Help! Toddler left in car question

P. Tierney wrote:
"nimue" wrote in message
...
I was recently in Tucson with a friend of mine and we went to check
on a
rental property she owns. Her 2 year old was in the car seat,
napping,
and
my friend left her there when we went to check the house. The
windows
were
all down (this thanks to me -- my friend thought you could leave
the
windows
up on a 70 degree day in Tucson! This is the kind of thing that
worries
me
about my friend.). We were in the house about 15-20 minutes.
She never
went to check on the toddler and we could not see the car from the
house
unless we were in the front room. We went all over the house and
the back
yard. My husband went to check on the toddler during this time.
My
friend
did not know he did it. I felt VERY uncomfortable about the fact
that my
friend left her kid in the car unattended and I mentioned it to
her. She
dismissed my concerns, saying that it was a safe neighborhood and
one she
was familiar with. She also said that she didn't like to wake up
her
daughter from her nap because she was so tired. I do not have
children.
I
know that I would NEVER leave my baby (if I had one) alone in a
car, but
maybe I am just paranoid -- maybe, since I don't have kids, I just
don't
understand. What should I do? Should I mention it again, more
forcefully
this time?

I don't think it's necessary to be confrontational. If you were
in the
exact same situation (away from the car from 15 minutes), then I'd
just say, "You go ahead and check the property. I prefer to wait
outside,
as I'm uncomfortable in leaving a child alone in an open car for so
long."
Cite news stories or something, if needed, to explain your

In such a case, you aren't telling what the other parent to do,
but you
are accomplishing the necessary task (keeping an eye on the child)
yourself.
So all is well. And the parent doesn't need a lecture anyway, as
that's
usually a waste of time. Adults, like their kids, learn better by
example.

As for the other posts, I agree with the one minute standard as
making
sense. I wouldn't wake a child to run inside the bakery to grab a
loaf
of bread, or go up to the counter to pay for my gas. In both cases,
I can see the car pretty much at all times.



P.
Tierney

I think P. Tierney's advice is spot on -- the other point is that the
ratio of adults to children in your Tucson example was 3:1 Things get
trickier when the ratio is 1:3 and aren't as straightforward as
carrying 1 child with you. We don't use the 'one minute standard' as a
'gold standard,' since there are places where *I* wouldn't want to be
left alone in the car for a minute. There are also places where it's
more reasonable leave a child asleep, but this doesn't sound like one.

I find the 'scared straight' approach suggested to be just
scaremongering -- I mean, would you really abduct a baby from a
hospital to teach someone that they should have roomed-in? (Having been
in healthcare, I remember learning about attempted (non-reportable)
infant abductions and just finding it, well, grim. On the upside,
successful hospital abductions have been declining since the 90's.)

Caledonia