Children and petrol stations

[Lovethebubbles]

Just wondering what other people do when they fill up their car with petrol.......
I saw something on Facebook the other day where someone had recently had DC2 and expressed how difficult it was filling their car up with petrol and having to get 2 children out of the car to go and pay for it.
I leave my dd in the car, locked of course, whilst I nip in and pay quickly. Is that dangerous?! Unless, there is the option to pay at the pump, but the small town where we live doesn't have that option.
Were these people on fb overly cautious or am I being a careless parent?!

I would have thought two children increases the likelihood of them being run over on the forecourt!

I always pay at pump, but if I couldn't, I think it would depend on if there was a queue or not, ie how long she would be in the car.

I lock DD in the car too, unless the queue looks horribly long or I need to get some shopping too. I do try to fill up at a pump I can see from the till and I always explain to DD what I am doing and how long I'll be. She doesn't seem to mind.

I use pay at pump.

It's much safer to leave your children in the car

I either use pay at pump or lock them in the car. Getting them both out, hanging onto ds' hand, carrying dd and holding my keys/purse walking across a busy forecourt is, imo, more dangerous than leaving them locked in the car, strapped in their carseats.

i pay at the pump if i can otherwise i lock them in the car if the queue looks long i wait in the car or by the car for it to go down. i always keep the car in sight. would never consider getting them out of the car.

My DS is now 4.8 and I've never left him in the car while I pay for petrol. As a functional adult, I'm able to make my way safely across the petrol station forecourt and can also do so either carrying a carseat or holding a child's hand. Never occurred to me to leave him in the car, nor have we had any near misses or anything like that. Why is it any more dangerous than crossing a road or walking through a car park?

I have 10yo twins. Neither of them have ever set foot inside a petrol station shop. When they were little I wouldn't want to give them the opportunity to run in front of other cars.

Always leave them in the car. Much safer. (At one point I had 2 non walkers plus a toddler as well, short of unloading a big double pram there was no way I could get them across a forecourt safely.

My DS is now 4.8 and I've never left him in the car while I pay for petrol. As a functional adult, I'm able to make my way safely across the petrol station forecourt and can also do so either carrying a carseat or holding a child's hand.

Now try it with three :)

I've always left mine in the car, unlocked, and kept an eye on them. I made sure I parked as near the shop as possible.

The car is locked, you can see them while paying, it takes a few minutes, no harm leaving them in the car.

Now you see, I would never lock a car door on a petrol station forecourt, with my children inside. Mostly because I feel there is a much greater risk of being involved in a fire situation in a petrol station than anywhere else, and I feel that not being able to get them out of the car quickly in such a situation - or if a car drove into the back of mine - is more of a risk than leaving them in a childlocked car.

But I guess that is the point. You look at the potential risks, and you as a parent balance those risks and decide what is safest/more convenient. And not all of us make the same choices, as sometimes we perceive things differently.

You can't avoid all risk - you just have to choose which ones are acceptable to you.

I go to a locally owned garage with two petrol pumps. The pumps are just steps from the shop, so I can leave him in the car. If I have to go to a big petrol place, I usually fill up then drive to park outside and leave him if he's asleep, take him in if he's awake. He's just two so wouldn't understand about me coming back soon, I think. If I had three though, no way would I get them out!

I always take DS into the shop but that's because I can still carry him. I hate the idea of leaving him anywhere where someone else can get to him quicker than I can.

I agree that them being locked in car seats is safer than running around forecourt but so far, I can't bring myself to put the physical distance between us when I don't need to.
All petrol stations round us are v big and v busy.

I would never leave mine in the car whilst I paid, for me it feels dangerous but I probably couldn't articulate why. In my mind the risks of leaving them in the car feel more so than the annoyance of getting them out and into the station and back again. It's a faff though and much easier to pay at pump.

Likewise, I would never judge parents who make a different decision. Have seen a similar thing of my friends Facebook and it descended into bitching and judging.

Parents are often very bad at evaluating risk. Gut feel is that your children are safer with you. That often is not true.

In this case, the risk of anything happening to your child while you pay for petrol is vanishingly small. you're probably more likely to win the lottery.

Please can those of you who insist on taking several children into the shop or waiting until the queue has gone before going in to pay make sure you have 'princess on board ' signs in your rear window? Then the rest of us will know not to wait for your pump to be free.

My DS is now 4.8 and I've never left him in the car while I pay for petrol. As a functional adult, I'm able to make my way safely across the petrol station forecourt and can also do so either carrying a carseat or holding a child's hand.

The difference is that when I'm out and about, walking down the street and crossing the road, ds is usually strapped into his reigns and attached to the pushchair that dd is sitting in. My purse is in their changing bag. I then have both hands free to guide both dc safely. In the petrol station, where there are usually lots of cars on both sides and not a lot of room, it just seems more dangerous to get out the pushchair, the reigns and the bag as well as both dc; and it seems even more unsafe to try to hold one, carry the other and my purse/keys.

I keep them in, locked, but I have a key and try and always park where they are in view, if I can't pay at the pump.

I almost always use pay at the pump, even if I have to go out of my way. Or make sure DH or DM are with me.
If neither of these options are possible I take both DC with me to pay.
DS is 3 and can get himself out of his seat and the car, so wouldn't be safe to leave him. DD is 8 months and gets upset very quickly if left alone, so can't bring myself to leave her either.

Agree that in general it is safer to leave them in the car though.

I don't even get out the car myself. I get someone else to pump my gas!!

I always use pay at the pump even if I have to wait in a queue and the others are free. I just don't feel comfortable leaving ds 18 months in the car alone.

I use pay at pump the majority of the time. However, if I'm somewhere that doesn't have that option the I always take them in with me (7 and 3)... I'm personally not comfortable with leaving them in the car...

I always took my dd into the shop with me - she very quickly became distressed if I tried to get out of the car without getting her out too. Even at the age of 7 she is anxious about being left in the car, so she comes with me.

DS on the other hand happily sits in his seat smiling and waving, so I'm happy enough to leave him there for the very short period of time that it takes to pay. He is hard to keep hold of too, and strong willed, so in his case I'm certain that it's the safer option anyway.

I pay at the pump most of the time, but if I was caught short I would probably leave them in the car.