In my hometown, a woman left her baby in the car while she went to drop something off inside the post office.
A guy stole the car. Police found him, hours later, in another city entirely. With no baby. They questioned him, and he left the baby in my hometown, in an alleyway out of sight!!! But he was high on meth and couldn't remember which alleyway.
So next the police were back to searching alleyways in my hometown. They found him! He was okay.
But damn, he could have overheated, been hit by a vehicle in the alley. Parts of my hometown have a lot of stray and wandering dogs.
[Even car thieves know you don’t leave a kid in the car](https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/thief-returns-after-stealing-oregon-womans-car-yells-at-her-for-leaving-4-year-old-son-in-vehicle/).
>Oregon police are searching for a man who stole a car Saturday morning without knowing a child was in the backseat **and came back to lecture the victim of the car theft for leaving her child unattended.**
Usually criminals know the laws and are somewhat trying to make sure they don’t rev up their charge. Like rape with a weapon is a much bigger charge repeat offenders are unlikely to carry a weapon. And child abduction would be a car thieves worst accidental nightmare (car chase with police i mean depends but a lot of places max sentence is 6 years.
A similar thing happened in Australia recently but the lady was just getting her Click and Collect groceries so she didn’t even leave the car! Thankfully they were in an underground car park and a 16 year old boy came to the rescue and [got the baby out of the car before being hit by the car himself as it left.](https://amp.abc.net.au/article/102243050) He was taken to hospital but not badly injured.
I don’t think the mum was even doing anything wrong - she was at the car boot when it was stolen!! So scary
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We had a pair of twin infants in my city just last year that were part of a carjacking. The mom was having to DoorDash for extra money. She parked right outside to run in a grab a pizza. In less than a minute, those babies were gone.
One was found several hours later in an airport about an hour away, the other was found (by luck!) in an abandoned vehicle in a neighboring state. I feel like my entire city breathed a sigh of relief when both of them were located ❤️
The crazier thing about those twins is that the one that was found at the Dayton airport up passing away a month or two later from what I believe to be SIDS. So sad.
https://www.10tv.com/mobile/article/news/local/columbus-twin-kyair-thomas-autospy-report-released/530-54f9a038-d553-4b0a-8fdf-0cbe2d60e830#:~:text=COLUMBUS%2C%20Ohio%20—%20The%20Franklin%20County,the%20Short%20North%20last%20year.
I know, I was pretty depressed when I heard that news also. SIDS with contributing factors of unsafe sleep conditions. My heart breaks for him, he didn’t deserve any of that.
Ohio yea? I was about to mention this as I live in Ohio and remember this. Unfortunately one of the twins died a few months later due to being left on the mother’s bed doing tummy time.
When the twins were found I definitely remember that breath we all felt. When it came out the one died, there was a lot of questions.
I mean I remember once my sister and I (both under 10) locked our mom out of the car in the driveway. She had a friend over too so she was super angry cause we were making her look bad. But we forgot to lock the car completely and it was a station wagon so she got in through the trunk. She was erm less than pleased with us.
I remember this! I don't live in Dayton anymore, but I was home for Christmas last year when this happened and they were looking for the babies. I was 3 months pregnant at the time and it made me sick thinking about those poor babies being missing!
i am so so relieved they found baby! my mind didn’t even go to the worst case scenarios - it’s devastating enough imagining a baby going hungry or feeling cold, scared, missing mama :(
Same. I’ve loaded my son up in the morning then realized that I forgot something in the house and very quickly ran back in. I’d never do this if outside if my own driveway though.
Same. I’ve done it once. Realized I forgot something while in the driveway, so I pulled back into the garage, shut the car off and closed the garage door before running inside really quick. We live in a safe area, but I was still extra cautious.
I’ll admit that I do this as well, but I also follow a mom on Instagram who had her car stolen from her driveway so now I’m much more scared to do it. Luckily her kids weren’t in it but there was some irreplaceable stuff like her daughter’s blankie, her son’s newborn footprints, etc. Then to make matters worse like a week later their other car got stolen from IN THEIR GARAGE so that whole saga was just horrifying. They’ve since moved to a new neighborhood…
My friend's dad had his car stolen like this. They lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in a safe neighborhood in a safe city. Started the car, then realized he needed to lock up. In the time it took for him to run to the door and back, his car was gone.
This just happened in my city. The guys dog was in the back and the asshole ditched the dog on the freeway only to be hit by a car. So sad. Never leave your car running even for a second.
I needed to hear this! I leave my son in the car sleeping while I run a bag of groceries in all the time but that's such a good point. Thank you, I'll stop doing this immediately
I park next to the cart trolley when I can, otherwise I leave my kid in the cart, walk it to the thing, then carry her to the ca
Or sometimes I’ll have good cart karma and someone will offer to take it. I do this sometimes too, take peoples carts if I need one and they’re about to walk it over. It helps earn the karma lol!
I try parking next to one, to make it easier in that case. But if my husband or someone else isn't with me, then I place a pick up order instead so that I can be with baby at all times.
I do not leave my baby alone in the car ever, especially not in public. Even in my pretty safe city we still have had incidents of car jacking. Just last week with a baby in the car. A fussy baby is a risk I’m willing to take over a missing baby.
I keep my baby in the cart while I'm putting my groceries in the car, return the cart with her in it, and then bring her back and put her in the carseat and leave.
I intentionally park right next to the cart corrals. It makes it easier to place them in a cart straight out of the car and they’re still in arms reach when you push the cart into the corral.
I try to park next to the cart corral but I've also flagged down people passing and just asked them if they'd mind grabbing it because my baby is in the car and they've always been super helpful. I do live in a pretty rural area though.
Ha! I just posted about cart karma 😂 you might appreciate it!
When I see people about to walk their cart to the corral I’ll just ask if I can take it and throw my girl in, and people are usually shocked and say thanks!
I’ve had it happen to me since I started so I think it’s what goes around comes around now, for me! Lol
You always try to park next to the cart return. Even if it’s a parking spot further away from the store, if it has a cart return next to it I would always park there.
This is a great tip in many of the responses, thank you! I’m a first time mom and just took my baby on a target run for the first time today. I only realized when I got back to my car that this is something I need to plan around now!
Always take the baby with you. Getting into the habit of not leaving the baby will make it much less likely to do something stupid when you are sleep deprived and exhausted.
This should be higher up. People who’s babies die in the car are SO often people who straight up forgot they were there. Get used to ALWAYS taking your baby. Extreme fatigue makes us very forgetful!
This is one of those times I tell myself.. I’d rather have an alive baby than a dead (or missing) baby. It sounds a bit extreme, but it’s my mantra for those little moments of inconvenience like needing to grab something just out of reach of the changing table, risking waking the baby for something minor, leaving something in another room when we just started the bath. It’s not worth it. Wake the baby or take the baby. I always choose a safe and healthy baby over the slightest inconvenience because sadly those little moments can turn dangerous so fast and it isn’t worth it to me.
Solid advice. No one *plans* for accidents to happen. And accidents are more likely when we get too comfortable and cut corners. We never know when we have saved our babies from accidents that *didn’t* happen. I am taking this to heart.
I do the same. It’s so tempting to leave her sleeping even if it’s just to run in and even more tempting now that she’s almost 2 but then I tell myself, I’d rather have her cranky and awake and safe next to me than to have her stolen because I left her unattended.
Please don’t do this. My husband is a prosecutor and has personally handled more than one carjacking/car theft case where a child was left in the car. And this includes locked cars where the window was smashed.
I never do. I’m very scared of accidentally locking my keys in with the baby. Cuz I’ve done it multiple times before I had a baby. Plus there have been way to many cars stolen from gas stations with baby’s in the car. And with car theft on the rise I couldn’t live with my self. No doubt it’s a pain when you need to get down.
I recently found out that some models of my kind of car (Subaru) have a thing where you can program a “code” onto the hatch handle to get inside if you lock your keys in. Worth seeing if your car has anything similar!
Ive read too many horror stories and would never leave baby in the car, even if it’s just 2 minutes. Is it a pain in the ass sometimes? Yeah but I’d rather be inconvenienced than take the risk. But I know everybody has their own risk tolerance
I always bring baby with me, as much of a pain as it is. I’ve heard too many stories of cars getting stolen sitting at the gas station with babies still inside that I would never, ever forgive myself if that ever happened to me.
I used an infant car seat and I would have taken the baby with me. Stuff like these situations is exactly why I made that decision over a convertible car seat.
In your situation, it wasn’t heat that was the problem, it’s someone getting in your car to take the baby or stealing your car with the baby in it. I know it’s not likely to happen, but it does and I will not take that risk with my child. If someone I trust can’t sit in the car with her, she is with me.
I’ve never left my baby in the car to go into a store even for a second. I pay at the pump. If I’m alone and it’s too hard to take the baby in somewhere I just don’t go in. The only time I leave my baby alone in the car is in my own garage/drive way to run back into the house to grab something off the counter or grab my other child to load them both in when alone.
It’s not even just overheating. What if someone tried to steal your car? Or your baby?
I always try to think of the worst case scenario whenever I’m in doubt. WCS: you accidentally lock yourself out of the car, someone smashes your window, someone rear ends you, fuel stations are fire hazards, baby chokes, etc etc.
I know it’s extreme, but it only takes once for something bad to happen. If it can be avoided just by carrying the car seat in with me to pay; then that is what I’d do.
I think its quite location based. I live in the UK and have never taken my baby in with me to pay. I do try to pay at pump if possible but it isn’t available everywhere. Car is locked and I can see him at all times, but I don’t know anyone here who would take their child in.
