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Because it isn't a minute. Going into the post office to buy an envelope, doesn't take a minute, neither does the vast majority of things the OP listed. And even when these things typically only take a few minutes, things don't always go typically and a few minutes can quickly turn into 5...10...etc, and these people have already shown they underestimate time. That is when you get into dangerous situations with kids left in cars.
Last summer a local woman ran into the store for a minute, to grab one thing, some milk. That is all she got, but she was gone so long someone called the cops, they responded, had time to bust a window and retrieve the infant. When she came out she said she had only been gone two minutes, and she legitimately thought that but when they used the footage from the CC cameras it had been over ten. She couldn't gauge time well, and I would say anyone who thinks they are out of the car for less than a minute to do things like go in the post office can't either. They should not be using that time to gauge how long they are leaving their kids unattended in a car. Especially, in the warm months.
Ehm, well there's when that thing called common sense should kick in...Obviously if you see it's going to take a while, you don't stay...I've had times when I ran into the shop where it was only supposed to take a minute, saw that there's a line or its taking a while, and went back out to the car; sometimes I'd wait in the car with him and come back in when I see that people have left. I'm talking about the storefronts with glass doors where you can park right up to them and see the car. Or I'd go in to place a take-out order, come back out and sit in the car until it's ready, then go back in to pick it up. I'd keep an eye on the car the entire time, again not so much because I was afraid of something happening, it's an extremely safe area, but more watching out for busybodies ready to call the cops. If I saw anyone as much as glance at the car I'd be out in a milisecond.
NEVER. Not once. And it was a sacrifice that I was willing to make. Take them out of the car seats and bring them in with me. I don't care how quick I could get in and out of a store, I would never leave kids alone in the car. I had a close call once where my daughter, 16, went to the car for her sweater and didn't wait for her brother. She got into the car and I could see a car circling her, she called me from the car and we all went out to get her. The men in the car were yelling at her to get out of the car and go with them. They took off when we all ascended on them. Doesn't matter how old they are if they are alone, they can be a target. If someone doesn't want to be cautious that's up to them, but not me.
While that is certainly terrifying, I don't see what it has to do with being alone in a car at 16! Has your 16 year old never gone or stayed anywhere by herself? I remember having similar unpleasant experiences as a teenager just walking down the street with a friend and having a car slow down and a guy call out to us and slowly drive behind us for a bit. That sort of thing can just as easily happen when walking home from school, taking the bus, going for a walk, etc - in fact I'd say a lot more likely than being in a car where you can at least lock the doors to avoid being physically grabbed.
Yes, I've done it. Not where I couldn't see the car.
We use to have a Ford Explorer with the keypad on the outside. I loved it because I could always leave my keys in the car and not worry about it. If it was hot, I could leave the car running, lock it and still be able to enter.
Can't do it now, unless I have both FOB's.....cars have gotten very advanced. I tried to lock the car with the keys in and the car would not lock! It could sense the keys are inside.
It's a running joke in our family now, when I leave DS (17) in car, I say be careful of kidnappers! It's funny cause he's 6'3, 200lbs and in great shape. I can't see anyone trying to forcibly remove him from the car.
Ehm, well there's when that thing called common sense should kick in...Obviously if you see it's going to take a while, you don't stay...I've had times when I ran into the shop where it was only supposed to take a minute, saw that there's a line or its taking a while, and went back out to the car; sometimes I'd wait in the car with him and come back in when I see that people have left. I'm talking about the storefronts with glass doors where you can park right up to them and see the car. Or I'd go in to place a take-out order, come back out and sit in the car until it's ready, then go back in to pick it up. I'd keep an eye on the car the entire time, again not so much because I was afraid of something happening, it's an extremely safe area, but more watching out for busybodies ready to call the cops. If I saw anyone as much as glance at the car I'd be out in a milisecond.
I would disagree, the COMMONsense thing, as the majority or people in this thread have shown, is to take the child with you.
I never left my kids unattended in the car because I was afraid something bad would happen. It only takes seconds for someone to pop your locks and steal your car and kids.
People are really not very good at judging risk. Look at it this way, how many times have you gone somewhere alone, left your car unattended (for any length of time from seconds to hours) and come back to find that someone had "popped the locks" and stolen the car? I'm 45, been driving since I was 17, and it's never happened to me. Never happened to anyone I know, except back in the 1970s my brother's car was stolen after he left the keys inside in plain view. In that case, he was asking for it.
So, exactly how likely is it that during any random, let's say 1-minute period, someone is actually going to steal your car and kids while you are not looking? Actually, it's LESS likely that your car will be stolen while there are people inside. Car thieves really don't want your kids! The very rare, almost mythical stranger who would kidnap a child doesn't have the know-how to break into a car in a few seconds!
Now, what are the chances that you will have a car accident while driving and your child will be injured? MUCH, MUCH higher than that something bad will happen to them while they sit in the car for one minute. What are the chances that they will be injured while walking through a parking lot? Also, much higher than if they stayed in the car. But people just refuse to see it that way! "WHY would anyone take RISKS with their precious children?" These same parents put their children in the car and drive all over the place, drag them through parking lots, and think nothing of the risk. But a child alone in the car for a minute--wow, so dangerous that CPS must be called.
I guess I'm lucky that no one ever called CPS on me while I was at an ATM and my kids were in the car. My youngest child is 9, so I'm probably past the stage where I need to worry about that. For the record, when they were very little, I only left them in situations where it truly was going to take a minute or two and I could see the car at all times. But I do get a little tired of people saying they NEVER left their children alone for a millisecond and that therefore their parenting skills are superior and they must love their children more than I do.
