scoobypreza

I was just wondering what everyone does with their children when you need to leave the car for example paying for petrol?

Our little one is 4months old and if I need petrol I take him in when I go to pay. If I can I go to Tesco and pay at the pump. Mr.Scooby hates it when I do this though because its not optimax! But then he'd rather that than me leave the little on in the car alone.

Other people at the petrol station leave their kids in the car so I'm just wondering if anyone has any views on this?

Is it safe to leave a child in a car on their own these days?
If you lock them in the car is it dangerous because if something happens they can't get out?
What if there was a fire at the petrol station. (extreme I know but still a risk)
My mum always left us in the car, but now that I have my own little one I can't imagine myslef doing this.
When we were older we could have easily let the handbrake off but we never did..... but what if???

hhmmm??

cath

clare.purvis

Hi cath

I have a four year old and a one year old.

I used to leave them in the car if i was just paying for the petrol, untill my son (the four year old) coloured my daughter in with a biro and once i turned around to look out of the shop window and my son was walking across the forcourt.

I now leave my daughter in with the doors locked (but only if i am just paying for petrol!!!) and take my son in.

Not sure if many others feel the same?

Clare
x

mj

Petrol staion no, its got cameras,and at the times I usally visit, pretty busy, plus you can usually always see the van. Most other palces, high street, car parks etc, then I usually lock the doors. My daughters 13, it doesent bother her, and with the sicko's around today you can't be too careful.

fast bloke

kids are 5 and 3 - I would leave them in the car now with the doors locked - their doors have childlocks, so they couldn't get out anyway, but someone could steal the car. (This happened once while I was in the garage to a woman with a 6 mth old kid - I thought she was going to die on the spot - I could see her heart beating through her blouse)

When the kids were younger I wouldn't leave them unattened at all. A 4 month old could vomit and choke.... then again they could do that in bed

Hammy Hamster

The thought of young children being left in a car by themselves horrifies me.

This is a link to a tragic and disturbing news story of two children who were left in a car for a short period of time with catastrophic consequences. It happened a few years ago, but still springs to my mind whenever I see children left in car.

As I have said, it is disturbing, but it does highlight the potential dangers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1937605.stm

martyrobertsdj

iTrader: (1)

I must admit to leaving my little boy in the car if I'm only getting petrol and going in to pay for it.

He is only 7 months old and confined to his seat, so no danger of the handbrake being let off. I don't smoke, so there's no matches in the car and I do make sure I "plip" the alarm and lock the doors.

If I'm going anywhere else, I take him out of the car with me....shops, etc.

I suppose there's always the danger he could suddenly choke, but I'd think he needs something to choke on. His toys are all baby "safe", so in theory he should be ok.

We all know babies can do funny things, but we leave them (even if we do have monitors) in their beds overnight and generally they are ok.

It will be a different story when he's big enough and works out how to undo his own seatbelt and move about in the car!!! He'll be with me then!!!!!

Marty

Tiggs

but......this was kids in a car...with matches?????....and enough crap in the footwell to start a fire. They were also left long enough to find matches, decide to play with matches, drop a match and then die from the effects of the smoke.


my kids (baby,4 and 8) all stay in the car at petrol stations as long as the cars in sight. 4 and 8 know they are only allowed to leave their seats in an emergency and that they head for the horn if thats the case.

T

ps- babys choking????? i know it happens but babies are pretty clever at soorting themselves out! if every baby that vomited choked we'd have real problems!

BlkKnight

When I was about 2, my dad locked me in the car. . .with the keys. . .
My usual trick at that age was to let myself out of my kiddie seat. Would I do in on command? Would I bugger.

When I was 5(ish), my mum left me in the Alfa on my own. She was parked on a hill. I let the handbreak off. . . . Forunately it only went back 10 meters or so and was slowed by the kirb.

Food for thought

jjones

leave the 9 month old twins locked in the car at the petrol station. always park at the pumps at the front (nearest the doors). keep an eye on the car whilst in the station.

Leslie

I personally feel it is a risk to leave him in the car for all sorts of reasons these days. I even lock the car when I go to pay for petrol when it is empty!

I would prefer the inconvenience of taking him with me when I pay.

Les

fast bloke

I know, but when they are strapped securely in a car seat they don't have the same freedom of movement (to allow them to vomit down the back of my suit and not tell me )

ProperCharlie

I leave our little 'un in the car when paying for petrol. She's 7 months old, strapped into her car seat and usually asleep. IMO the risk of something happening to her whilst left in the car is roughly equivalent to the risk that we will be run over whilst I carry her across the forecourt. Plus it would take twice as long if I had to get her out of the car and then strap her back in afterwards.

Leslie

Its just the thought of someone nicking the car with the child in it that would worry me though.