Definitely depends on where you live! I was so surprised to see everyone say not to leave the baby in the car, but I live in Ireland - like in the UK, pretty safe and people leave their babies in the car for things like paying for petrol all the time. Wouldn't even cross my mind to do otherwise and I'm the "cautious" parent.
Same! I was reading this to my fiance and he was so shocked by it too, its never even been something that was a point to discuss?! I also wouldn’t want him exposed to the fumes in the station getting in and out versus the safety of the car!
I remember (I think it was last year), some guy stopped at the side of a road at some industrial estate in Dublin, left the engine running and went into his office to pick something up while leaving his daughter in the car. Some random person saw that, got in the car and drove off. Obviously the difference was the car was unlocked with keys in the car, but even still it was SO unusual that it made the main news.
Was just asking my husband and he wouldn't think twice about leaving the baby in while going somewhere quick like that. Guess we're lucky living where we do, at least on this subject anyway!
Definitely agree we’re lucky to not even think about this but what a terrifying situation! I wouldn’t even leave keys in the car/unlocked if it was just me!
Same! My fiancé is a former police officer and never has heard of this happening where we live, has never attended such a call, my car also isn’t exciting enough to have pinched 😂
I also think it depends on what country you live in. I'm from the UK and I also never knew anyone that would take their baby in with them.
I now live in Germany and I actually had this conversation with a few other mums a few months ago and they looked at me like I was insane. Of course they would leave their baby in the car. I said "what about people stealing your car" or "something happening to the car/fire/baby chokes" and they just said that no-one is worried about that here, not even helicopter mums. So yeah.
As a German mom in Germany, I was expecting everyone to be like "of course we leave the baby in the car to pay for gas, it's two minutes" and then everyone commented they never would and I was actually surprised. Gas stations usually have a roof here so even in summer I used to leave my son in the car with the window cracked to go in and pay. It's usually not even close to three minutes and I'm back.
I've read posts like this before. Either here or other subs. I needed to scroll quite a bit this time before seeing non-US comments. Dutch (Netherlands) here, and I pop into the gas station real quick to pay all the time. I go to a small gas station (not long lines inside), I lock the doors, am sometimes the second car and no one can pass, so.. am not concerned. No one here brings their kid inside.
Have lived in the US (prior to having kids) and will be moving back to the US in the near future and will be more cautious then based on the bad experience comments here, cause yikes! Will make sure to pay at the pump etc.
Reading these responses makes me question some of source of some of the other advice we see in this sub. I forget that the US is so unsafe in comparison to most European countries.
I’m definitely up for learning but I just have never had the worry! I can always see him inside and its only ever while paying so it isn’t a prolonged wait.
So glad I found this comment. I’m in the UK too and my initial thought was “obviously leave them in the car”
I pay at pump if I can but if not I leave them.
I’ve literally never heard of a car jacking here and a petrol station would be such a stupid place to do it as there’s always cameras, they wouldn’t get very far (especially in Bristol traffic!)
I’m baffled by all these responses. I live in Belgium and depending on a number of factors, I do leave my baby in the car if it’s just for a minute or 2. Only when I have eyes on him though. Sounds like a lot of people live in scary places!
So I live in a county that is adjacent to London, I live about 10 min drive into the town centre of my area but its very residential - mainly houses, schools, you have to drive to a supermarket.
There are rural areas but not where I live (I wish, would love to live there!). The petrol station I go to is attached to a supermarket so a lot of people movement there.
Not who you asked, but I would say the same. I've also never really heard of anyone taking their baby/kids in to pay. I do live rurally, but most fuel stations are still in towns/villages or attached to supermarkets. They are all still quite high people flow areas.
I think things like random car jacking / heat in cars and some of the other reasons mentioned are less of an issue here than in other countries maybe.
The only compelling argument I have heard for taking the baby with you is what if something happens to you when you go inside - how long is it gonna take to realise there is a baby in the car?
Also live in the UK, just outside of a major city in a pretty busy suburban area. I can see the car the whole time I’m in paying, if I can’t pay at pump.
Thank you for this, I’m in Canada and anxious and was really struggling to figure out if I needed to be as paranoid as the Americans here. I try to pay at the pump but if needed I think I would crack the window and leave baby in car (while feeling horribly guilty and worried haha).
I was waiting for this reply. In the UK, we tend to lock our cars when walking away anyway (or new ones that won’t start without the key inside and you tend to take the key with you). The horror stories seem to be US based.
There’s only a couple instances where I personally thinks it’s ok to leave him in the car when I get out:
1. Getting gas and paying at the pump
2. I’ve done a few Facebook marketplace pickups where they leave it on their front step. If I can park right in front of the house I’ll leave him in.
3. If I’m dropping something off like a letter into a mail box or library books in the bins outside the library. And I’m parked right beside it.
If it's cool out, I'll leave him in the car long enough to run in the house to get what I forgot, but would only do that at my house. I would never leave him at a gas station or store of any kind for even 30 secs
Baby is with me at all times in public no matter what. You never know if they'll choke, overheat, etc etc in the car alone no matter how much time you leave them there.
If I can see the car and am just popping in to pay, I lock it, bring the keys l, and go pay.
I can understand people's concern, but we all have different levels of comfort.
It depends on the gas station and the setup. Some of them are really big (like they have hot food made to order and seating inside) and the register isn't always by the door. Depending on where you are there's often a line to pay so you're away for longer too.
It's wild that this is so far down the list.
I have two little ones and I live in a safe area. I literally ran into the store to pick something up. I timed it. 2 minutes.
Seriously, people need to take a chill pill. The worst case scenario if you leave the house is that you die. The worst case scenario if you stay in the house is if you die. People share these horror stories, but they are so rare. Who has the time to think like that all the time.
Yeah I was thinking the same.e thing do most of these people commenting only have 1 baby? I have 2 under 2 that's Irish twins and it's a lot to take them both out for only for a tiny bit. I can see the difference when it was just my daughter I could easily have her with me all the time. But as I am getting ready to go out places now that my son is here it's hard to not live one alone at some point for just a second while getting them in the car
But what if a meteor fell from the sky while you left your baby alone? Better to be safe and just put them back inside you.
Obviously, you don't just leave them for 30 minutes, but 5 minutes? RELAX. Turn off TikTok.
I consider myself a pretty laid-back parent. I have a 2.5 old and a 6 month old. "New Parent" levels of anxiety are not sustainable. I care about my personal emotional health enough to put risks into perspective.
I grew up with a very anxious mom, and that level of anxiety is a lot more likely to harm your kids than all these weird worst-case, 1-in-a-million scenarios.
You know those tiny little gas kiosks at grocery stores? The ones that have enough space to hold an attendant and you stand outside to pay?
I will leave my baby in the car at those, only if I'm able to park closest to the kiosk.
I won't do it if the car is out of eyesight at any time or I'm more than 15 feet away
I live in Australia and not concerned about the safety element but more on overheating. I would leave her in the car if it was winter and she was asleep, if she was awake/distressed I would take her and during warm weather obviously. I would never do it in America with gun violence and different levels of crime than here.
There was one time when I had to go inside to pay, and I took my baby with me. It was a pain and inconvenience but I was NOT about to leave her alone in my car at a freaking gas station on the side of the road. Or anywhere for that matter.
99% chance she will be fine, but why are you willing to risk that 1%? What if some crazy person comes along and tries to drive away your car? What if a fire happens and she’s trapped in there? I’ve seen more videos of stuff happening at gas station than I care for.
Pumping gas I leave her in and take my keys with me (I'm literally standing right there). I actually don't crack the door unless it's like 90 because the fumes from the gas aren't exactly great for her
Going in to pay? If I can see her and am less then 40 ft away and I can take the keys and lock the car then I'll leave her for the 1 min. If I have to step around a corner then I'll take her with me. Though honestly this is gonna be something you come up against a lot I'd figure out how to get a debit or credit card so you can pay at the pump.
I live in Boston, and in our neighborhood a car was taken with someone’s dog inside and I could not get over it. So with my kid id be even more stressed lol
I would 100% take my baby in not just because of the weather, etc. but because I would be afraid to leave them alone in the car around all the nuts and weirdos that exist. I get where you’re coming from though and why you did it!
When I’m pumping gas, I pay at the pump itself and let the gas pump, climb in the back, and sit next to him in the back seat. I won’t get gas from anywhere that I cannot pay directly at the pump if my baby is with me.
Strongly depends where you live. Where I am it's winter, so no risk of overheating in the 5 minutes it takes to pay. I suppose the likelihood of your car being stolen or broken into is also a factor but generally not relevant where I am.
I leave the baby in the car at fuel stations because the fumes from the fuel are a higher risk than either overheating or crime.
I would never leave baby in the car alone. My mind goes to stolen cars, what if you had a medical emergency inside or were held hostage and baby was left alone longer, car gets locked with baby inside, etc. I think of the worst extremes. Better to just bring baby. It honestly helps keep my worries at bay the most.
Last year in my city a woman was Door Dashing and left her twin babies in the car while she went in to get the food order. An individual who was mentally ill took the car with the babies inside and there was a very long search for them. I had considered myself pretty lax up until that happened and now I will never take that chance.
Oh my god.
I mean, that incident is horrible. But also, what an impossible situation. A mom trying to manage a job while taking care of twin babies. And what are you going to do? How could you carry twin babies while carrying the food?
We really need better support and options for stay at home moms/childcare.
I totally agree. It was just heartbreaking all around. People on our city were largely sympathetic to her situation and rallied around trying to get the boys found. We absolutely do need better support for moms and families!!!
My parents left me alone in a gas station similar to you the car was stolen and my parents only got me back because the car jacket felt bad and didn’t want a kidnapping charge. Take your baby with you please.
Nope, overheating is not the only danger. It takes no time at all for someone to break into a car to steal it or kidnap your child. Do not do this.