My oldest is 25, I do remember occasionally leaving him in the car to pay for gas when at the pump was not an option. Even then, never out of site and I always locked the car.
When he was a toddler we lived in So. Calif where the whole concept of car-jacking was just starting to take off. I remember that even if I was standing there fueling, the keys were in my pocket and the doors were locked.
By the time DD came along, leaving kids in the car was just taboo and we didn't do it.
I do think it has a lot to do with where one lives. Where I live now, I see this as a more common practice, run into the C-Store to pay for gas, buy milk etc with the kidlets in their carseats and the ignition running to keep temp control. I live in what is considered a safe area and it shows
People are really not very good at judging risk. Look at it this way, how many times have you gone somewhere alone, left your car unattended (for any length of time from seconds to hours) and come back to find that someone had "popped the locks" and stolen the car? I'm 45, been driving since I was 17, and it's never happened to me. Never happened to anyone I know, except back in the 1970s my brother's car was stolen after he left the keys inside in plain view. In that case, he was asking for it.
So, exactly how likely is it that during any random, let's say 1-minute period, someone is actually going to steal your car and kids while you are not looking? Actually, it's LESS likely that your car will be stolen while there are people inside. Car thieves really don't want your kids! The very rare, almost mythical stranger who would kidnap a child doesn't have the know-how to break into a car in a few seconds!
Now, what are the chances that you will have a car accident while driving and your child will be injured? MUCH, MUCH higher than that something bad will happen to them while they sit in the car for one minute. What are the chances that they will be injured while walking through a parking lot? Also, much higher than if they stayed in the car. But people just refuse to see it that way! "WHY would anyone take RISKS with their precious children?" These same parents put their children in the car and drive all over the place, drag them through parking lots, and think nothing of the risk. But a child alone in the car for a minute--wow, so dangerous that CPS must be called.
I guess I'm lucky that no one ever called CPS on me while I was at an ATM and my kids were in the car. My youngest child is 9, so I'm probably past the stage where I need to worry about that. For the record, when they were very little, I only left them in situations where it truly was going to take a minute or two and I could see the car at all times. But I do get a little tired of people saying they NEVER left their children alone for a millisecond and that therefore their parenting skills are superior and they must love their children more than I do.
You are comparing apples to oranges. The vast majority of people HAVE to assume the risk of a car accident, because we need cars to function productively. No one HAS to leave their child in the car unattended.
You are comparing apples to oranges. The vast majority of people HAVE to assume the risk of a car accident, because we need cars to function productively. No one HAS to leave their child in the car unattended.
If people really worried about the risk of driving in cars (which you will admit is comparatively high?) they would figure out ways to leave their kids home with another adult while they did their errands and commutes. When my kids were little, I didn't particularly want to do all my shopping at night when my husband is home, but I could have. I didn't NEED to take them everywhere with me. They would have been safer at home!
And, frankly, if the alternative had actually been to drag three children under 5 out of the car just to walk 10 feet to an ATM and hold them all around me while I deposited a check, I would have done all my errands at night. I "needed" to be able to leave them in the car for that kind of thing.
While that is certainly terrifying, I don't see what it has to do with being alone in a car at 16! Has your 16 year old never gone or stayed anywhere by herself? I remember having similar unpleasant experiences as a teenager just walking down the street with a friend and having a car slow down and a guy call out to us and slowly drive behind us for a bit. That sort of thing can just as easily happen when walking home from school, taking the bus, going for a walk, etc - in fact I'd say a lot more likely than being in a car where you can at least lock the doors to avoid being physically grabbed.
Yes, I was out riding my bike one sunny summer evening as a teen and a man asked me directions to somewhere. I started giving them to him and he said "why don't you get in the car with me and show me"? Now my mom had never discussed that type of thing w/me (it was the mid-60s), but that just didn't sound right so I rode off.
Good grief, folks (not you, EvilCookie), wasn't it just a month or two ago we were all talking about the mom leaving her 9 year old in a park all day? Many people were defending her choice! Many people on this forum also defend letting kids that young take public transportation, where the possibility of an encounter with a whack is much higher than when one is sitting in a car alone. Mind you, I did let mine take public transportation at age 11, not knocking the idea, just saying.
If people really worried about the risk of driving in cars (which you will admit is comparatively high?) they would figure out ways to leave their kids home with another adult while they did their errands and commutes. When my kids were little, I didn't particularly want to do all my shopping at night when my husband is home, but I could have. I didn't NEED to take them everywhere with me. They would have been safer at home!
And, frankly, if the alternative had actually been to drag three children under 5 out of the car just to walk 10 feet to an ATM and hold them all around me while I deposited a check, I would have done all my errands at night. I "needed" to be able to leave them in the car for that kind of thing.
This is a straw man argument at best, but regardless, if you are going to take parents to task for driving children anywhere, well you are assuming that risk AND the inherently and needless risk of then leaving them in the car just to avoid the effort of bringing them in.
Now for the straw man. One parent choosing to drive with their children does not in anyway change either of the following two FACTS, the first being that there is no NEED (and if you would like me to post the definition of need for you I will) to leave a small child in a car unattended and second, choosing to do so does inherently pose a risk to the child. You can pretend it is no risk all you like, but you are wrong.
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