Leaving baby/kids in the car...

[Earthmama]

I know not to leave them when going indoors - when paying for gas, etc.

1. But what about at the mail box? It's outdoors - but about 15 to 20 steps from where I park. Car is in sight the whole time.

2. What about at the Redbox outside McDonalds?

3. What about taking in the groceries and 2 children by myself - do the children go inside and remain unsupv'd for the minute it takes to get the food? (I've sometimes been running bags to the doorstep - fully in sight if car - but up to 50 steps away, depending on parking luck and then getting the kids inside & taking groceries in from there,)

4. What about the same door/distance, I've loaded the kids in their seats & forgot my sunglasses/purse/canvas bags on the hook/table right inside the front door?

With one child, I could carry him back and forth to my heart's content - but 2 is more complicated.

What is safe for sure?

[Nipple_nectar]

I have left my two buckled in while I run back in to get something I forgot, I just make sure the car is off.

I do carry my 16 month old into the house first when returning from the food store and put her in the play pen, while I unload groceries. The 4 year old helps carry in the food with me.

[KerryS]

Use common sense

[Funmommy]

"SAFE FOR SURE" Never leave your house or even better yet don't have kids :p
Only Kidding!
I think it would all depend on where you live, how responsible your kids are as well as their ages. I have left my 4.5 yr. old & infant in car (always in sight) while running in to pay for gas (no line inside) with my car doors locked. My 4.5 yr. old stays put and loves to watch his sister.
However ..... When my oldest 2 were younger I would NEVER do this because they were my tiny terrors. :D They were less than a year apart and would egg each other into trouble. IMO not responsible enough to leave in the car alone (even at 4&5 yrs old).
Mailbox isn't an issue IMO

Funmommy

[_Gypsy_]

1. Yep, no problem.
2. Not sure I am comfortable with that - depends on how far the car is - if you can park right in front of it, and there isn't a line, it's probably fine - but I'd put the windows down and take the keys with you.
3. Take the kids in first, put them someplace safe, then get groceries.
4. That's a judgment call - is anyone around? car off? cool enough for the kids for a couple minutes? it also depends on your neighborhood & how safe it is.

[SingingMom]

Sometimes I feel that my sixteen month old is safer strapped in her car seat while I carry groceries than she would be running around unsupervised. But, I live on a busy street, I do not have an attached garage, and I have a flight of steps up to my front door. So I definitely do not want the baby running around unsupervised. She always heads right out the front door, down the stairs, and down the block.

I have run in to grab keys after the kids were all safely strapped in. But they are in my sight the whole time.

But this is why I love Safeway.com. Problem solved. And they carry all the heavy canned goods upstairs for me.

[JulieBaby]

I leave my kids in the car while paying for gas (gas station is small, and theres a window to pay outside). When I go out alone, I HAVE to leave one baby in the car while I run inside with one and then get the other one.

Lately ive been thinking about this same thing b/c there was a news story the other day about a lady who left her young son in the car, while she went about 15 feet to her husbands laundromat. She opened the door to the laundry and shouted at her husband to come to the door to speak to him, and this crazed man hijacked her car w/ baby in it.

She was literally a few steps away and the guy took off with her baby. He hadnt realized there was a baby in the car, when he did he stopped and left him at a bus stop :-/

[JudyJudyJudy]

Don't you know that you should be friggin' Superwoman? You're supposed to have both kids strapped to you at all times. You should even climb over the seat of your car after putting them into the back seat because you wouldn't want to step three feet away from them while they're in the car.

Yes, I'm being facetious. It bugs the hell out of me that people are so critical of such things that someone second-guesses herself and feels that she has to ask such things. Do what YOU feel comfortable doing. Don't worry about what some random stranger thinks.

[Bellaelle]

I am with Kerry and Judy.Use your common sense.

[Sashahomeschoolmama]

I'm with Kerry, Judy, and Bella. Further, I think these threads almost always become hysterical because everyone lives in different areas. If I lived in Compton I probably wouldn't leave my kids in the car while I ran inside my house to get my purse. I live in BFE, though, so I wouldn't think anything of it.

If I had a 2 week old my answer would be different than what I'd do with my 9 year old.