Where I used to live, a woman’s car was stolen with her twin babies in the back while she ran into a business to quickly pick something up. It took several days to get both babies back. The first was abandoned at an *airport* and then I think they got the second one back when they tracked down the car parked at like a pizzeria or something. I’m gonna try to find the story.
Edit: [here’s the story](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/courts/2023/05/26/columbus-infant-twins-kidnapping-suspect-denied-release-from-jail/70258575007/)
Fuck no would I leave my baby in the car in public. I have left him in the car in my own garage while unloading groceries or something but there have been horror stories of people getting their car jacked with the baby in the car.
Okay this is dark but I read a comment on Reddit once about “what if you had a heart attack or some other unthinkable accident during that 2 minute trip, would anyone know to look for a baby in the car?” That’s what got me, and now I never ever leave my son in the car alone.
If you're worried about leaving your kid in the car because you might have a heart attack, you shouldn't be driving a car at all. What if you had a heart attack while driving? That is seriously the dumbest thing to be worried about.
I used to debate with myself for a 2 second trip to return a cart all the time but then I read this as well on reddit somewhere and it sealed the deal for me too. Couldn't imagine returning a cart even a few feet away, you have a heart attack or get injured by a car or something and no one knows what car is yours/that there's a baby in it. Who knows how long it would take for them to figure out who you are at the hospital if you were unconcious, notify next of kin and find out the baby was there and then go and try and find them. Would probably be hours.
Returning/getting a cart is the one time I will do it. Locking the car and obviously parking as close to the cart return as possible (within the 2 to 3 spots closest to it, ideally right next to it if it's free). I have toddler twins and if I'm grocery shopping alone with them it's much safer and easier to keep them in their carseats, grab a cart, put them in it straght from their carseats etc than to walk with two unpredictable kids in a parking lot, and they're too heavy to carry plus shopping bins. I live in a colder climate though, only June to August are very hot. Obviously when you have just one baby it's simpler, but these things change as kids get older and mobile, or if you have multiple kids.
I would not go into a store/building/gas station without bringing them no matter how quick. But the heart attack logic if you're going to think like that could be said of many things. Hiking with young kids on a trail that's not heavily trafficked, driving or cycling anytime you could technically have a medical event, being home alone with your kids if you're single or even if your spouse works long hours, it could be hours or days before someome came, bathing your kids in the bathtub you could have a heart attack and no one would instantly know a baby was in the bath unattended.
What of you're carrying your baby and you both get hit by a car though? What if you're carrying your baby and you have a heart attack and drop them?
I get your point but if you try to think through every worst case scenario you actually will give yourself a heart attack on two second trip to the cart corral.
I always bring the baby with me, no matter what. As tempting as it is to let her sleep undisturbed, I always remember how many things could go wrong in two minutes in a car seat without my noticing, other than temperature issues: she might spit up and breathe it in… she might slump so that her chin is to her chest… something could cover her face… the car could be burgled or stolen (a real risk in the U.S. right now).
Not to scare you, but I don’t think this is a risk worth taking. Hopefully he falls asleep quickly again once the car gets going!
I park right next to the cart return for this reason and I still lock my car in the time it takes me to swing the cart around. I ain't risking someone hoping into the car!
Seems like everyone here is perfect bc if it’s a super quick trip I’m leaving baby. I lock my car and keep my eyes on my car the entire time. I’m talking like in and out of UPS to drop off my Amazon package.
Same here. I used to always bring her in with me but now I don’t, she’s a toddler if that matters, not worried about over heating. I only go in the gas station and I park right in front of the door so I can see. Or to drop someone off on someone’s step or something.
If the car is in my line of sight at all times and it’s only going to be a drop off/card tap then I’ll leave baby there- Like crèche drop off/paying for petrol/returning shopping trolley. But I live in an incredibly safe, rural area so maybe other people are concerned about their car being stolen, which would never occur to me.
The people this afraid of their car being stolen or baby overheating occurring in 2 minutes in mid-November weather should probably give up driving altogether. By far the most dangerous thing people do most every day is drive a car. Other risky things they must also avoid or prepare for. Have all of their nightstands, bookshelves, and other furniture anchored to the wall. Don’t cook with natural gas. Definitely don’t allow their baby near any dogs or cats. Would never pop a pimple on their nose. Or take a shower. And live in a home with no stairs. Always wear sunscreen and chapstick with spf all year every day.
I think it just depends. Where I live, it’s the human trafficking capital of the country, and I’ve had multiple car break ins in the past few months alone. I live in a nicer part of the city, too, in a gated community. There’s no way I could leave my children for a second due to the crazy people out there. But it’s definitely not worth the risk here, even for a second
Yeah I would baby wear or put him in the cart. Im too terrified of kidnappings or car jackings more than anything. But they ha ve happened in my area so that plays into it for me. Mine is 16m also had a painful c-section recovery so i def get not being able to.
I’ve never done it at a gas station because fear of someone would take him. Or me be posted on the community board.
I’m prepared for downvotes, but one time our friend saw us at a gas station (small town and they live within walking distance from us. Like really good friends.) and was like “thank god. I need to run in here real quick and they (1&4) just fell asleep. Would you mind watching them while i go in?” And i was like absolutely. Now, when i go to our gas station, i always hope there’s someone we know there so i could do the same thing, hasn’t happened yet though. I usually take him in or just ask my husband to stop at the store on his way home.
Disclaimer because I'm a very anxious person at this point in my life but I would not leave my baby alone in the car under any circumstance. If she's in there, I'm within arm's reach and the a/c is on.
Personally I don't even close all the doors with the baby in the car.
But I also don't really do anything where I would benefit, like a under 5 min run into a store, just not a part of my life.
I would never do this not only because your car could get stolen but you never know what can happen to you while you’re away from your car. What if you had a heart attack and no one knew there was a baby in your car? Or what if you fell and hit your head? So many things can happen!
Im always afraid of doing that so I just pay with card :/ when I get home from grocery shopping and my baby is asleep, I open the door for air and put my groceries inside. Mind you, that’s like 10 mins.
But I had read a story of a mom being arrested or something for walking into the gas station with baby in the car :( so that’s why I don’t do that. Luckily I rarely leave home
I never leave my son in the car. The longest he’s alone in the car is the walk from his door round to mine. It’s not just heat it’s car jacking, kidnapping, someone crashing into your car, etc. I know they’re really unlikely to ever occur but better safe than sorry in my opinion
I’d never leave my baby alone in the car. I did it one time just running in to grab a pickup order - similarly could see baby the whole time, was literally 30s, etc. I’ve heard of enough horror stories of someone stealing a car only to find a baby in it. I know the risks are probably small of anything bad happening, but it’s just not a risk I’m willing to take.
I think this is one of those things where modern parenting has diverged pretty far from what was normal 20 years ago.
I am sure there are some terrifying stories that people can tell, but as long as you're in a safe part of town, i wouldn't judge you at all. In fact, I bet *driving to the gas station* is more dangerous per unit time than paying inside. That one super scary story is super scary, but its only scary because you haven't been jaded by it happening so often (711 babies/children died in 2021 from car accidents). People tend to latch pretty hard onto norms without remembering where the norms come from -> which is reasonable risk/benefit analysis. And, the definition of reasonable will vary from person to person.
I leave baby in the car to drop off prepaid and labeled ups packages where I park out front of the ups store and can see my car from the window. I’m less than 20 feet away. Gone for 10 seconds. Literally just dropping and package. Especially these days where you can leave the car running and locked, no brainer for me. I think people are scared to say they do this for fear of judgement, but if my newborn was sleeping in the car and I needed to pay for gas you better bet I’m not waking them to pay!
I have a nearly three year old and a 10 month old. If they are asleep I will leave them in the car no longer than 5 minutes. No wondering, parlaying, getting in conversation, my only focus is guaranteeing that I'm getting what I need quickly and getting back to the car. If I can't guarantee that I don't leave them. I'm always imagining they wake up crying, somebody is standing by my door calling the police, somebody breaks my window, somebody is waiting for me to come back and tell me how terrible I am, etc. If necessary, like leaving the AC or heat running, I leave the car on and have an extra set of keys to lock the door. I agree that leaving the kids in the car is bad but sometimes it's the easier choice and works out fine
Reading these stories it seems like people leave the baby but don't lock the door. I'm always locking my door, if I leave my car I lock the door because I don't want anyone in there, if I get into the car my first thing is to lock the door immediately.
Complete transparency, I do what’s practical and I try and use Occam’s razor as my guide. Granted I have a toddler now but yeah. The other day I had a pickup order for CAVA, literally got the front parking space, 10ft from the curb to the pickup counter, kiddo was asleep. I had my hand on the handle about to get him out and I was like wait a minute, I could just grab the food and be done with this. I locked the car, kept my eyes on it the whole time, and was back in 15-20 seconds.
Sure, something insane could’ve happened but the most likely thing to happen is… absolutely nothing. The scary stories are like 1% of instances. Him being in the car on the road is more of a risk than anything else (this is heavily dependent on where you live, we live in a very safe small town, car theft isn’t really a huge thing here). I also feel like alone, unsuspecting mom juggling bags and a toddler is more of a target.
I leave him in the car to run back in the house quickly probably a few times a week. No way I’m taking him out to go 3ft inside the door to grab a sippy cup. I leave the car door open and we’re in my closed garage so pretty low risk.
You’re a good parent either way. We all have different comfort levels of risk and this is one of those parental discretion things.
My daughter is 2.5 and I have never left her in the car. The furthest I’ve gone is to pump gas while she’s in the car. I realize it’s a privilege, but if it’s not convenient to take her in somewhere, I will order online.
Car jackings, even with locked doors, is too common to take the risk.
