Leaving your child (less then 5) in the car for less then 1 minute??? (husband, adults)
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For all of the "it's child endangerment!!!" posters, did you co-sleep with your children until age 10? (Or whenever you would be OK leaving them in a car for one minute?) Because I would say that leaving them unattended in a bedroom overnight (10-12 whole hours!!!) is just as "risky" as leaving them in a car for one minute. They could crawl out of bed/the crib and get tangled up in an electrical cord or knock over a bookshelf, they could be taken by a very quiet abductor, they could stop breathing, and so on...
I have many, as a 911 operator for years. All toddlers/under 6 being hit in parking lots.
I bring my kids in (not for a cart return) but yeah.... From my experience, the car is safer. Illegal I guess, but that doesn't mean statistically safer.
Me thinks most people here are fibbers. Or helicopter parents.
ANYTHING could happen at ANY time. A kid could trip at daycare and become brain damaged. We don't pull her out of daycare due to that. Swallow a penny and asphyxiate, etc.
Someone's bound to respond how that's a totally reasonable risk and unlikely scenario, but 5 seconds in the car is a risk that CAN BE AVOIDED blah blah blah
In reality, people don't have any sense of statistical risk, nor do they act based on weighing these risks properly, regardless of what they claim here. It's nothing more than a knee-jerk response - to follow the rule that says "never leave a child in the car" - never mind whether or not that is actually the more dangerous thing to do.
There is a real actual risk to doing that though - but it has nothing to do with random kidnappings and cars setting on fire. The most major risk you run is one of the (many many apparently) busybodies taking the opportunity to play hero and call the cops on you the second you step away. You'll be gone by the time they get there - but someone could take down your license plate number and you get a CPS visit. There was a recent news story by a columnist on this that really scared me off doing that - I think it was called "The day I left my son in the car".
Too many people love jumping on the opportunity to villify someone else - but then of course there are those dumb parents who actually leave their kids in hot cars for hours, that have set the precedent for this whole insanity.
That just makes me really sad. Parents are subject to so much scrutiny from everywhere that you can't make the smallest decisions for your own without instantly being judged by strangers for it - with sometimes devastating results. This to me goes in the same vein as those poor parents that had been in the news some time ago who had their babies torn out from perfectly healthy loving families due to some retardation broken telephone between their doctors, hospitals, cops, and CPS. They were returned eventually after investigation, but it took weeks which for a young baby is extremely traumatic, and possibly resulted in attachment disorders and who knows what other issues.
Leaving a Child Unattended in a Vehicle
If you leave a child unattended in a vehicle, especially during periods of extreme heat or cold, it could be considered child endangerment. Under Ohio law, this is when a parent or guardian decides to act recklessly by disregarding a substantial risk.
Personally i dont want CPS deciding if it is or is not.
Depends on the situation. Being able to see them from a distance such as in a store or at a kiosk is not with them.
The specific situation you were responding to was the ATM. Here's the sequence to refresh your memory:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merjolie8
The key here is that you don't lose sight of your car. Why make something that would take you a minute into a 10' production removing kids from carseats and keeping an eye on them while you use an ATM?
Quote:
Originally Posted by lkb0714
Go to a drive thru atm, or go at a time when your kids aren't with you. It isn't an either or situation, there are a bunch of OTHER thing you could do besides leaving children unattended in a car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissTerri
You wouldn't even look around first to see if mom was in sight? Or just wait one minute to see if she showed up?
It's not illegal to leave kids in the car in my state. If the cops were called because mom went to return the grocery cart or a book to the book return or put a video in the Red Box kiosk, or get cash from the walk up ATM, I can't imagine they'd do anything
They aren't "unattended" if mom can see them in the car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
How would you know who the mom is? She's not wearing a sign!
While it may not be illegal, it's not smart. And there does come a point where it is illegal. It's called endangering the welfare of a child. The law in many states isn't called leaving your kid in the car.
If you are not physically with your child, they are unattended!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes
What distance do you consider physically with your child? Five feet?
That just makes me really sad. Parents are subject to so much scrutiny from everywhere that you can't make the smallest decisions for your own without instantly being judged by strangers for it - with sometimes devastating results. This to me goes in the same vein as those poor parents that had been in the news some time ago who had their babies torn out from perfectly healthy loving families due to some retardation broken telephone between their doctors, hospitals, cops, and CPS. They were returned eventually after investigation, but it took weeks which for a young baby is extremely traumatic, and possibly resulted in attachment disorders and who knows what other issues.
People should think before they act sometimes.
Yes people should think before they act. The woman in the article let a 4yr old dictate how things went that day, he wanted to go with in her in the car, ever hear the word NO.
He should have stayed at home with the grandmother and the 1yr old.
Than he didn't want get out of the car once they got to store, how about acting like a parent and not letting the child run the show? You wanted to come to the store, we're at the store, and you're going in.
I'm not saying she deserved to go through all that, but who is the parent and who is the child? You don't let a 4yr old tell you how things are going to be handled.
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