Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My goodness. First off, I don't live in Oregon to the previous poster, I live in Washington and the only law we have here is about running cars.
Secondly, at what point is it ok to leave your kids for 5min alone? Six? Eight? Sixteen when they have a license and can go wherever they like?
I have absolutely no problem leaving my 5yr old in the car for 5min alone, the world is NOT anymore dangerous than it was 30 or 40yrs ago, she is millions of times more likely to be injured in the drive to the store than to be injured sitting in the parking lot while I pick up my dry cleaning...and she loves the moment of freedom.
Remember our job is to raise adults.
ETA - and its my belief that there isn't a state in the country that would arrest you for 5min in a locked car on a mild day.
My goodness. First off, I don't live in Oregon to the previous poster, I live in Washington and the only law we have here is about running cars.
That's not entirely accurate. See below:
Quote:
Washington state law regarding leaving children unattended is interesting. It’s illegal to leave a child under the age of 12 in a parked car alone while entering a tavern. As written, the law applies only to taverns, but if someone thinks a child’s well-being is in danger in a parked car, the person can file a child neglect complaint regardless of where the car is parked. You also can’t leave someone younger than 16 alone in a parked car with the engine running.
Well ok, but its not illegal, and obviously I'm not bar hopping with my kids in the car! Yes, someone could file neglect charges but really 5 min in the dry cleaners isn't going to stand up in a court.
My neighbor is a social worker, I'll ask her but since she comes to my house for coffee and leaves her 8yr old at home alone, I think I'm probably just fine.
I would and do and did leave my kids in the car with the engine running and aircon on. At other times windows down and engine off.
If I saw a kid in a car with the engine off and the windows up, I would open the doors or if it were locked I would smash the windows. Each year we have at least one kid who dies as a result of being locked in a car with the windows up. The temperature inside a car can get very hot. Up to 80 deg C and it gets there really quick. Going up at about one degree a minute.
We had another story recently that some guy stole a car and then realised that there was a baby in it. The media were all over the story calling it a kidnapping. The guy was caught and convicted of kidnapping.
The story came out later in court that once he realised that he had gotten a kid as part of stealing the car, he found a cell phone in the car and called people in the phones memory to explain the situation and told them where to find the car and the kid and then he parked the car in the shade. So while I do not condone his actions in stealing the car. He did not intentionally kidnap the kid and the media did a good wind up job of increasing the fear in our society about such things.
I would NEVER and have NEVER left either of my children in the car while I get out to do something quick!!!
If you have more children then you can "handle" and it's too much of a hassle for you to take them all out with you, then I guess you shouldn't have had them.
We are the ones who need to protect them...I dont know about you but I would NEVER forgive myself if I left them unattended in my car and something happened to either one of them.
Sure, the odds of something happening during a minute or two while you leave them in the car is slim. But In my opinion I'd always rather be safe then sorry...especially when it comes to my kids!!!!!
I think you have some nerve telling people that if they leave their kids in the car for a few minutes while they run a quick errand that they should not have had them. Sometimes it isn't a matter of it being a hassle to take them all with you. Sometimes they are tired, have had a busy day and would just like a few minutes to chill. My kids aren't babies and I leave them in the car for a few minutes while I run out. Who's going to bother a pair of teenaged boys with a 10 year old?
I agree. Parents hover over their children way too much these days. Mainly because everyone is so ready to call Child Protective Services if the kid so much as hiccups wrong. I'm ready for the pendulum to swing back a little and let parents parent without fear of going to prison.
I think you have some nerve telling people that if they leave their kids in the car for a few minutes while they run a quick errand that they should not have had them. Sometimes it isn't a matter of it being a hassle to take them all with you. Sometimes they are tired, have had a busy day and would just like a few minutes to chill. My kids aren't babies and I leave them in the car for a few minutes while I run out. Who's going to bother a pair of teenaged boys with a 10 year old?
Obviously I was talking about young children, not teenagers (sigh).
Obviously I was talking about young children, not teenagers (sigh).
Regardless of who you were talking about (I'm not mind reader) you have some nerve telling someone that because they parent differently from you they should not have had their kids.
Not because they parent differently, but because they are parenting unsafely... It's never safe to leave young children in a car alone. Most of whom are strapped in with a harness and cannot get themselves out if there is a problem, whether it be related to a person stealing the car or a car crashing into your car while your kids are in it or a fire or something....you just never know.
States that currently HAVE laws regarding children left unattended in vehicles:
Washington, Nevada, California, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Hawaii and Connecticut
States that currently have laws if an injury or fatality occurs when a child is left unattended in a motor vehicle: Missouri and Kentucky
States that currently have proposed legislation regarding children left in alone in motor vehicle:
Montana, Arizona, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
Now, if all these states HAVE or are trying to PASS laws of this nature wouldn't it make sense that its been proven it is a dangerous thing to do?? Yes would be the answer!
Most of these laws do have a certain age of child in the law, most are 10 and under...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