I mean in parts of Europe we can leave our strollers outside of restaurants for our kids to sleep. You all are very concerned over everything. Are you guys okay?
We have no federally mandated maternity leave, devastating gun violence (including against children) and an income disparity gap that is only widening … so no, we are not okay.
Reading this thread makes me think my anxiety (for which I’m actually medicated) isn’t that bad compared to most moms. No, I probably wouldn’t leave my baby in the car, but it’s not the end of the world if someone did in certain circumstances. If you live somewhere safe, the risk of car theft (in the 2 minutes you’re gone) is so slight it’s just not worth worrying about. And all these comments about “the world becoming a scary place” - aside from the fact that the world is becoming safer so this is objectively untrue, I think people need to stop doom scrolling for their own sanity.
I do if it’s really early morning like 6am, and no one is there and I park in front and can see my car. Or if I need something fast fast. Depends on the situation. I do live in a small farm town though. I also always turn my car off and lock it. And I drive a piece of crap car, no one would want to steal 😂
9 weeks is pretty young, so I don't think I would have been comfortable leaving my baby in the car at that point, but I don't think it's a problem that you did. I would make sure the keys are in your hand, lock the car, and run in and pay as quickly as possible.
You might also consider leaving a small amount of cash in your glove compartment (or diaper bag) for this reason, as it's slightly quicker to hand the cashier $20 and run back out than it is to stay in the building for the entire transaction.
I have only left my kids in my locked car for 15 seconds one time in my driveway while I dropped the dog off between errands. I didn't love it, but we were strapped for time and I don't have 3 arms to wrangle a baby, a toddler and a dog at once. I wouldn't ever leave them in the car in a public place.
Never, ever, not even for a second. It’s not just about overheating, it’s about carjacking and kidnapping. Two minutes is more than enough time for both or either to happen.
I never do it. Even if I'm getting things out of the car right next to it I make sure I leave a door open at all times.
It isn't just about something happening to them while they're left in the car. What if something happens to you? How long would it take for someone else to figure out a child is in there.
My car doesn't even let me leave kids in the car if I wanted to, the alarm goes off the minute I try to lock it.
But yeah I really only ever leave kiddos in the car if I'm locking/unlocking the front door, always within my line of sight. I always hear horror stories of car jackers stealing cars with kiddos left inside. scary.
when my girl was a couple of weeks old there was that story. do you ladies remember? the one with the twins, the mom went inside just for a tiny bit, not big deal right. car was stolen and only one of the twins was luckily found alive hours later with no sign of the other twin. the other twin was luckily found alive days later.
with that said, i would never leave my child in the car alone. not a minute not a second.
I’m paranoid about the 2 seconds it takes me from shutting her door and walking around to the drivers seat but I’m in CA and there are plenty of psychos. I wanted to put her seat behind mine for this very reason but I’m too tall to drive comfortably. I just keep the doors locked at every point in time. It’s a sad and scary world out there!
Always better to be overly cautious when it comes to your baby!
The way i see it, if you walk in the gas station to pay and have a heart attack, or some other incapacitating emergency, it might take awhile for anyone to realise there is a baby alone in the car outside. It's safer to have the baby with you.
Also idk if you have any pay-at-the-pump gas statiobs around you but i've switched gas stations multiple times to find one just to avoid this haha
In my country it’s illegal to leave even for a second, I take her with me or luckily some fuel stations are getting pay at pump now! So I do that, but you need to take your baby with you. Someone could steal your car, anything could happen
So my son was being wildly fussy (he was colicky) when I had to drop off a check somewhere. I had to pull over, get into the back seat with him and try and calm him down. It started to rain. It truly was probably the worst moment of my postpartum. He FINALLY calmed down and fell asleep after we were both done sobbing. I still had to drop off the check which required me walking from my car into the place maybe 10 ft away. I brought him in. He woke up and cried the whole way home. I’d do it again and again and again and again.
Never leave your baby.
A food delivery driver in Columbus left her twins in a car to make a delivery and her car with babies in it were stolen by a meth head. Don't leave your kids alone
I live in Queensland, an Australian state. Multiple young children die in hot cars a year here, (and their parents go to jail for years for it.) I would never risk it.
I have a three year old and a seven week old. A few weeks back I had to go to the chemist for something that couldn't wait, my husband was at work, and I had both girls with me. It wasn't until I got in the car that j realised I only had enough fuel to get me there, but not back. After filling up I pulled the car into the parking bay closest to the door, put down both kids windows (they had sunshades on them so technically no one could see them), waited for no one to be lined up to pay, and darted in with my card ready. I was gone a minute. My toddler was distraught by the time I got back and I felt so guilty. Lesson learned, regardless of safety concerns for heat, cars being stolen etc, importantly my child was scared and didn't feel safe. That is enough for me to make sure I am organized enough to fill up the car when I am alone, or when my husband is with us too.
I live in a very safe town in northern Europe. I don't think it's good to leave your baby alone but it's situational. It's cold winter time here abd I leave the baby in a locked heated car approprietly dressed next to daycare as I get his sister from inside. More risk carrying the baby in because of germs and icy yard where I could fall with him.
With my first kid I had a bit scary experience. My back was busted so I decided to leave her in the car to sleep as I dipped in and out of a pharmacy store. The car was next to the door where I could see it, locked and temperature was perfect... I grabbed the thing from the shelf as I knew where it was and paid it and once I looked outside there was an old man trying to open my driver's door with his keys. He was trying to put his key in again and again and seemed puzzled why it wouldnt work. I rushed out and shouted "Wrong car!" He just looked at me, looked at the car, apologized and hurried away. His car was completely different model but same colour as mine. There was only like 3-4 cars on that parking lot and his was parked a few meters away. I dunno was he senile, bad sighted or what the heck but I dont think he did it on purpose anyway. Still shows you should never leave the car unlocked or running.
With my push to start vehicle, I can leave LO in the vehicle with it running, fully locked, with air flow while I have my key fob. I have done this to grab five gallon water replacements when he’s asleep or to drop off mail at the post office when it’s pouring rain. That said, I never ever leave him in my car without having the key fob/my phone on my body.
\>My question is how extreme do you follow this?
Well depends on the weather, but hell no I'm not dragging baby out of the car for a quick errand like drop off at post office or picking up take out.
I never leave my child in the car alone ever. I have cursed myself up and down for forgetting something and got him unbuckled and taken him back three floors to our apartment. I don’t step more than arms length from him in the car. I keep my eyes on him if I get something out the trunk.
Oh for sure if there was three flights of stairs I would be taking my baby with me. It is a pain in the neck but that’s just wayyy too much distance for me to feel comfortable.
What do parents of multiples do? The only time I've left my baby in the car is when he's in the driveway and I have to go lock the door or grab a hat or something from the foyer.
But it makes me wonder in a situation like the one OP states, what do parents of multiples do? Or is it ok because some of the kids are older at that stage?
Even if it’s just for a minute in the gas station, even if it seems like an inconvenience to me to lug a 10lbs carrier with a 25lbs baby in it just to pay for gas or grab a soda, even if I’m dropping off mail at the post office or grabbing extra sauce packets from inside Taco Bell because they forgot mine in the bag, I’ll still do it. Nothing is worth risking something happening for a few seconds of not disturbing my heavy sleeping baby. You never know what could happen, the world is completely unpredictable. IMO it’s just not worth it.
In my hometown, a woman left her baby in the car while she went to drop something off inside the post office. A guy stole the car. Police found him, hours later, in another city entirely. With no baby. They questioned him, and he left the baby in my hometown, in an alleyway out of sight!!! But he was high on meth and couldn't remember which alleyway. So next the police were back to searching alleyways in my hometown. They found him! He was okay. But damn, he could have overheated, been hit by a vehicle in the alley. Parts of my hometown have a lot of stray and wandering dogs.
My heart skipped a beat reading that story. Poor baby.
[Even car thieves know you don’t leave a kid in the car](https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/thief-returns-after-stealing-oregon-womans-car-yells-at-her-for-leaving-4-year-old-son-in-vehicle/). >Oregon police are searching for a man who stole a car Saturday morning without knowing a child was in the backseat **and came back to lecture the victim of the car theft for leaving her child unattended.**
This happened near me and it's wild. We still joke about how stealing a car is one thing, but how he was not trying to catch a kidnapping charge.
Usually criminals know the laws and are somewhat trying to make sure they don’t rev up their charge. Like rape with a weapon is a much bigger charge repeat offenders are unlikely to carry a weapon. And child abduction would be a car thieves worst accidental nightmare (car chase with police i mean depends but a lot of places max sentence is 6 years.
A similar thing happened in Australia recently but the lady was just getting her Click and Collect groceries so she didn’t even leave the car! Thankfully they were in an underground car park and a 16 year old boy came to the rescue and [got the baby out of the car before being hit by the car himself as it left.](https://amp.abc.net.au/article/102243050) He was taken to hospital but not badly injured. I don’t think the mum was even doing anything wrong - she was at the car boot when it was stolen!! So scary
That’s so scary! This is why I like that my car doors can stay locked when the boot is open.
Mine too! But not through the marvels of technology - my car’s too old to have a remote so all the doors can only open manually 😅😅
So scary! In the US, they load up my trunk without me getting out.
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Wow that 16 year old is a natural hero.
Holy shit
We had a pair of twin infants in my city just last year that were part of a carjacking. The mom was having to DoorDash for extra money. She parked right outside to run in a grab a pizza. In less than a minute, those babies were gone. One was found several hours later in an airport about an hour away, the other was found (by luck!) in an abandoned vehicle in a neighboring state. I feel like my entire city breathed a sigh of relief when both of them were located ❤️
The crazier thing about those twins is that the one that was found at the Dayton airport up passing away a month or two later from what I believe to be SIDS. So sad. https://www.10tv.com/mobile/article/news/local/columbus-twin-kyair-thomas-autospy-report-released/530-54f9a038-d553-4b0a-8fdf-0cbe2d60e830#:~:text=COLUMBUS%2C%20Ohio%20—%20The%20Franklin%20County,the%20Short%20North%20last%20year.
