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Parenting

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Original poster

Is it ever acceptable to..

41 replies

moomin35 · 13/08/2014 21:49

...leave your baby in the car if you are going to be 5 minutes max. ie. paying at a petrol station, parking directly outside & popping into a shop etc?

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Lucked · 13/08/2014 21:50

Yes. Not everyone would do it but it is acceptable.

nilbyname · 13/08/2014 21:52

Yes. Do it all the time

Now a million MNs will come
Along and tell you how their at blew up, slipped down the road, was car jacked, or both have you and it's NOT WORTH THE RISK

TheNumberfaker · 13/08/2014 21:52

Petrol station yes but you'll get loads of noes too!

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SweetsForMySweet · 13/08/2014 21:53

There is no right answer to this question!

morethanpotatoprints · 13/08/2014 21:54

I never found it acceptable but plenty people do.
its personal choice init.

Sparklingbrook · 13/08/2014 21:59

No your baby will get stolen or your car will definitely roll off down the street or set on fire. FACT.

Nevercan · 13/08/2014 22:00

Yes I would. Again personal choice.

plinth · 13/08/2014 22:03

Yes, to me it's acceptable but every parent must do what they feel comfortable with.

plinth · 13/08/2014 22:05

My mum used to leave my severely disabled brother in the car as a car-thief deterrent. She reasoned that even if they didn't spot him in the back and nicked the car anyway, they'd soon return both brother and car once they realised

PenguinsHatchedAnEgg · 13/08/2014 22:09

I would at a petrol station. I wouldn't at a shop unless I could see the car at all times the way you can at a petrol station.

MrsCakesPrecognition · 13/08/2014 22:20

Yes I would and did.

WiggleGinger · 13/08/2014 22:23

Petrol station yes! Doors locked obvs!

Shop? No

plinth · 13/08/2014 22:37

Hmm see I wouldn't lock the doors at a petrol station in case there was a fire or something and someone had to drag DS out....

fairylightsintheloft · 13/08/2014 23:38

Petrol station and local village shop with big plate window yes. Supermarket, even for a single item, no - it always takes longer than you think. I also used to leave DD asleep in her car seat when I picked DS up from pre-school. Car was parked on a quiet lane with only other parents around. I always legged it in and out but if I'd woken her (and it would have done), the rest of the day would have been a write off.

WarmTunaRolls · 14/08/2014 00:18

Oh yes I think it's fine, I do that with my DS all the time! He is a right little grizzled so sometimes I have to leave him in the car while I do the food shop.
But yeah I completely understand why some mothers wouldn't leave their child alone, too many nasty men about these days.

slightlyinsane · 14/08/2014 00:41

Absolutely have done it with all of mine. Supermarkets no unless I have all 5 kids with me then yes, a 2 min runinto a shop turns into at least 40 to get them out then back in. However our supermarket has p&c parking at the door.

slithytove · 14/08/2014 00:47

Petrol yes shop no unless it's the equivalent of a petrol station shop. Supermarket never.

ophiotaurus · 14/08/2014 00:52

Petrol yes

Supermarket no

workingtitle · 14/08/2014 03:53

Petrol, yes (leaving car unlocked and in sight). Anywhere else, probably not.

EmmanuelWoganberry · 14/08/2014 04:39

I wouldn’t dream of leaving my baby on a petrol station forecourt. But I don’t have a car.

DeadSirius · 14/08/2014 05:37

From my perspective in the US, no, never. It takes minutes for a car to heat to fatal temperatures on a hot day. Accidents happen every year. The risk can be so great that it's just not acceptable anytime.

freedom2post · 14/08/2014 05:54

I wouldn't leave my baby on a petrol forecourt either - I would leave them strapped into their car seat inside a car on a petrol forecourt.

Much more dangerous to cross the forecourt with them IMHO.

I notice the poster who said doesn't have a car, wonder how keen they would be to wake a a leering baby and carry them across a busy petrol station in reality

freedom2post · 14/08/2014 05:55

Sleeping not leering

17leftfeet · 14/08/2014 06:09

I used to do it when they were small and I could see the car

I remember one particularly lovely lady screaming at me for leaving my sleeping 2 year old and 6 month old in the car outside the door of the bakers for all of 2 minutes -that was a highlight I must say

PinkAndBlueBedtimeBears · 14/08/2014 06:27

I do, my dp doesn't.. It's personal choice and we both think the other is wrong
I leave dd and ds in the car when I'm paying for petrol, there is no way I can safely get an 18mo and a newborn across a forecourt and the double buggy would seem like overkill!
The only other place I leave them in the car is if I'm running into a corner shop style place, where there is likely to only be a queue of 1-2 people, if there's a bigger queue/ a lot of people in the shop I either leave it and ask dp to pick it up on his way home from work, or il go and get both out.. normally the former..

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