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Parenting

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Original poster

Do you leave your child in the car when you pay for petrol?

100 replies

mumontherum · 25/02/2016 09:37

I'm really not sure what the protocol is here. If I can park close to the building and see there's no queue, I leave my 2YO in his car seat in the petrol station forecourt. He's always been fine and so far I've never come back to a panicking child (touch wood). If the petrol station is busy then I usually take him in with me, which is a pain as a) it takes much longer and b) he wants to pick up everything in the shop.

What do you do?

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Mumofonesoontobetwo · 25/02/2016 18:32

Always left mine in the car, which was always locked.

litlest1 · 25/02/2016 19:04

I don't really understand what the problem is with leaving them securely in the car.

jollyfrenchy · 25/02/2016 19:05

Always leave them in the car. Despite people claiming otherwise, I've never known anyone take a child into the station and I echo what others have said that a child strapped into their seat in a locked car is much safer than one being dragged across a forecourt with people driving like nutters, and petrol fumes all around.

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peggyundercrackers · 25/02/2016 19:40

Why do people lock cars just because it has children in it? Is Peter piper there tempting them out of the car?

Fluffy24 · 25/02/2016 19:47

Pay at pump if possible ( or get petrol when no DC with me) and then a mixture - if I'm at a familiar out-of-town garage with good visibility at all times when in the shop I feel OK (just) about leaving him. If I can't see from the kiosk I couldn't leave him, and don't like leaving him if it's an in-town garage with bigger passing foot traffic.

almostthirty · 25/02/2016 19:53

Personally I am more concerned about my car being hit by another on the forecourt rather than abduction/fire etc. My dm has worked in a garage for 15+ years and never had a fire but have had bumps and shunts.

I leave dcs in car strapped in car seats as trying but try to use pay at pump.

BoffinMum · 25/02/2016 20:10

Depends how far the shop is and how busy it is, whether they can get out, what I would do if there was a fire, how likelihood an accident or theft is, and so on. In other words, it varies according to my personal risk assessment at any given time.

RabbitSaysWoof · 25/02/2016 20:13

I leave in the car, I can't think of a station I go to where you can't see your car from the que.

DrDreReturns · 25/02/2016 20:23

Always leave in the car.

LackaDAISYcal · 25/02/2016 20:34

I leave them in my unlocked car. They're older now so if I lock it, they set the alarm off with their inevitable carrying on!
Left them in locked car as babies.
Leave them in the car at the corner shop if I park in its car park, but take them with me if I have to park on the main road.
Each to their own.

Inkymess · 25/02/2016 20:40

Leave in car every time. There is CCTV and they are much safer there.

maz210 · 25/02/2016 20:50

I left mine in the car although I did feel a bit panicky about it when they were babies.

I agree with the others that it's often the safer option to leave them in the car with toddlers.

DiamondStuddedFlunkie · 25/02/2016 21:04

I pay at pump nowadays.

When pregnant and hormonal I had an awful fear of some kind of explosion so always took DC in to pay ....

Xmasbaby11 · 25/02/2016 21:42

Leave in car. They are 2 and 4. If it looked busy or crowded I'd find another petrol station but the one I use is quiet and I can usually see my car the whole time.

peggyundercrackers · 26/02/2016 08:09

Boffin mum do you have a clipboard and a tick sheet when doing personal risk assessments?

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 26/02/2016 08:32

I almost never take mine into the shop to pay. When in the UK, I will deliberately seek out pay-at-pump places, but they're not anything like as common in Australia, so they get left in the car (which I then lock). Neither of them have ever managed (or really tried) to escape from their harness, and DS1 now is very unlikely to even bother to move from his seat, even though he could if wanted to. DS2 might be more interesting when he goes to a seat he can get out of by himself, so he might be dragged into the shop with me if there appears to be a queue; but he's still in a 5-pt harness that he can't escape at the moment.

BoffinMum · 26/02/2016 09:17

Peggy

I used to be a teacher so I hold all that in my head.

DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 26/02/2016 09:25

This was something DH and I disagreed on. He was pro 'unbuckle them and take them in' but whether they were asleep or awake I preferred to leave them in the car.

LittleBabyLucas · 26/02/2016 17:54

Ds is 3 ds2 is 19m dd is 7 months.... double buggy just to pay for petrol? Yeah right ok! I got a telling off from another mum last week for leaving ds in the car. I then opened the back to show her the other 2 that she couldn't see due to the tint... I told her to go ahead and take them all in she couldn't think of a come back so stormed off
Needless to say.... I leave them locked in the car

Original poster

mumontherum · 26/02/2016 23:01

But safety/security reasoning aside, what would you do with an on-off clingy DC who might go into meltdown if they notice you've gone for a few minutes?

OP posts:

lisap45 · 27/02/2016 09:18

Yes I have 5 children youngest 4 and eldest now 15. I have always left them in the car. Only exception I've had is my 8 year old as he has behaviour issues and it would be unsafe to leave him in the car. A year or so ago one of my children got out whilst I was filling up to talk to me and someone on speakerphone told me to put the child back in the car! I do fill up now mostly without the children as they are all at school now but when they are younger you have no option but to have them with you.

iMogster · 27/02/2016 11:27

We try to get petrol with no DC in car. Otherwise I go get petrol in quiet time of day, park at front pump and leave DC in locked car. They never have melt down. The shop has glass all along side of shop for full view. I wave at them. I am quick, never browse and buy other stuff. In and out in a minute or two. All very safe as I am near and can see them the whole time.

Mumof2twoboys · 27/02/2016 11:34

I leave them in the car, car locked and radio on.

When 9 month old ds was just a few weeks I carried him into petrol station in his maxi cosi group 0 but now he's in a bigger car seat and tries to grab everything on the way to the til it's jail not worth the hassle

Petrol stations have cctv anyway and I think leaving alone for a few mins is ok

Yokohamajojo · 29/02/2016 10:16

mumontherum If my child was worried about being left I would obviously bring them in! Especially if it's only one child.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es · 29/02/2016 11:03

But safety/security reasoning aside, what would you do with an on-off clingy DC who might go into meltdown if they notice you've gone for a few minutes?

It just never happened, my two aren't clingy types. If ir really had been a problem I would have got my petrol in the evening after DH was home, or after dropping them at nursery before going to work.

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