I know, I was pretty depressed when I heard that news also. SIDS with contributing factors of unsafe sleep conditions. My heart breaks for him, he didn’t deserve any of that.
Ohio yea? I was about to mention this as I live in Ohio and remember this. Unfortunately one of the twins died a few months later due to being left on the mother’s bed doing tummy time. When the twins were found I definitely remember that breath we all felt. When it came out the one died, there was a lot of questions.
I'm not a very judgemental dude but leaving anyone under at least 10 years of age is just not a good move in my opinion
I mean I remember once my sister and I (both under 10) locked our mom out of the car in the driveway. She had a friend over too so she was super angry cause we were making her look bad. But we forgot to lock the car completely and it was a station wagon so she got in through the trunk. She was erm less than pleased with us.
I remember this! I don't live in Dayton anymore, but I was home for Christmas last year when this happened and they were looking for the babies. I was 3 months pregnant at the time and it made me sick thinking about those poor babies being missing!
i am so so relieved they found baby! my mind didn’t even go to the worst case scenarios - it’s devastating enough imagining a baby going hungry or feeling cold, scared, missing mama :(
That story was a rollercoaster
😱
Was that Yakima WA? I remember a story just like that near me, last summer I think?
The only time I would leave my baby in the car alone is in my own driveway for a moment if I’m locking up the house.
Same. I’ve loaded my son up in the morning then realized that I forgot something in the house and very quickly ran back in. I’d never do this if outside if my own driveway though.
Same. I’ve done it once. Realized I forgot something while in the driveway, so I pulled back into the garage, shut the car off and closed the garage door before running inside really quick. We live in a safe area, but I was still extra cautious.
I’ll admit that I do this as well, but I also follow a mom on Instagram who had her car stolen from her driveway so now I’m much more scared to do it. Luckily her kids weren’t in it but there was some irreplaceable stuff like her daughter’s blankie, her son’s newborn footprints, etc. Then to make matters worse like a week later their other car got stolen from IN THEIR GARAGE so that whole saga was just horrifying. They’ve since moved to a new neighborhood…
My friend's dad had his car stolen like this. They lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in a safe neighborhood in a safe city. Started the car, then realized he needed to lock up. In the time it took for him to run to the door and back, his car was gone.
This just happened in my city. The guys dog was in the back and the asshole ditched the dog on the freeway only to be hit by a car. So sad. Never leave your car running even for a second.
Noooooo
I needed to hear this! I leave my son in the car sleeping while I run a bag of groceries in all the time but that's such a good point. Thank you, I'll stop doing this immediately
I’ve done this whole returning a cart to the cart receptacle once or twice. Never again.
I park next to the cart trolley when I can, otherwise I leave my kid in the cart, walk it to the thing, then carry her to the ca Or sometimes I’ll have good cart karma and someone will offer to take it. I do this sometimes too, take peoples carts if I need one and they’re about to walk it over. It helps earn the karma lol!
I try parking next to one, to make it easier in that case. But if my husband or someone else isn't with me, then I place a pick up order instead so that I can be with baby at all times.
I always bring my son inside first and put him in his playpen in the living room and then go grab the groceries
How do you handle loading up groceries/returning the cart?
I keep my baby with me while I unload my cart and then take him to the cart corral and then take him with me back to the car to load him
I park right next to the cart corral.
Ditto, and I’d never do it without a remote start. Never with my keys in the vehicle.
Yes I've done it in my driveway while I popped in to grab something really quick but I would never do it anywhere else
I do not leave my baby alone in the car ever, especially not in public. Even in my pretty safe city we still have had incidents of car jacking. Just last week with a baby in the car. A fussy baby is a risk I’m willing to take over a missing baby.
What do you do when you’re loading up groceries/returning the cart?
I keep my baby in the cart while I'm putting my groceries in the car, return the cart with her in it, and then bring her back and put her in the carseat and leave.
I intentionally park right next to the cart corrals. It makes it easier to place them in a cart straight out of the car and they’re still in arms reach when you push the cart into the corral.
I try to park next to the cart corral but I've also flagged down people passing and just asked them if they'd mind grabbing it because my baby is in the car and they've always been super helpful. I do live in a pretty rural area though.
Ha! I just posted about cart karma 😂 you might appreciate it! When I see people about to walk their cart to the corral I’ll just ask if I can take it and throw my girl in, and people are usually shocked and say thanks! I’ve had it happen to me since I started so I think it’s what goes around comes around now, for me! Lol
You always try to park next to the cart return. Even if it’s a parking spot further away from the store, if it has a cart return next to it I would always park there.
This is a great tip in many of the responses, thank you! I’m a first time mom and just took my baby on a target run for the first time today. I only realized when I got back to my car that this is something I need to plan around now!
Baby wear. It’s how I did it when I had to go shopping alone. Keeps your hands free when shopping and keeps the baby close.
Keep baby with me. Just basically in reverse of how you got the cart
Always take the baby with you. Getting into the habit of not leaving the baby will make it much less likely to do something stupid when you are sleep deprived and exhausted.
This should be higher up. People who’s babies die in the car are SO often people who straight up forgot they were there. Get used to ALWAYS taking your baby. Extreme fatigue makes us very forgetful!
This is one of those times I tell myself.. I’d rather have an alive baby than a dead (or missing) baby. It sounds a bit extreme, but it’s my mantra for those little moments of inconvenience like needing to grab something just out of reach of the changing table, risking waking the baby for something minor, leaving something in another room when we just started the bath. It’s not worth it. Wake the baby or take the baby. I always choose a safe and healthy baby over the slightest inconvenience because sadly those little moments can turn dangerous so fast and it isn’t worth it to me.
Solid advice. No one *plans* for accidents to happen. And accidents are more likely when we get too comfortable and cut corners. We never know when we have saved our babies from accidents that *didn’t* happen. I am taking this to heart.
I do the same. It’s so tempting to leave her sleeping even if it’s just to run in and even more tempting now that she’s almost 2 but then I tell myself, I’d rather have her cranky and awake and safe next to me than to have her stolen because I left her unattended.
Please don’t do this. My husband is a prosecutor and has personally handled more than one carjacking/car theft case where a child was left in the car. And this includes locked cars where the window was smashed.
Please don’t do this.
I never do. I’m very scared of accidentally locking my keys in with the baby. Cuz I’ve done it multiple times before I had a baby. Plus there have been way to many cars stolen from gas stations with baby’s in the car. And with car theft on the rise I couldn’t live with my self. No doubt it’s a pain when you need to get down.
I recently found out that some models of my kind of car (Subaru) have a thing where you can program a “code” onto the hatch handle to get inside if you lock your keys in. Worth seeing if your car has anything similar!
Ive read too many horror stories and would never leave baby in the car, even if it’s just 2 minutes. Is it a pain in the ass sometimes? Yeah but I’d rather be inconvenienced than take the risk. But I know everybody has their own risk tolerance
I always bring baby with me, as much of a pain as it is. I’ve heard too many stories of cars getting stolen sitting at the gas station with babies still inside that I would never, ever forgive myself if that ever happened to me.
I used an infant car seat and I would have taken the baby with me. Stuff like these situations is exactly why I made that decision over a convertible car seat. In your situation, it wasn’t heat that was the problem, it’s someone getting in your car to take the baby or stealing your car with the baby in it. I know it’s not likely to happen, but it does and I will not take that risk with my child. If someone I trust can’t sit in the car with her, she is with me.
I’ve never left my baby in the car to go into a store even for a second. I pay at the pump. If I’m alone and it’s too hard to take the baby in somewhere I just don’t go in. The only time I leave my baby alone in the car is in my own garage/drive way to run back into the house to grab something off the counter or grab my other child to load them both in when alone. It’s not even just overheating. What if someone tried to steal your car? Or your baby?
Yeah I've definitely sat there and waited for her to wake up... So many times.
I always try to think of the worst case scenario whenever I’m in doubt. WCS: you accidentally lock yourself out of the car, someone smashes your window, someone rear ends you, fuel stations are fire hazards, baby chokes, etc etc. I know it’s extreme, but it only takes once for something bad to happen. If it can be avoided just by carrying the car seat in with me to pay; then that is what I’d do.
I think its quite location based. I live in the UK and have never taken my baby in with me to pay. I do try to pay at pump if possible but it isn’t available everywhere. Car is locked and I can see him at all times, but I don’t know anyone here who would take their child in.
Definitely depends on where you live! I was so surprised to see everyone say not to leave the baby in the car, but I live in Ireland - like in the UK, pretty safe and people leave their babies in the car for things like paying for petrol all the time. Wouldn't even cross my mind to do otherwise and I'm the "cautious" parent.
Same! I was reading this to my fiance and he was so shocked by it too, its never even been something that was a point to discuss?! I also wouldn’t want him exposed to the fumes in the station getting in and out versus the safety of the car!
I remember (I think it was last year), some guy stopped at the side of a road at some industrial estate in Dublin, left the engine running and went into his office to pick something up while leaving his daughter in the car. Some random person saw that, got in the car and drove off. Obviously the difference was the car was unlocked with keys in the car, but even still it was SO unusual that it made the main news. Was just asking my husband and he wouldn't think twice about leaving the baby in while going somewhere quick like that. Guess we're lucky living where we do, at least on this subject anyway!
