Have you ever left your child alone in the car?
This article written by Kim Brooks, “The Day I Left My Son in the Car“, struck a chord with many parents because they too have left their child in the car themselves. Maybe you’ve left your kids in the car alone but they were in plain, visible view – at the bank machine or variety store. You can see them through the window and you never take your eyes completely off of them.
I know I have been tempted before to leave my kids in a car to “just run inside” the store to grab a loaf of bread or carton of milk. I can understand how inconvenient it is when you have a car full of young children to have to take them out of the car “just for a few minutes.
The problem is “just to run inside”, “just for a few minutes”, anything can happen.
Then again, anything can happen anytime, anywhere. But then you think, “what is the true likelihood of anything happening in less than 5 minutes? I’ll risk it.”
Your toddler has a fever and you don’t want to take him out of the car to get his prescription filled quickly. More than likely, running in to a store for a few minutes, your kid will be there when you get back.
But you never know what can happen in a few minutes. Someone can hop in the car and drive off if you forget your keys in the car. An older child may climb into the front seat and somehow put the car in reverse. Your kids can lock themselves in the car, with the keys in the ignition.
Kim Brooks was lucky – nothing happened to her child. But someone saw that her child was alone in the car and the police was called. She was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She’s not a bad parent – she just made a bad mistake. It’s a huge lesson to be learned for all parents.
There are only 19 states in the U.S. that have laws which make leaving your child unattended in a vehicle illegal. The law in Canada states that leaving a child under the age of 10 alone can be considered child abandonment.
In this Toronto Star article, York police Const. Andy Pattenden states clearly: “Here’s our official line, from police and officers in general: Never leave your child unattended. Whether it’s in a car, in a house, in a street, it doesn’t matter.”
Have you ever left your child alone in the car, even for a minute? Do you think Kim Brooks should have been charged, or was the punishment too harsh?