[BoobySnacks]

I leave the kids in the car to pay for gas because I use my ATM and the pay station is right next to the car.

I do leave the kids in the car if I forgot my sunglasses, my driveway is 5 feet from my front door and we are set back from the street pretty far. DD knows better than to mess with the car.

I take DS (1 yr) in the house and put him in a walker (which he hates because he walks fine without it and doesnt want to be tied down) while DD and I bring in groceries.

I would not be far enough away that somebody else could get to my car before me in a public situation or a busy street situation.

[TuetonicWillow]

What is a Redbox?

[JudyJudyJudy]

What is a Redbox?
DVD rental. You didn't know that?! Duh!

























I didn't know, either! I googled! "lol9"

[TuetonicWillow]

LOL.....cheater.

[Earthmama]

IIRC, in some places, it's illegal to go inside a gas station and leave the kids in the car.

I think I'm paranoid because we had a 6 year old die a few years back when his mother left him in the car to go into a sandwich place. A carjacker jumped in her running vehicle and she ran out to remove her son from the car - but he got tangled in the seatbelt and dragged.

I also worry about what might happen to the kids if I were abducted or fell and hurt myself while they were in the car and I had no way of telling anyone or getting them out myself.

I'm a worrier - but moreso when I'm sleep deprived - which I am right now.

[JenniferH]

I think I'm paranoid because we had a 6 year old die a few years back when his mother left him in the car to go into a sandwich place. A carjacker jumped in her running vehicle and she ran out to remove her son from the car - but he got tangled in the seatbelt and dragged.
Again, use common sense. Leaving the car running seems like an invitation to me. I'm betting a parked car without keys in it would have made a difference in this story.

And it is hard for me to judge in any of the OP's scenarios. I'm lucky enough to be able to park in a garage every single time I leave my car. When the kids were mobile, but not yet safe alone, I kept them in their carseat until I got groceries/packages into the house. They were safer strapped in a carseat in our garage than in the house alone even for a few minutes.

Never heard of a Redbox either. A regional thing?

[NazirsMom]

I know not to leave them when going indoors - when paying for gas, etc.

1. But what about at the mail box? It's outdoors - but about 15 to 20 steps from where I park. Car is in sight the whole time.
I've done that before. I roll down the back window (if it's warm out, so I can see him)

3. What about taking in the groceries and 2 children by myself - do the children go inside and remain unsupv'd for the minute it takes to get the food? (I've sometimes been running bags to the doorstep - fully in sight if car - but up to 50 steps away, depending on parking luck and then getting the kids inside & taking groceries in from there,)
if he's sleep, I'll just take the car seat out the car an bring it in and put it on the floor while I unload the truck.
if he's awake...I take him in the house and put him in his high chair and give him some cheerios.....bring the bags from the truck to the door and then bring everything in at once.

4. What about the same door/distance, I've loaded the kids in their seats & forgot my sunglasses/purse/canvas bags on the hook/table right inside the front door?
done that too. like nipple_nectar said...I just turn off the car

[Kitten]

I have left the kids in the car before for some things like, running back into the house to get something I have forgotten, or putting mail into the mail box. Never with the car running.

Personally, I will not leave them to pay for gas since I do not have to, I always use the pay at the pump method. I will also not leave them to go into the ATM at our bank, that would require them to be too far from me and out of sight.

Overall, some things I am comfortable with, other's I am not.

[NazirsMom]

I will also not leave them to go into the ATM at our bank, that would require them to be too far from me and out of sight.


for me it depends on the ATM location. at two of the locations i go to, I can pull up right in front of the ATM. I've left ds in there, sometimes with the car running only b/c it was EARLY in the morning and no one was around...but for the most part, when I do that, I do turn off the car

[MadisonsMommy]

IMO


1. Yes
2. Yes
3. I put Maddie in her high chair with a snack or her playpen
4. Yes. I turn the car off lock the door and go very fast to get what I forgot.