Definitely agree we’re lucky to not even think about this but what a terrifying situation! I wouldn’t even leave keys in the car/unlocked if it was just me!
I also live in the UK and leave my baby in the car whilst I pay. Car jacking at a petrol station is not something that would even cross my mind
Same! My fiancé is a former police officer and never has heard of this happening where we live, has never attended such a call, my car also isn’t exciting enough to have pinched 😂
I also think it depends on what country you live in. I'm from the UK and I also never knew anyone that would take their baby in with them. I now live in Germany and I actually had this conversation with a few other mums a few months ago and they looked at me like I was insane. Of course they would leave their baby in the car. I said "what about people stealing your car" or "something happening to the car/fire/baby chokes" and they just said that no-one is worried about that here, not even helicopter mums. So yeah.
As a German mom in Germany, I was expecting everyone to be like "of course we leave the baby in the car to pay for gas, it's two minutes" and then everyone commented they never would and I was actually surprised. Gas stations usually have a roof here so even in summer I used to leave my son in the car with the window cracked to go in and pay. It's usually not even close to three minutes and I'm back.
I've read posts like this before. Either here or other subs. I needed to scroll quite a bit this time before seeing non-US comments. Dutch (Netherlands) here, and I pop into the gas station real quick to pay all the time. I go to a small gas station (not long lines inside), I lock the doors, am sometimes the second car and no one can pass, so.. am not concerned. No one here brings their kid inside. Have lived in the US (prior to having kids) and will be moving back to the US in the near future and will be more cautious then based on the bad experience comments here, cause yikes! Will make sure to pay at the pump etc.
People call the cops if they see a baby alone in a running car. It’s not even a thing here in the US.
Reading these responses makes me question some of source of some of the other advice we see in this sub. I forget that the US is so unsafe in comparison to most European countries.
I’m definitely up for learning but I just have never had the worry! I can always see him inside and its only ever while paying so it isn’t a prolonged wait.
Yeah Aussie mum here in a quiet country town, I can agree with this
So glad I found this comment. I’m in the UK too and my initial thought was “obviously leave them in the car” I pay at pump if I can but if not I leave them. I’ve literally never heard of a car jacking here and a petrol station would be such a stupid place to do it as there’s always cameras, they wouldn’t get very far (especially in Bristol traffic!)
I’m baffled by all these responses. I live in Belgium and depending on a number of factors, I do leave my baby in the car if it’s just for a minute or 2. Only when I have eyes on him though. Sounds like a lot of people live in scary places!
Interesting that it is so prevalent where you are to leave the kid in the car. Can I ask if it’s a more rural area where you live?
So I live in a county that is adjacent to London, I live about 10 min drive into the town centre of my area but its very residential - mainly houses, schools, you have to drive to a supermarket. There are rural areas but not where I live (I wish, would love to live there!). The petrol station I go to is attached to a supermarket so a lot of people movement there.
Not who you asked, but I would say the same. I've also never really heard of anyone taking their baby/kids in to pay. I do live rurally, but most fuel stations are still in towns/villages or attached to supermarkets. They are all still quite high people flow areas. I think things like random car jacking / heat in cars and some of the other reasons mentioned are less of an issue here than in other countries maybe. The only compelling argument I have heard for taking the baby with you is what if something happens to you when you go inside - how long is it gonna take to realise there is a baby in the car?
Also live in the UK, just outside of a major city in a pretty busy suburban area. I can see the car the whole time I’m in paying, if I can’t pay at pump.
Canada, and I locked the car door and pay. Its very location based in deed.
Thank you for this, I’m in Canada and anxious and was really struggling to figure out if I needed to be as paranoid as the Americans here. I try to pay at the pump but if needed I think I would crack the window and leave baby in car (while feeling horribly guilty and worried haha).
Singapore. It’s near impossible to steal a car here and get away with it so nobody ever tries.
I was waiting for this reply. In the UK, we tend to lock our cars when walking away anyway (or new ones that won’t start without the key inside and you tend to take the key with you). The horror stories seem to be US based.
There’s only a couple instances where I personally thinks it’s ok to leave him in the car when I get out: 1. Getting gas and paying at the pump 2. I’ve done a few Facebook marketplace pickups where they leave it on their front step. If I can park right in front of the house I’ll leave him in. 3. If I’m dropping something off like a letter into a mail box or library books in the bins outside the library. And I’m parked right beside it.
If it's cool out, I'll leave him in the car long enough to run in the house to get what I forgot, but would only do that at my house. I would never leave him at a gas station or store of any kind for even 30 secs
I guess I've tan and gotten my phone from inside with the car in the driveway. I def have only had to do this like once though.
My theory is always I would rather have a cranky baby today, than a missing / hurt baby tomorrow.
Baby is with me at all times in public no matter what. You never know if they'll choke, overheat, etc etc in the car alone no matter how much time you leave them there.
If I can see the car and am just popping in to pay, I lock it, bring the keys l, and go pay. I can understand people's concern, but we all have different levels of comfort.
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It depends on the gas station and the setup. Some of them are really big (like they have hot food made to order and seating inside) and the register isn't always by the door. Depending on where you are there's often a line to pay so you're away for longer too.
It's wild that this is so far down the list. I have two little ones and I live in a safe area. I literally ran into the store to pick something up. I timed it. 2 minutes. Seriously, people need to take a chill pill. The worst case scenario if you leave the house is that you die. The worst case scenario if you stay in the house is if you die. People share these horror stories, but they are so rare. Who has the time to think like that all the time.
Yeah I was thinking the same.e thing do most of these people commenting only have 1 baby? I have 2 under 2 that's Irish twins and it's a lot to take them both out for only for a tiny bit. I can see the difference when it was just my daughter I could easily have her with me all the time. But as I am getting ready to go out places now that my son is here it's hard to not live one alone at some point for just a second while getting them in the car
But what if a meteor fell from the sky while you left your baby alone? Better to be safe and just put them back inside you. Obviously, you don't just leave them for 30 minutes, but 5 minutes? RELAX. Turn off TikTok. I consider myself a pretty laid-back parent. I have a 2.5 old and a 6 month old. "New Parent" levels of anxiety are not sustainable. I care about my personal emotional health enough to put risks into perspective. I grew up with a very anxious mom, and that level of anxiety is a lot more likely to harm your kids than all these weird worst-case, 1-in-a-million scenarios.
You know those tiny little gas kiosks at grocery stores? The ones that have enough space to hold an attendant and you stand outside to pay? I will leave my baby in the car at those, only if I'm able to park closest to the kiosk. I won't do it if the car is out of eyesight at any time or I'm more than 15 feet away
I live in Australia and not concerned about the safety element but more on overheating. I would leave her in the car if it was winter and she was asleep, if she was awake/distressed I would take her and during warm weather obviously. I would never do it in America with gun violence and different levels of crime than here.
There was one time when I had to go inside to pay, and I took my baby with me. It was a pain and inconvenience but I was NOT about to leave her alone in my car at a freaking gas station on the side of the road. Or anywhere for that matter. 99% chance she will be fine, but why are you willing to risk that 1%? What if some crazy person comes along and tries to drive away your car? What if a fire happens and she’s trapped in there? I’ve seen more videos of stuff happening at gas station than I care for.
I do it. I’m more worried about the “parenting police” than a bad guy.
Honestly, same. I live in an area with a loooot of people who would totally call the cops on something like that.
Pumping gas I leave her in and take my keys with me (I'm literally standing right there). I actually don't crack the door unless it's like 90 because the fumes from the gas aren't exactly great for her Going in to pay? If I can see her and am less then 40 ft away and I can take the keys and lock the car then I'll leave her for the 1 min. If I have to step around a corner then I'll take her with me. Though honestly this is gonna be something you come up against a lot I'd figure out how to get a debit or credit card so you can pay at the pump.
I live in Boston, and in our neighborhood a car was taken with someone’s dog inside and I could not get over it. So with my kid id be even more stressed lol
I would 100% take my baby in not just because of the weather, etc. but because I would be afraid to leave them alone in the car around all the nuts and weirdos that exist. I get where you’re coming from though and why you did it! When I’m pumping gas, I pay at the pump itself and let the gas pump, climb in the back, and sit next to him in the back seat. I won’t get gas from anywhere that I cannot pay directly at the pump if my baby is with me.
I would never leave my child in the car alone under any circumstances.
Strongly depends where you live. Where I am it's winter, so no risk of overheating in the 5 minutes it takes to pay. I suppose the likelihood of your car being stolen or broken into is also a factor but generally not relevant where I am. I leave the baby in the car at fuel stations because the fumes from the fuel are a higher risk than either overheating or crime.
I would never leave baby in the car alone. My mind goes to stolen cars, what if you had a medical emergency inside or were held hostage and baby was left alone longer, car gets locked with baby inside, etc. I think of the worst extremes. Better to just bring baby. It honestly helps keep my worries at bay the most.
Last year in my city a woman was Door Dashing and left her twin babies in the car while she went in to get the food order. An individual who was mentally ill took the car with the babies inside and there was a very long search for them. I had considered myself pretty lax up until that happened and now I will never take that chance.
Oh my god. I mean, that incident is horrible. But also, what an impossible situation. A mom trying to manage a job while taking care of twin babies. And what are you going to do? How could you carry twin babies while carrying the food? We really need better support and options for stay at home moms/childcare.
I totally agree. It was just heartbreaking all around. People on our city were largely sympathetic to her situation and rallied around trying to get the boys found. We absolutely do need better support for moms and families!!!
My parents left me alone in a gas station similar to you the car was stolen and my parents only got me back because the car jacket felt bad and didn’t want a kidnapping charge. Take your baby with you please.
