would you confront anybody who leaves a child unattended in a care? Re: baby kidnapping in S.C. (legal, parents)
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I'm so glad little Angle was safely returned to his parents in S.C. but it left me wondering:
If you saw kids left unattended in a car what would you do?
1) call the police immediately
2) stand by the car to make sure nobody ran off with the kids? (But how would you know if it was the real parent who drove off?)
3) Stay by the car and then confront the adult who came back and got into the car?
4) say tisk tisk, shake your head and go about your own business- "I don't want to get involved"
I was certainly tempted to leave my young kids in the car when I had to run into a store but I never did and with kids only 4 months apart it was such a hassle to get them both out, unpack the twin stroller, etc. But DH was incredibly good about running errands for me so I wouldn't have to be in that situation.
But one time the gas pump wouldn't accept my credit card and I had to go in the store to pay. I rode up to the front door, locked the kids in and ran into the store to pay but was a nervous wreck. It was raining terribly , I was on empty and I had to get gas just to get home. Still something terrible could have happened.
I know parents who have their kids taken under similar circumstances are truly in pain but to leave a kid in a RUNNING car is asking for trouble and I have no sympathy.
One time a lady came into the store I owned to tell me there was a puppy locked in a car in my parking lot with windows up. We waited for a few minutes till the young couple came back from eating and I'm afraid I let them have it. I was not diplomatic- I was furious and looked like a crazy woman. They looked at me like I was from Mars, cussed at me and took off. I guess I could have handled it better but the dog was obviously in distress and I was worked up not knowing if anybody was coming soon.
If it had been a child I would have immediately called the cops and stayed to see that the child was OK.
Well I'll probably cause a whole stir here but while I would never ever leave a child in a running car, I actually have no problem leaving an older child in a locked car for a few minutes. I regularly get my dry cleaning or pay for gas with my 5yr old in the car. Of course I wouldn't leave her for longer than a couple minutes or in hot weather but I'm not super paranoid either. Heck, my mother used to leave us in the car for 30 minutes or more and the crime rate was higher then.
So the answer to your question would depend on the age of the child, the weather conditions and whether or not the car was running.
Leaving your car running is asking for trouble whether there is a kid inside or not. It's ok to leave kids while going in to pay for gas or something, as long as the car is in line of sight I don't have an issue with it.
If I saw a child in a car at a mall or a big box store, I might try to contact store security or the police. If it was a smaller strip mall type thing where the car was parked right in front of the store, maybe not. I've left mine in a locked car with the window cracked at the preschool if he was sick or something. I'm inside a total of about 5 minutes to drop the other one off. Even then and even to put my shopping cart away it has crossed my mind that if I were to get hit by a car right then and get knocked unconscious, no one would know to look for my kids in the car. I would ever leave them in a running car.
I'm so glad little Angle was safely returned to his parents in S.C. but it left me wondering:
If you saw kids left unattended in a car what would you do?
1) call the police immediately
2) stand by the car to make sure nobody ran off with the kids? (But how would you know if it was the real parent who drove off?)
3) Stay by the car and then confront the adult who came back and got into the car?
4) say tisk tisk, shake your head and go about your own business- "I don't want to get involved"
I was certainly tempted to leave my young kids in the car when I had to run into a store but I never did and with kids only 4 months apart it was such a hassle to get them both out, unpack the twin stroller, etc. But DH was incredibly good about running errands for me so I wouldn't have to be in that situation.
But one time the gas pump wouldn't accept my credit card and I had to go in the store to pay. I rode up to the front door, locked the kids in and ran into the store to pay but was a nervous wreck. It was raining terribly , I was on empty and I had to get gas just to get home. Still something terrible could have happened.
I know parents who have their kids taken under similar circumstances are truly in pain but to leave a kid in a RUNNING car is asking for trouble and I have no sympathy.
One time a lady came into the store I owned to tell me there was a puppy locked in a car in my parking lot with windows up. We waited for a few minutes till the young couple came back from eating and I'm afraid I let them have it. I was not diplomatic- I was furious and looked like a crazy woman. They looked at me like I was from Mars, cussed at me and took off. I guess I could have handled it better but the dog was obviously in distress and I was worked up not knowing if anybody was coming soon.
If it had been a child I would have immediately called the cops and stayed to see that the child was OK.
I came out of a Walmart a few years ago and found 3 little kids left alone in a car and called the police and waited until they go there. The kids had figured how to unlock the car and I was worried they would get out. The police got there as the mom came out of the store and the police talked to her.
you have to be careful some folks can be dangerous when confronted.
I don't leave my children in the car alone-ever. They are 7 & 5.... not even to run in to pay for gas ( most of the time that isn't an issue though,pay at the pump...).
Even just to run into the dry cleaners or post office, I take them in & out...
I don't know anything more lazy than leaving your small child alone in a car (running or not) just because you're "only going to be 5 minutes". Do you know that ANYTHING could happen in that "5 minutes"???
I have never, in all my DDs 11 years, ever left her alone in a car. Yeah, it was a hassle when she was little with the car seat and all that but I'd rather hassle with a car seat for an extra 30 seconds than have something devastating happen to my child.
As for the OP?? I have called the cops on someone.... This moron left his baby (maybe 10-14 months old) in the car seat alone in the car. I stood there for 5 minutes... when no one came back, I called the cops, gave them a description of the car & plate #. Unfortunately, the dirtbag came out of the store before the cops got there. That baby HAD to have been alone in that car for a good 15-20 minutes.
In my state it isn't illegal to leave your kids in a car that's been turned off....so I'm not sure what the cops would do?
Are you sure there isn't a neglect or endangerment charge? Leaving children unattended in a public place? Sounds neglectful and dangerous to me.
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