Nestof3 Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 I see that your youngest is 6. If the car is in my driveway at my (much safer than previous neighborhood) house, then I will leave her in the car while I run inside for a second (or send her out to get in the car on her own) now that she's 7. But I wouldn't have done so when she was 2 or 3, no, nor do I leave her in a car alone out in a public parking lot even at this age. No, I don't leave my boys in the van in a public parking space except when returning a cart. I am much more worried about someone stalking us and hiding around our van to jump in than someone abducting my children when in a locked van for the few seconds it takes me to run my cart to the cart return. Once they are buckled up and the doors are locked, when I return to the van, I look around to make sure no one is waiting to jump in. In fact, with my keys, I only press the button once and only my side unlocks. I love this feature. It prevents someone from jumping in the passenger side. I have no problems leaving them in the van in the driveway or sending them out ahead of me from the house to get in (I open the doors with the key buttons). I see this as no more dangerous than letting them play outside for a few minutes without me watching. My boys don't EVER fiddle with anything in the van, and the chance of someone breaking into my van is the same as someone breaking into my house. I am actually more concerned about my house. I keep the doors locked during the day (and of course at night). My boys would not have even been able to undo the car seatbelts we had when they were two, so I don't see the danger there either. My driveway is as safe as my house as far as I am concerned. And when I say boys, I am referring to my 6 and 8 year olds -- not our son who will turn 18 next month. Obviously if he can drive, he can stay in a van by himself. LOL And, yes -- we have a 9 year difference between our two older sons, but our oldest was not ALWAYS with us, so there were times I would abandon the younger in such a vulnerable state while I ran back in the house. I'm still finding this hilarious that some find this troublesome. It has actually become rather amusing to me. Oh, and someone said that a parent should be charged with child endangerment if the child were to escape from the house while everyone was sleeping. Good grief -- if we are supposed to have perfect control over our children while we sleep, I am ready to just throw in the towel and admit I am perfectly unfit for parenting. And the reason I mentioned the day-care thing was because I am more concerned about leaving a child who cannot defend himself or speak for himself with someone I don't really know than I am of leaving them in the van for a minute. Far more children are sexually abused than are injured in a car they were left in for a minute. I never said anyone else shouldn't use a day care facility, I just said it was outside of my comfort zone. BTW -- I was driving to the store today and saw a boy who appeared to be 5 or 6 riding his bike alone down a very busy residential cut-through street. I also saw a girl who appeared to be 5 riding with another child who appeared to be 7 -- on the same street. I find that way out of my comfort zone, because not only would I have to trust that my child could look for oncoming traffic and backing out traffic, but I would also have to trust that the drivers would be paying attention (not yapping on the cell phone, not changing radio stations). I bet, though, that if a police officer had seen that, nothing would have been done. I'm sure there's no law against it, but I personally feel 5 year olds are not old enough for that. What does it matter what I think? Well, it may matter little to anyone else, but quite frankly, that is what determines how I parent my children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.griff Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Oh, and someone said that a parent should be charged with child endangerment if the child were to escape from the house while everyone was sleeping. Good grief -- if we are supposed to have perfect control over our children while we sleep, I am ready to just throw in the towel and admit I am perfectly unfit for parenting. You totally misunderstood my post. I did not say that a parent Should be charged if the child escapes from their home, I said that my friend almost Was charged for it, and was implying that it is possible to Be charged for such a situation. This does not mean I agree with it (which I also stated in the post you are referring to, but I guess lots of times we only skim things or automatically read an opinion that's just Not there when we disagree with some of the info posted). It just IS. Fact is, parents are responsible for their kids 24/7, and IF anything happens, or IF we make a poor choice and somehow get "caught" doing it, then we may have to "pay the piper". That's all. Laws are. AFAIK, there's usually really no doing away with them once they are in effect, so we have to abide by them as best as we can. I hope that's clear enough :) (couldn't use more smilies cause I used italics) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 - not our son who will turn 18 next month. Obviously if he can drive, he can stay in a van by himself. LOL . Oh, I don't know. I don't really like to leave my 17 dd alone in the van when I go into stores. She thinks it is funny to move the van while I shop. :auto: Those dreadful children just love to watch Mom walk around pushing her cart in a confused state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GothicGyrl Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I managed to make it through reading all 16 pages of responses to this (I can't believe I did it), and I am just stunned at this discussion. However, I never really felt the need to respond until this last post. You have a PIT BULL??? Yes I do and I love him to pieces. He's the best dog I've ever owned. As a side note, you don't have to wade through 16 pages dear--just go to your USER CP and set the number of posts per page at its highest count. Right now, this thread is on page 4 for me. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Oh, I don't know. I don't really like to leave my 17 dd alone in the van when I go into stores. She thinks it is funny to move the van while I shop. :auto: Those dreadful children just love to watch Mom walk around pushing her cart in a confused state. LOL! I think I like your daughter!:confused::smilielol5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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