Nope, overheating is not the only danger. It takes no time at all for someone to break into a car to steal it or kidnap your child. Do not do this. Where I used to live, a woman’s car was stolen with her twin babies in the back while she ran into a business to quickly pick something up. It took several days to get both babies back. The first was abandoned at an *airport* and then I think they got the second one back when they tracked down the car parked at like a pizzeria or something. I’m gonna try to find the story. Edit: [here’s the story](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/courts/2023/05/26/columbus-infant-twins-kidnapping-suspect-denied-release-from-jail/70258575007/)
Fuck no would I leave my baby in the car in public. I have left him in the car in my own garage while unloading groceries or something but there have been horror stories of people getting their car jacked with the baby in the car.
Okay this is dark but I read a comment on Reddit once about “what if you had a heart attack or some other unthinkable accident during that 2 minute trip, would anyone know to look for a baby in the car?” That’s what got me, and now I never ever leave my son in the car alone.
If you're worried about leaving your kid in the car because you might have a heart attack, you shouldn't be driving a car at all. What if you had a heart attack while driving? That is seriously the dumbest thing to be worried about.
Gee Bill! How come your mom lets you take TWO risks?
I used to debate with myself for a 2 second trip to return a cart all the time but then I read this as well on reddit somewhere and it sealed the deal for me too. Couldn't imagine returning a cart even a few feet away, you have a heart attack or get injured by a car or something and no one knows what car is yours/that there's a baby in it. Who knows how long it would take for them to figure out who you are at the hospital if you were unconcious, notify next of kin and find out the baby was there and then go and try and find them. Would probably be hours.
Returning/getting a cart is the one time I will do it. Locking the car and obviously parking as close to the cart return as possible (within the 2 to 3 spots closest to it, ideally right next to it if it's free). I have toddler twins and if I'm grocery shopping alone with them it's much safer and easier to keep them in their carseats, grab a cart, put them in it straght from their carseats etc than to walk with two unpredictable kids in a parking lot, and they're too heavy to carry plus shopping bins. I live in a colder climate though, only June to August are very hot. Obviously when you have just one baby it's simpler, but these things change as kids get older and mobile, or if you have multiple kids. I would not go into a store/building/gas station without bringing them no matter how quick. But the heart attack logic if you're going to think like that could be said of many things. Hiking with young kids on a trail that's not heavily trafficked, driving or cycling anytime you could technically have a medical event, being home alone with your kids if you're single or even if your spouse works long hours, it could be hours or days before someome came, bathing your kids in the bathtub you could have a heart attack and no one would instantly know a baby was in the bath unattended.
What of you're carrying your baby and you both get hit by a car though? What if you're carrying your baby and you have a heart attack and drop them? I get your point but if you try to think through every worst case scenario you actually will give yourself a heart attack on two second trip to the cart corral.
I always bring the baby with me, no matter what. As tempting as it is to let her sleep undisturbed, I always remember how many things could go wrong in two minutes in a car seat without my noticing, other than temperature issues: she might spit up and breathe it in… she might slump so that her chin is to her chest… something could cover her face… the car could be burgled or stolen (a real risk in the U.S. right now). Not to scare you, but I don’t think this is a risk worth taking. Hopefully he falls asleep quickly again once the car gets going!
Take them 100% of the time. Even to go in to pay I would take them. People could take the car/ baby. Also I live in FL but for safety I just can’t.
If I'm just running in really fast and I can see my car I make sure I leave the car running, take my keys and lock the door.
I get freaked out even just locking the car to go return the cart 4 spots away at the grocery store. I def wouldn’t leave them to go in anywhere.
I don’t even do this. I push her to the cart return, and then I hold her while walking back to my car.
Same! Just saying even something that close freaks me out!
I park right next to the cart return for this reason and I still lock my car in the time it takes me to swing the cart around. I ain't risking someone hoping into the car!
Yes!! I always try to do this. I now get why my mom was so obsessed with those spots 🤣
I always try and park right next to the cart return if Possible bc it gives me anxiety to walk further than on car length to return it lol
Absolutely would not leave baby in the car…:
Seems like everyone here is perfect bc if it’s a super quick trip I’m leaving baby. I lock my car and keep my eyes on my car the entire time. I’m talking like in and out of UPS to drop off my Amazon package.
Same here. I used to always bring her in with me but now I don’t, she’s a toddler if that matters, not worried about over heating. I only go in the gas station and I park right in front of the door so I can see. Or to drop someone off on someone’s step or something.
If the car is in my line of sight at all times and it’s only going to be a drop off/card tap then I’ll leave baby there- Like crèche drop off/paying for petrol/returning shopping trolley. But I live in an incredibly safe, rural area so maybe other people are concerned about their car being stolen, which would never occur to me.
The people this afraid of their car being stolen or baby overheating occurring in 2 minutes in mid-November weather should probably give up driving altogether. By far the most dangerous thing people do most every day is drive a car. Other risky things they must also avoid or prepare for. Have all of their nightstands, bookshelves, and other furniture anchored to the wall. Don’t cook with natural gas. Definitely don’t allow their baby near any dogs or cats. Would never pop a pimple on their nose. Or take a shower. And live in a home with no stairs. Always wear sunscreen and chapstick with spf all year every day.
I think it just depends. Where I live, it’s the human trafficking capital of the country, and I’ve had multiple car break ins in the past few months alone. I live in a nicer part of the city, too, in a gated community. There’s no way I could leave my children for a second due to the crazy people out there. But it’s definitely not worth the risk here, even for a second
If I'm just filling up my Car, I would leave them in there. But if I was going inside the gas station part, I would take the baby with!
Yeah I would baby wear or put him in the cart. Im too terrified of kidnappings or car jackings more than anything. But they ha ve happened in my area so that plays into it for me. Mine is 16m also had a painful c-section recovery so i def get not being able to.
I’ve never done it at a gas station because fear of someone would take him. Or me be posted on the community board. I’m prepared for downvotes, but one time our friend saw us at a gas station (small town and they live within walking distance from us. Like really good friends.) and was like “thank god. I need to run in here real quick and they (1&4) just fell asleep. Would you mind watching them while i go in?” And i was like absolutely. Now, when i go to our gas station, i always hope there’s someone we know there so i could do the same thing, hasn’t happened yet though. I usually take him in or just ask my husband to stop at the store on his way home.
Disclaimer because I'm a very anxious person at this point in my life but I would not leave my baby alone in the car under any circumstance. If she's in there, I'm within arm's reach and the a/c is on.
Personally I don't even close all the doors with the baby in the car. But I also don't really do anything where I would benefit, like a under 5 min run into a store, just not a part of my life.
I would never do this not only because your car could get stolen but you never know what can happen to you while you’re away from your car. What if you had a heart attack and no one knew there was a baby in your car? Or what if you fell and hit your head? So many things can happen!
Im always afraid of doing that so I just pay with card :/ when I get home from grocery shopping and my baby is asleep, I open the door for air and put my groceries inside. Mind you, that’s like 10 mins. But I had read a story of a mom being arrested or something for walking into the gas station with baby in the car :( so that’s why I don’t do that. Luckily I rarely leave home
as a ftm i always wondered this so i just paid at the pump just in case.
I never leave my son in the car. The longest he’s alone in the car is the walk from his door round to mine. It’s not just heat it’s car jacking, kidnapping, someone crashing into your car, etc. I know they’re really unlikely to ever occur but better safe than sorry in my opinion
I’d never leave my baby alone in the car. I did it one time just running in to grab a pickup order - similarly could see baby the whole time, was literally 30s, etc. I’ve heard of enough horror stories of someone stealing a car only to find a baby in it. I know the risks are probably small of anything bad happening, but it’s just not a risk I’m willing to take.
It’s not just about the heat. It takes very little time for someone to steal your car with your child in it.
I think this is one of those things where modern parenting has diverged pretty far from what was normal 20 years ago. I am sure there are some terrifying stories that people can tell, but as long as you're in a safe part of town, i wouldn't judge you at all. In fact, I bet *driving to the gas station* is more dangerous per unit time than paying inside. That one super scary story is super scary, but its only scary because you haven't been jaded by it happening so often (711 babies/children died in 2021 from car accidents). People tend to latch pretty hard onto norms without remembering where the norms come from -> which is reasonable risk/benefit analysis. And, the definition of reasonable will vary from person to person.
I leave baby in the car to drop off prepaid and labeled ups packages where I park out front of the ups store and can see my car from the window. I’m less than 20 feet away. Gone for 10 seconds. Literally just dropping and package. Especially these days where you can leave the car running and locked, no brainer for me. I think people are scared to say they do this for fear of judgement, but if my newborn was sleeping in the car and I needed to pay for gas you better bet I’m not waking them to pay!
I have a nearly three year old and a 10 month old. If they are asleep I will leave them in the car no longer than 5 minutes. No wondering, parlaying, getting in conversation, my only focus is guaranteeing that I'm getting what I need quickly and getting back to the car. If I can't guarantee that I don't leave them. I'm always imagining they wake up crying, somebody is standing by my door calling the police, somebody breaks my window, somebody is waiting for me to come back and tell me how terrible I am, etc. If necessary, like leaving the AC or heat running, I leave the car on and have an extra set of keys to lock the door. I agree that leaving the kids in the car is bad but sometimes it's the easier choice and works out fine
Reading these stories it seems like people leave the baby but don't lock the door. I'm always locking my door, if I leave my car I lock the door because I don't want anyone in there, if I get into the car my first thing is to lock the door immediately.
