Leaving a sleeping child in the car

[princessflo]

After discussing this with my SIL, I'd be interested in hearing other peoples views on this...

Would you leave a child (yours or one you were looking after) sleeping in the car?

Mine, yes, at home, provided it wasn't a hot, sunny day and the car was parked outside the window. Have done it a few times with ds1, but had to stop as he kept setting the car alarm off.

Wouldn't do it with someone else's children though or in a supermarket carpark or quivalent.

I have done with my older children in our old house. But a couple of months ago my car got badly dented at the back while parked safely on my driveway in a quiet cul-de-sac

Nearly went mad when I got in from somewhere and DH had left sleeping DD (13 months) in his pickup on the road He said he was doing stuff out the front and watching the whole time..

definitely not. My friend's car was written off when a lorry went into the back of it. She'd parked outside a cashpoint to use it and was in two minds whether or not to wake her son up and take him out for the two min. trip to the machine. Thank god she did!

I've only done it when I've also stayed in the car or sat on the drive. TBH I'd rather take the risk of transferrig them into the house asleep, thoguh both of mine are heavy sleepers which helps.

I do it a lot. Not outside my own house which is in a slightly dodgy area of central London, although I will nip in very quickly to grab a book to read, but often do it at in-laws or at friends who have a drive.

Quite a mixed response, a bit like our discussion earlier

Would it make a difference to your answer if it was your child left sleeping in the car for several minutes whilst the person acting as their childminder popped into a shop?

When DH was a SAHD, I would often come home to find DH sitting in the driveway with a book, while DS slept in the car

As for a childminder leaving them to go into a shop, I would not be pleased.

I used to do this in our driveway only and would set the kitchen timer every 5 minutest to remind myself to check on him. But then my SIL scared the bejesus out of me by pointing out that cars can just spontaneously burst into flames and I haven't done it since!
PITA because ds3 is impossible to move while he's asleep, he just wakes up!

but if the car bursts into flames while you are in it as well, you would have to escape and then rescue your children.
if you are outside it already, you just have to rescue them and are not already half burnt
also, the car doesn't actually know when you are inside it or not when it chooses to spontaneously combust

not that it is very likely to happen! much more likely that the car you are driving in will crash and everyone will die . to look on the bright side.

Actually, lightning could hit our house while he was asleep, too and is probably only marginally less likely to happen!
But if the car did burst into flames, everyone in dh's family would be going around saying "Well, SIL did warn her, but chipmonkey cared more about suiting herself than she did about ds3!"

chipmonk, I like your reasoning

Burst into flames

What, like spontaneous combustion of people ?bollocks

I would leave them in a car (mine only) but not if it was hot. I'm very aware of hot as I don't even take my dog out now in the car and leave her for five minutes as it's so hot in the car.

I used to leave my ds in the car to sleep all the time as it was the only place I could get him to nap in the day.

So, without driving round for ages while he slept, the only thing I could do was to leave him on the drive in view of the window. Definately would not leave in car on a very hot day though.

I wouldn't leave other people's children.

No - would bring them inside

if i know ds needs the sleep and will wake up like a loon i sit in the car with him for half an hour before waking him,i wouldnt leave him on his own