Am I a bad mom.?

Katherine - posted on 02/02/2012

I feel alot of moms do this because they dont want to wake their baby or take them out in the cold so much.

Cara - posted on 02/02/2012

I agree with Catherine...it's so not worth the risk!! Not to mention if something were to happen I can promise u that u would call yourself a bad mum...I cannot believe how many people do this. Unstrap your kid, take them in with u, asleep or cranky who cares...taking that extra five minutes could save u the hastle of talking to police and even making the paper!! Just my opinion....

Catherine - posted on 02/02/2012

That is a foolish, FOOLISH decision...your child could have been abducted, injured, etc... I would have certainly called the police.

Hannah - posted on 02/01/2012

I agree I have troublesome toddlers 4 and 3 plus a 9 month old baby and a 6 year old. I am not going to drag them out the car just to go and get a loaf of bread quickly from the shop if there is a long que I come back out same with fuel got my car I am not going to get them all out and walk them across a busy forecourt to pay for fuel!! As long as you are safe about it I don't see the harm!!

Avery - posted on 02/01/2012

i have two kids, and the youngest doesnt walk yet, and so just to pay for the gas in my car is a 45 min trip in and out of the car, i just take the keys and lock the door, go it and pay and then come back out, and for you doing it at work where you would know most of the population it should not have been a big deal, now i have a question for others after reading that, when i go on a roadtrip with my two kids who are both in diapers, how do i change one and then change the other when the youngest cant walk yet, i usualy am on my own b/c of my husband works out of town like all the time....

Cara - posted on 02/01/2012

Why is the cop a bad guy for responding to a call about a child locked in a car?? I would call him a bad guy if he ignored the call...

Kinga - posted on 01/31/2012

No, you are not a bad mom. But that cop is a bad guy!

Bridget - posted on 01/31/2012

i do quick run ins you do.... most moms do.:)

Cara - posted on 01/31/2012

I personally would never do it (not saying your a bad mum) but I wouldn't on the off chance that something would go wrong or someone called the cops...

Hannah - posted on 01/30/2012

That's not being a bad mum at all. I leave my kids in the car all the time while I run in the shops or pick up my son from school. As long as there is no imminent danger and the car is locked don't panic

Bernadette - posted on 01/30/2012

yeah, i have to say that I agree with Kaitlyn - it is a bad idea. I know I already said it doesn't make you a bad mum, and it doesn't. Like I said, I've also had to do it too, on occasion, but only ever out the front of my house (and even then I hate doing it - we live across the road from a school, a favourite place for predators to hang out) and at the service station. At the servo, it is always where I can see the car at all times, and at home I only do it when the kids are both asleep and then I hate doing it because to put one in bed means leaving the car out of sight. I try to drive up into the yard (or at least on the footpath) when this happens. Now that my oldest is nearly 3, she has cut out her daytime naps so this doesn't happen very often anymore. I don't ever do it any other time - if I ever have to just run in somewhere, I always make sure to do it with someone else in the car (my sister often comes places with us during the week when she's not working) or I just leave it until later. If I can't leave it til later, I just have to wake the kids to do it.



I also have to say that if I ever saw a kid locked in a car, I'd probably call the cops too because you never know how long the kid has been in there for, or how much longer until the parent comes back. If I saw the parent walking away, even if you knew they'd only just left, you don't know that they are going to be right back so then I'd probably go after them and mention it, or call the cops. It's always better to be on the safe side for the child, rather than worry that you may get the parent in trouble if they are planning to come right back. Better they get a warning, than leaving the child locked in, not knowing how long it's going to be for. The sad fact is, a lot of parents still do this to their children, and leave them in there for half an hour or more. Better to be safe than sorry.

Kellie - posted on 01/30/2012

I wouldn't leave my kids in the car if I couldn't see them at all times. It doesn't feel right to me. I do leave them in the car when getting petrol...with locked doors (windows down of course!) and only if they are visible every second. Even then I hate it and rarely do it!