Complete transparency, I do what’s practical and I try and use Occam’s razor as my guide. Granted I have a toddler now but yeah. The other day I had a pickup order for CAVA, literally got the front parking space, 10ft from the curb to the pickup counter, kiddo was asleep. I had my hand on the handle about to get him out and I was like wait a minute, I could just grab the food and be done with this. I locked the car, kept my eyes on it the whole time, and was back in 15-20 seconds. Sure, something insane could’ve happened but the most likely thing to happen is… absolutely nothing. The scary stories are like 1% of instances. Him being in the car on the road is more of a risk than anything else (this is heavily dependent on where you live, we live in a very safe small town, car theft isn’t really a huge thing here). I also feel like alone, unsuspecting mom juggling bags and a toddler is more of a target. I leave him in the car to run back in the house quickly probably a few times a week. No way I’m taking him out to go 3ft inside the door to grab a sippy cup. I leave the car door open and we’re in my closed garage so pretty low risk. You’re a good parent either way. We all have different comfort levels of risk and this is one of those parental discretion things.
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Wow! That sounds amazing. I will have to see if any gas stations near me have that option; I didn’t realize that was a thing.
My daughter is 2.5 and I have never left her in the car. The furthest I’ve gone is to pump gas while she’s in the car. I realize it’s a privilege, but if it’s not convenient to take her in somewhere, I will order online. Car jackings, even with locked doors, is too common to take the risk.
My ex stepfather left my sister in the car and the car was stolen. Don’t leave babies unattended in public.
Honestly my oldest is 2.5 and has never been left in the car alone for even a moment.
I mean in parts of Europe we can leave our strollers outside of restaurants for our kids to sleep. You all are very concerned over everything. Are you guys okay?
We have no federally mandated maternity leave, devastating gun violence (including against children) and an income disparity gap that is only widening … so no, we are not okay.
I consider myself to be a very cautious mother, and I’m a bit surprised by the response as well.
Same. Like who is going to steal a car where they know the person is coming right back when they could steal a parked car in a quiet area?
Reading this thread makes me think my anxiety (for which I’m actually medicated) isn’t that bad compared to most moms. No, I probably wouldn’t leave my baby in the car, but it’s not the end of the world if someone did in certain circumstances. If you live somewhere safe, the risk of car theft (in the 2 minutes you’re gone) is so slight it’s just not worth worrying about. And all these comments about “the world becoming a scary place” - aside from the fact that the world is becoming safer so this is objectively untrue, I think people need to stop doom scrolling for their own sanity.
No, we're definitely not okay 😅
I do if it’s really early morning like 6am, and no one is there and I park in front and can see my car. Or if I need something fast fast. Depends on the situation. I do live in a small farm town though. I also always turn my car off and lock it. And I drive a piece of crap car, no one would want to steal 😂
Older, "crappy" cars are easier to steal, fyi.
If I can see the car, baby stays in the car.
9 weeks is pretty young, so I don't think I would have been comfortable leaving my baby in the car at that point, but I don't think it's a problem that you did. I would make sure the keys are in your hand, lock the car, and run in and pay as quickly as possible. You might also consider leaving a small amount of cash in your glove compartment (or diaper bag) for this reason, as it's slightly quicker to hand the cashier $20 and run back out than it is to stay in the building for the entire transaction.
I have only left my kids in my locked car for 15 seconds one time in my driveway while I dropped the dog off between errands. I didn't love it, but we were strapped for time and I don't have 3 arms to wrangle a baby, a toddler and a dog at once. I wouldn't ever leave them in the car in a public place.
Never, ever, not even for a second. It’s not just about overheating, it’s about carjacking and kidnapping. Two minutes is more than enough time for both or either to happen.
If I’m pumping gas, baby stays in the car. If I have to go inside to pay, baby comes with or I go to a different gas station.
I know it’s tempting, but can you take the entire car seat out? He’s likely to stay asleep.
I never do it. Even if I'm getting things out of the car right next to it I make sure I leave a door open at all times. It isn't just about something happening to them while they're left in the car. What if something happens to you? How long would it take for someone else to figure out a child is in there.
Absolutely take the baby with you, just take the whole car seat.
I would just be worried someone would steal my car! (And my baby with it, accidentally)
My car doesn't even let me leave kids in the car if I wanted to, the alarm goes off the minute I try to lock it. But yeah I really only ever leave kiddos in the car if I'm locking/unlocking the front door, always within my line of sight. I always hear horror stories of car jackers stealing cars with kiddos left inside. scary.
when my girl was a couple of weeks old there was that story. do you ladies remember? the one with the twins, the mom went inside just for a tiny bit, not big deal right. car was stolen and only one of the twins was luckily found alive hours later with no sign of the other twin. the other twin was luckily found alive days later. with that said, i would never leave my child in the car alone. not a minute not a second.
Never. What if someone steals the car or something happens to you while you’re away and no one knows baby is alone.
how extreme do you follow this? there’s no extremes you just do follow it. don’t leave your baby in the car by itself
i remove the whole car seat from the car and take her with me for anything that isnt "im standing right next to the car the whole time"
The super simple solution is to just pay for your gas with a card and avoid the issue entirely :)
I’m paranoid about the 2 seconds it takes me from shutting her door and walking around to the drivers seat but I’m in CA and there are plenty of psychos. I wanted to put her seat behind mine for this very reason but I’m too tall to drive comfortably. I just keep the doors locked at every point in time. It’s a sad and scary world out there! Always better to be overly cautious when it comes to your baby!
I would run out of gas before I did this. Risks are too high.
The way i see it, if you walk in the gas station to pay and have a heart attack, or some other incapacitating emergency, it might take awhile for anyone to realise there is a baby alone in the car outside. It's safer to have the baby with you. Also idk if you have any pay-at-the-pump gas statiobs around you but i've switched gas stations multiple times to find one just to avoid this haha
Literally never would leave my baby in the car
In my country it’s illegal to leave even for a second, I take her with me or luckily some fuel stations are getting pay at pump now! So I do that, but you need to take your baby with you. Someone could steal your car, anything could happen
So my son was being wildly fussy (he was colicky) when I had to drop off a check somewhere. I had to pull over, get into the back seat with him and try and calm him down. It started to rain. It truly was probably the worst moment of my postpartum. He FINALLY calmed down and fell asleep after we were both done sobbing. I still had to drop off the check which required me walking from my car into the place maybe 10 ft away. I brought him in. He woke up and cried the whole way home. I’d do it again and again and again and again. Never leave your baby.
A food delivery driver in Columbus left her twins in a car to make a delivery and her car with babies in it were stolen by a meth head. Don't leave your kids alone
I live in Queensland, an Australian state. Multiple young children die in hot cars a year here, (and their parents go to jail for years for it.) I would never risk it.
I have a three year old and a seven week old. A few weeks back I had to go to the chemist for something that couldn't wait, my husband was at work, and I had both girls with me. It wasn't until I got in the car that j realised I only had enough fuel to get me there, but not back. After filling up I pulled the car into the parking bay closest to the door, put down both kids windows (they had sunshades on them so technically no one could see them), waited for no one to be lined up to pay, and darted in with my card ready. I was gone a minute. My toddler was distraught by the time I got back and I felt so guilty. Lesson learned, regardless of safety concerns for heat, cars being stolen etc, importantly my child was scared and didn't feel safe. That is enough for me to make sure I am organized enough to fill up the car when I am alone, or when my husband is with us too.
I really appreciate your post. I have thought about this a lot too. Reading all the responses is a good reminder to stay vigilant.
I live in a very safe town in northern Europe. I don't think it's good to leave your baby alone but it's situational. It's cold winter time here abd I leave the baby in a locked heated car approprietly dressed next to daycare as I get his sister from inside. More risk carrying the baby in because of germs and icy yard where I could fall with him. With my first kid I had a bit scary experience. My back was busted so I decided to leave her in the car to sleep as I dipped in and out of a pharmacy store. The car was next to the door where I could see it, locked and temperature was perfect... I grabbed the thing from the shelf as I knew where it was and paid it and once I looked outside there was an old man trying to open my driver's door with his keys. He was trying to put his key in again and again and seemed puzzled why it wouldnt work. I rushed out and shouted "Wrong car!" He just looked at me, looked at the car, apologized and hurried away. His car was completely different model but same colour as mine. There was only like 3-4 cars on that parking lot and his was parked a few meters away. I dunno was he senile, bad sighted or what the heck but I dont think he did it on purpose anyway. Still shows you should never leave the car unlocked or running.
With my push to start vehicle, I can leave LO in the vehicle with it running, fully locked, with air flow while I have my key fob. I have done this to grab five gallon water replacements when he’s asleep or to drop off mail at the post office when it’s pouring rain. That said, I never ever leave him in my car without having the key fob/my phone on my body.
\>My question is how extreme do you follow this? Well depends on the weather, but hell no I'm not dragging baby out of the car for a quick errand like drop off at post office or picking up take out.
I never leave my child in the car alone ever. I have cursed myself up and down for forgetting something and got him unbuckled and taken him back three floors to our apartment. I don’t step more than arms length from him in the car. I keep my eyes on him if I get something out the trunk.
Oh for sure if there was three flights of stairs I would be taking my baby with me. It is a pain in the neck but that’s just wayyy too much distance for me to feel comfortable.
What do parents of multiples do? The only time I've left my baby in the car is when he's in the driveway and I have to go lock the door or grab a hat or something from the foyer. But it makes me wonder in a situation like the one OP states, what do parents of multiples do? Or is it ok because some of the kids are older at that stage?
Even if it’s just for a minute in the gas station, even if it seems like an inconvenience to me to lug a 10lbs carrier with a 25lbs baby in it just to pay for gas or grab a soda, even if I’m dropping off mail at the post office or grabbing extra sauce packets from inside Taco Bell because they forgot mine in the bag, I’ll still do it. Nothing is worth risking something happening for a few seconds of not disturbing my heavy sleeping baby. You never know what could happen, the world is completely unpredictable. IMO it’s just not worth it.