Brenda Slaby leaves her child in the car unattended again and this time her child dies. (kids, leave)

[phonelady61]

I was on vacation with my aunt and we saw a woman leave her child in the car and she locked the doors with the child in the car . Well another lady saw this and she broke the glass with a brick and got the baby out well the woman (mom of the baby ) came running out of the store and screaming to the lady who broke her window , Your going to jail you broke my window that is outright vandalism " , the lady who broke the window said "Oh really well what is the penalty for leaving the baby in the car in this heat ". The police showed up took the woman who was the mom of the baby to jail and she was screaming . They gave the lady who broke her window a ticket for vandalism . They got booed by the crowd for giving the woman who broke the window a ticket . I felt like they should be giving her a medal .

[no kudzu]

I agree. maybe under the circumstances the charges will be dropped.

[progmac]

if the air conditioning is on and you are just at a fruit stand or something where your car is ten feet away, i don't see what the big deal is.

[Sum1Else]

Progmac, that is a different story, you would not be leaving the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. The problem is that people think running into the convenience store, grocery store, etc. and leaving the child in the car is ok. It is not.

Want official stats on deaths due to children being left in cars? Here you go...

Children Alone in Vehicles

* Deaths of children left in hot cars in 2009: 32
* Deaths of children left in hot cars in 2010: 41 (Jan-August)
* Details are available at Fact Sheet - Hyperthermia Deaths of Children in Vehicles

Now lets think about some other things that can happen (and have) when leaving children alone in vehicles.

--Child puts car in gear and runs over or backs over someone or something
--Carjacker breaks window or entices child to open window or door and takes car and kids (If car is even locked!)

[progmac]

sum1else - thanks for the stats. it all comes down to common sense, which at least 41 people a year apparently lack...but i must say that i feel sympathy for overwhelmed and overstressed new parents who are so lacking a support system that they feel forced to leave their child in unsafe situations. if malice is involved that is a different story, but i bet those 41 deaths left 41 incredibly distraught parents who will be haunted for life, not only from themselves but from all of us who judge them

[psr13]

Originally Posted by lisalan

I can't believe you are seriously asking this question. The kid could get kidnapped or someone could steal the car. Alot of things could happen.

A kid can kidnapped by doing basically anything. I used to wait in the car all the time as a kid. Granted, I wasn't two.

[hart4july]

We should all call the police if we find a child in a parked, locked car. Unless mom/dads running in to pay for gas at the tank, call the police. Unless the windows are down AND an older child is watching, which also has its issues, its a public safety matter.

If the parent made a stupid oversight and forgot, you should call, if they are negligent, you should call. It makes no difference to the child. If its hot ouside and no one comes, I would try to get in the car or break a window. I have waited for parents to return behind a liquor store I was driving past, but the weather was mild. The car is not a child care center. If the child was left on accident, the parent will be racked with guilt and also grateful.

[Taboo2]

Originally Posted by hart4july

We should all call the police if we find a child in a parked, locked car. Unless mom/dads running in to pay for gas at the tank, call the police. Unless the windows are down AND an older child is watching, which also has its issues, its a public safety matter.

I do, heck I call for dogs locked in the car.

[Ishigreensa]

Okay, now I have thought about this for a while. I am very against being just plain irresponsible due to poor planning, but there are times when it is not irresponsible to let a child stay one or two minutes in the car.
Here is what I mean:
A Nine year old that wishes to stay in the car because his gameboy is more interesting than looking at tires in the tire shop, and his dad will be no more than ten minutes with instructions to the child to keep the car locked and to keep the temperature comfortable is not going to kill him. He is capable of moving the radio dial and the heater dials especially if daddy has taught him.
Now, a two year old: Completely different! Two year olds do not know how to judge what they are allowed or not allowed to touch except by example which is not given if daddy isn't there to teach it.
I think it's over board to call the police about a nine year old who is in the car for no more than fifteen minutes alone provided he looks healhty. If the same nine year old is in the car for an hour, I may raise my eye brows, but wouldn't yet be that concerned as long as he looked comfortable and okay.

The place also matters. You shouldn't leave a child to go into a gambling place, a sex shop, or other (unfriendly places) to a child because he or she may need to sneak into the place to pee or do you wnat them to wet?

People just don't think anymore. They are too extreme! Either way to the right and say yyou don't leave kids at all... so what? You are daddy and you follow your 15 year old daughter into the toilets to keep her safe? or they are way to the left and leave 2 year olds unatttended.
Common Sense, People!

Personally, I do rather caution on the side of keeping my kids safe, but I'm not going to force a happy 15 year old to go in somewhere if she is safe and relaxing in the car to some music. I will give her permission however, as long as she leaves a note to let me know that she had to go in the store so I know she's there and know she's okay, to go in and use the toilet or something.

My parents left us in the car for ten to twenty minutes when I was ten, so my youngest brother was six, and he turned out okay. And we were not trapped. If we had to pee, we could get out and go. As long as we let them know somehow where we went and how to find us. We usually just stayed in the car happy to not have to walk all around somewhere boring in exchange of listening to music, coloring in our books, and whatever. And they didn't tell us to stay. They asked us if we wanted to go in or not. It was always a choice.

Yes, if a child wants to go in, and most times a child does, then they should feel safe enough and secure enough with their parents to be able to ask. If a child is too young to ask, then they are too young to be in the car alone.

There are a lot of things that people don't think about and make policies without thinking it through. Blanket policies protect no one and hurt the ones that actually try. And there seems less parenting help available these days despite the constant advertising of it being available. The problem is the stigma tied to getting the help. If you need help, then you must be a bad parent! That is BS and should not be the case if someone is really trying!

So you have parents hollering because a teacher tells a teenager to finish their test then he or she can use the potty, but the same parent then leaves their child unattended. The problem is that people are so far into others' business that they don't pay attention to WHAT THEY THEMSELVES are doing to their own children.

I also think Parenting skills should be taught in High School because it is the only place some kids will learn it right. Too many people have poor examples of parenting from their own parents these days, and as long as the school is teaching healthy relationships and responsibility, what truly responsible parent should complain.

The ones that do complain are afraid they'll loook bad to their kids for not teaching it right, so they interfere with the schools' efforts in education the kids in many areas where kids are confused and often get into trouble with such as sex education and being responsible.

I know it was a long winded response, but I've decided that all of this is interrelated to what is really going on with this whole thing. People need to wake up and learn to use common sense and stop villifying those that do, and teach those that don't.

[Sum1Else]

Originally Posted by Ishigreensa

People need to wake up and learn to use common sense and stop villifying those that do, and teach those that don't.

YES. This I agree with. However, there are some people without common sense and we see it all the time.

True. Blanket statements/policies can make it difficult (or punish) people that are trying to do the right thing. However, consider the children that they may save because at least there is a guideline for the ID10Ts that cannot reason for themselves.

Agreed. Children who can take care of themselves in an emergency (usually 9 and above) could likely be left alone for short periods of time. However, there are a lot of sickos in this world, too. So...

My 3-cents.