to drive all the way back to nursery.

I can see how it could happen.

What a tragic story. The poor woman must have so stressed to have forgotten she hadn't dropped the baby off. I did things like leave the pushchair on the pavement after loading everyone into the car and not realising til we reached our destination. I can see how it could happen.

the poor woman has to live with this all her life. no one could possibly punish her than she will punish herself.

more than

OMG poor woman

It's so true that in the stress of the day I'm always thinking ahead to the next thing, the next thing...often I'm not entirely 'in the here and now' the list 'to do' is always endless.

If the baby was quiet in the back, I can really see how this happened. God, I feel so so sorry for her

How tragic. I wonder though if the baby the was missed at nursery, and if he was, why wasn't the mother called. If he wasn't missed, that's even more of a worry!

Poor woman....

'I just wish the English could learn a bit about compassion in cases like this. '

I could go there, but why?

Well I'm pretty sure if this happened here, there would be various organisations calling for her to be prosecuted for neglect.

omg how awful. poor woman

Yes and the media would completey hype it all up.

How much more "hype" can one do to that story?

I wonder why the nursery didn't call & enquire the wherabouts of the child? I know if I'm more than 20/30 mins late my c/minder calls me!

My dd's belgian nursary don't call me if she doesn't go. I know this because I forgot one time to tell them that she wouldn't be there, and they didn't phone me either.

This incident happened quite close to where I live, on a very hot day.

So is that the case with nurserys then?

Isn't there as much personal interaction as there would be with an individual waiting for a child to arrive?

Goodness knows what's going through the woman's head.

The wee soul, sat in a warm car with no water

I don't know if that's the case with every nursary, but it is the case with mine.

I suspect that the baby had fallen asleep and just .....never woke up.

When the story was first reported last thursday, they said that 'angry behaviour'(sorry that's a literal translation) hadn't been ruled out as the cause.

The next day they were saying it was a sad accident.

I saw this yesterday - I felt sick reading it. What an awful thing to happen - poor woman, poor baby - you'd never forgive yourself. How terribly sad .

How bizarre that she didn't realise for 8 hours!! I could imagine driving past the nursery a few mins and thinking 'ooops, best go back' but not for a whole day just not even thinking about the child.

That's certainly stress I've never felt to not realise for 8 hours.

Poor baby

I really tried not to click on this.

Actually it does make you realise how useful it is that nurseries/ schools etc. do phone nowadays in England. It's a very good belt and braces approach isn't it, without too much extra work or inconvenience for everyone

The only time my DS#2 didn't turn up to nursery when he was supposed to they didn't call. I don't think it's normal. My CM probably wouldnt have either because she wouldn't like to feel she was nagging or checking up on us.

I do feel quite that the mother could have done this. I think she must be feeling terrible but wonder if she was suffering from bad PND - having been a stressed working mother of 3 I can't imagine simply forgetting about a child under normal circumstances.

I don't think she necessarily didn't think of her child in that 8 hours - she probably thought of him and presumed he was in nursery.

I've done that before when they've been at my mum's for example, and I've assumed they're at school. I've gone to collect them at 3PM, got to the closed school gates and realised it's half-term and they're at my mothers.

I am extremely forgetful...

Hatrick, I can't imagine going a few minutes without worrying about my DD either, but I've only got one and though I'm tired, I don't have the stressed of having to transport them every day, then go to work. Poor woman though, I know when I was at the height of my career I'd quite often forget even really basic things - turning up to meetings without brushing my hair etc. so your brain can just overflow.

I do feel sorry for her though, not judgemental. Even if a parent is negligent it's hard not to feel sympathy if that child dies. (I'm not saying she was deliberately negligent btw).

I'm surprised no-one noticed. I can't help having a peek into carseats in car parks, is that just me?