Doors locked or unlocked if child is left alone in the car...?

[lljkk]

8yo ds cut his foot yesterday, so asked if he could stay in the car listening to music when I popped into supermarket.

Should I have left the car
Unlocked (so he could get out if sudden weird electrical fault made it burst into flames)?

Or Locked (if unlikely to exist pervy tried to grab him or a thief wanted to take our knackered heap car)?

Since he wanted the music on, key had to be in ignition, so better if he locked himself in, I guess?

What is the lower risk, locked or unlocked? Am sure car would have been unlocked when I was 8.

I always lock. I don't think theres much chance of a fault within the car...as much as them escaping or someone getting in.

I lock, although am never too far away. Will pop into drycleaners whilst parked out front, for example, never further. But they are still too young really, to have the first clue how to get out (with childlock etc.... and DS2 being only 5mths old!). So, better a nutter doesn't drive off with them.
I do leave a window cracked though, so I can hear them. Don't leave them long enough to worry about the air supply getting low(!)

The only time I leave the kids alone in the car is at the petrol station and I always lock the car. If I pop in the house to get something and we are going straight out again I still lock the car. Wouldn't ever leave them for anything else.

Hope your son's foot is okay now.

I had a car that caught fire. Would never lock.

Movement inside an unlocked car sets the alarm off in ours. So has to be unlocked.

Sorry, that's locked car. I tried locking it a few times with children inside, and could never work out why the alarm always went off.

we have a button in ours to press when you leave the key stopping the intrnal alarm working.

sorry - meant leave the car

What happened,cornsilk? How did it happen, was someone actually in the car at the time?

Well, I'd have left LOCKED with instructions to not open for anyone except in fire emergency

because you can usually unlock from inside so he could get out but no one could get in

You will get people saying what were you thinking of, you know that?!

I usually leave the car unlocked, unless it's by a busy road (in which case I normally just turn the child locks on). mine are younger than 8 though.

I don't think there is a documented case of a paedophile snatching an 8 yr old (or even a younger child) from an unlocked car. there have been a couple of cases of cars being stolen with babies in the back, but not older children (presumably because you can't not notice an 8 yr old).

I know, WWW...