Les

ProperCharlie

Yeah but seriously, what's the chance of that happening? Locked car, with an immobiliser, on a petrol station forecourt under cctv and in full view of myself and the people in the shop? In the time it would take someone to even break into the car, I would be out of the shop and bouncing their head off the door frame.

If you want to get into these kind of scenarios then you could say what if an armed gang of crack heads decided to hold up the petrol station whilst you and your child were in the queue waiting to pay?

mart360

I take short stop in all the time, as i did with the eldest as well


its every parents right to choose..

and live with the consequences if anything happened....


mart

andypugh2000

My mum used to leave me, my brother and sister in the car in lots of places, she used to leave the doors unlocked too incase we needed to get out in an emergency, we never came to no harm and there were no mother and child parking spaces in those days either, how did we mange we ask

Leslie

Its the one time you lose out on the luck that counts though!

Les

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Petrol station scenario with car always in sight, we leave our 9 month old daughter in the car with doors locked.

As soon as she shows signs of being able to unbuckle herself, I'll be taking her in with me.

tmo

Never left her in the car, never would.

Tiggs

its funny because SN is normally full of ppl moaning about fat whimpy kids being wrapped in cotton wool.......yet here are ppl that wont leave their kid in the car in case of what?

a baddie decideds to nick your car of a petrol forecourt while you are just 20 yards away and CCTV is watching...not likely.

the baddie gets into the locked car without you knowing...not likely

the baddie gets the car started with no keys...again before ANYONE spots him...not likely

the baddie doesnt spot the other human sat with him in the car and drives off...not likley

and even then 99.9% of baddies would dump the car ASAP.

unless the concern is that after all the above you are unlucky enough to find the baddie was a car thief/padeo baby killer. if you think thats all possible then i hope you dont bother buying lotto tickets at the garage because you dont belive in any luck other than very bad luck!

OllyK

Where's the "Don't have kids" option?

Drunken Bungle Whore

If you had a diamond necklace would you leave it on view in your car while you paid for petrol? Probably not.

Are your kids worth more to you than a diamond necklace? Probably.

Saw an interview with a woman who had left her child for 2 mins why she payed for something and someone nicked the car. Kid tried to escape and did so while car at high speed. Kid died. Imagine how she'll feel for the rest of her life.

ProperCharlie

yes but the point is that there are risks all over the place and there will be sad stories for every possible eventuality. like i said - what if you decided to take your kid with you to the kiosk and they were hit by a car on the way across the forecourt? it's not very likely but i'd bet that it's happened to *someone*, *somewhere*. when you put the child into the car seat, there is a moment when you shut the car door, walk to the front of the car, open the driver's door and get it. a car thief could choose that moment to barge you out of the way, grab the keys from yor hand, and drive off. trickey one, huh? maybe we should be trying to worm our way from the back seat, between the drivers' and passenger seat, to get to the front of the car without having to risk exiting the car in the process.

whatever precuations are taken, there will still be some residual risks. for me, the risk of leaving my baby in a locked car, in full view, no more than 20 yards from where i am, is low enough for me to take it.

beemerboy

i take my little boy into the petrol station with me.
he normally charms the bird behind the counter into a free kinder egg
which i help him consume!!!!

cars are dangerous places for 3 year olds.
they are dangerous enough for 36 yr olds too..

BB

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

What if?

There is less chance of my diamond necklace being struck by lightning if I leave it in the car.

ooh decisions...

ProperCharlie

yeah but he can walk - what about a 6 month old who you've got to unstrap and carry? i mean, if i've been on the stella the night before i might end up dropping her.

beemerboy

yeah mate.. i used to leave him in the car on earlier occasions.....

or at home, with the missus!!!!!

BB

EddScott

My daughter is 34 months old so remains strapped in her seat while I'm not in the car. Paying for petrol or getting out of the car but still having the car in view and making sure my daughter can see me is acceptable to me. I lock the car and as the Clifford Alarm is completely sh1te and works when it wants to she can usually move around without the interior sensor going off.

Some times its a good thing to leave them in the car:-

G/Fs car battery went flat so me and daughter go out to rescue her. We start her car from my car battery and I givee my car a fews revs whilst hers was turning over. Revs pass 1700rpm or so and the doors lock

My daughter seemed to have half an idea of what we'd done as she found it highly amusing to have mum and dad locked out the car in the rain! Fortunately we convinced her to press the window button to wind it down.

Mice_Elf

And on top of that, a thief can sell-on a diamond necklace, it fits in the pocket and can be concealed.

No child can fit in a pocket and they have little re-sale value.

beemerboy

i'd sooner loose a diamond chain then have my son took on a high speed joyride, (by anyone other then me, that is!!!!)

BB