[Laurens_Mom]

When unloading groceries I put DD2 in the double jogger and the groceries on the other side, it the basket below and light things on the top of the canopy. DD1 just walks beside us. Our garage is behind our apartment building.
I have never left them in the car to run in to pay for gas. If they are with me I always make sure I go someplace I can pay at the pump.
As for the mailbox, I can pull right up to my mailbox and step out to unlock it and grab my mail (never more than two steps from my door). If someone else is parked infront of the mailboxes I just wait for them to move and then grab my mail.
The Redbox is at the grocery store, if they are with me I take them w/me while we pick out a movie (I've only used it three times). We usually just wait for our Netflix movie.
Just use your best judgement. You know the area you live in and your children. If there is any question take them with you.

[AuLait]

I've left my kids in the car in all those situations. I just lock the doors and take the keys with me.

[NazirsMom]

to the ladies who do leave their kiddos in the car for a second....you don't do this on a hot day right? (duh I know that's obvious lol)

[Earthmama]

I think the heat of the season may make me question these situations more.

We drive a Jeep - which has a special feature that allows me to remove the keys and take them with me when the car is running. So I can leave the AC on, lock all the doors and take the key with me.

Would you think it more risky to leave the locked car running - me still in sight of the vehicle - or to have the kids in a locked car with the windows down or up for less than a minute?

Just an example of what I sometimes do - After nursing the baby to sleep and tucking her into her carseat, I realized I forgot the check we were running out to cash somewhere inside. Since I didn't know exactly where, I knew I would be out of sight for more than a second. I would have taken the baby out of the seat, but luckily my neighbor arrived as I was trying to figure it all out and I asked her to just stand by the open door of my vehicle to keep an eye on my baby while I ran in to find the check.

And I have taken both children out of their carseats just to check the mail before. That's a pain in the butt!

[Tweet]

I agree with the comments about using common sense.

Personally, I leave my kids in the car to take groceries in unless it's hot or cold. Or else I take kids inside first .

For the redbox, I'd likely leave them in the car if the car is right there andI can see everyone .

[Jacksmommy]

You have to judge what feels right to you. For me, the only time I'll leave Jack in the car is when it's in my garage and I'm going to be back in seconds.

[hotlama]

I leave my kids in the car if I am only going to be a few minutes and if I can park where I can see the car. It's super hot during the summer and it's easier to just leave the car running with the air on if I am only going to be in the store a minute. It's get too hot, too fast to have to deal with taking the baby in and out several times while running quick errands. I'm lucky though because my two older kids are 12 and 14. One of them sits in the passenger seat and unlocks the door when I get back to the car. They also know that if anyone walks up to the car, they have to honk until I get outside. They've never had to honk, and I have always been within sight of the car but I like to have the rule just to be safe.

If I have to be gone for more than a minute or two or if I wont be able to see the car, everyone comes in with me.

[hotlama]

to the ladies who do leave their kiddos in the car for a second....you don't do this on a hot day right? (duh I know that's obvious lol)


Not to everyone. It seems like every summer someone forgets or leaves a baby in a hot car.

[pawprint]

I know not to leave them when going indoors - when paying for gas, etc.

I live in the great Garden state and they pump our gas for us free of charge. It's illegal to pump your own. Really. :)

1. But what about at the mail box? It's outdoors - but about 15 to 20 steps from where I park. Car is in sight the whole time.

Not an issue.

2. What about at the Redbox outside McDonalds?

I didn't know what one was either. ;)

3. What about taking in the groceries and 2 children by myself - do the children go inside and remain unsupv'd for the minute it takes to get the food? (I've sometimes been running bags to the doorstep - fully in sight if car - but up to 50 steps away, depending on parking luck and then getting the kids inside & taking groceries in from there,)

Because I live on the 2nd story of a small apt complex- I couldn't really leave the kids in the car alone. ALl the apartments open to the outside though. Before I got my psycho neighbor the downstairs was occupied by Helen- a nearly 90 year old wonderful woman. I would knock on her door and have her stand at the door while I carried stuff up. :) Thankfully they are six and four now and I can leave them long enough to get groceries. Sometimes I wish I could leave them long enough to get a margarita!

4. What about the same door/distance, I've loaded the kids in their seats & forgot my sunglasses/purse/canvas bags on the hook/table right inside the front door?

I actually would do that now because they are older if a) they would let me and b) me next door neighbor wasn't a convicted sex offender. I know it's VERY unlikely he would grab my kid and take off- but it's not a risk I'll take.


What is safe for sure?

Nothing. Life, unfortunately, will kill you.