Tiffany Amber - posted on 01/29/2012

This doesn't make you a bad mother at all, but I definitely wouldn't recommend you do this if you are in a public parking lot or somewhere where you can't see the car fairly easily. I had 2 kids go into a store and report me for leaving my daughter in the car in plain view of the store and right out front. She was 11 months old and sound asleep. I had to go in and pick up a sheet cake, something nigh onto impossible while toting a baby. When I came out, 2 of the store workers were standing by the car. I was gone maybe 2-3 minutes and looked at the workers, asking them if something was wrong. They asked me if I did that often, leaving my child in the car. When I explained the situation, they told me they had called the cops, and I discovered it's a crime in this state, but the cop let me go with a warning.



I realize kids can die or get kidnapped in instances like this, but I'm not foolish about it, and I took every precaution to lock the car, make sure it wasn't hot, and to park in a visible location. The ridiculous part was the kids saw me park and saw me go into the store. They knew I had just left and they didn't wait a second before rushing in to report me.



Anyway, no worries. You're not a bad mom.

Kaitlin - posted on 01/29/2012

This is super common and a really bad idea- you have no idea how many children die and are kidnapped this way. It's a huge issue. I think if more people understood the entirety and gravity of this risk, no mother would even think to do it.



I would have called the cops if I saw a baby in the car, and then broke the window on the other side to get in and get the baby out. It doesn't make you a bad mom, but I think that man made the right decision. If you are passing by, you don't know how long that child has been in there and how warm it gets in a car. Don't do it again, that situation goes wrong very quickly, and death is a huge risk. Also, you would be surprised how many people will steal a sleeping infant in a car. Seriously.



I think there's a big difference between taking one child inside your HOME (and leaving a child in the driveway) and in a public place. I have two children 13 months apart, so I get that,. and I'm about to have a third, but seriously, that is really really risky otherwise.

Bernadette - posted on 01/29/2012

sometimes you just have to. I hate to do it, but there are times when I can't avoid it. I usually take two car keys with me, that way if I need to do it I can leave the car running (it is very hot here) and still lock the doors too. Where we live, we don't even have a driveway, I have to park in the street. Like Sharon said, there are times when you get home and they are both asleep (I have a 10 month old, and 2 yr 10 month old) and you can't possibly carry them both inside at the same time. I usually park on the footpath if this is the case, rather than on the road, then run one upstairs, leaving the car door locked and the engine running, and then run back down for the other one. Also, when I have to do things like get fuel for the car - it is unrealistic to get a baby and toddler out of the car just to run inside to pay. Also, my car uses diesel and it doesn't evaporate quickly like petrol does, so it's always all over the nozzle, which then leaves it all over your hands. Not picking up a baby with diesel all over my hands. What ever happened to the days when the attendants would actually come out, put the fuel in for you, and then take your payment as well? Anyway, all I can suggest if, if you have to do it, always take two car keys with you so that you can lock the door and keep the aircon running. And never be away for more than a minute.



Oh, and I generally try to fuel up the car when I've got someone else in the car with me, like my sister, so that I can leave her with the kids while I go in and pay. Not always possible though if I realise the fuel light has come on and she's not with me that day! Or if I realise on my way home that I'm running low and will probably need more the next day, i'll send my husband out to get it after I get home. Maybe next time you need to run any errands like this, try to take someone with you (like do it on a day you are catching up with a friend) and leave the person in the car to mind the baby while you run in.

Sharon - posted on 01/29/2012

not at all...if so, then I'm a bad mum too. I don't know how many times I have come home & both boys are asleep, I ofcourse can't carry them both in at once so I go into the house and put the cat away so he doesn't run out, then I take one into bed/cot (upstairs), then go back for the other.

Kimberly - posted on 01/28/2012

No I dont think its being a bad mom, its not ideal but when your looking at waking them for 2 mins over just letting them sleep let them sleep. I have left my daughter in the car either windows all down or it running with the aircon on ( way too hot here) either because she was sleeping or sometimes I just have to drop a letter off and run in and back. Did it last week because it would have been hard getting her in and out then getting what I needed so I left her in the car, I could see it and was like 2 mins. I dont agree with long periods of time or in very hot/cold weather turning the car off but this doesnt make you a bad mom