[texaspeach]

Today in the target parking lot I saw an suv parked with the windows rolled down about 2", as I was getting ds out of his carseat I noticed there was a dog in the car, and then noticed there was a boy in the car too. The boy looked to be about 7. According to the weather channel it was 92 today, though the thermometer read out in my car said 96.<br><br>
Is it safe to leave a kid and a dog in a car like that? I have no idea how long they'd been there or how long they stayed. When I came out they were gone.<br><br>
I wrote down the license plate # but chickened out and second guessed myself when I went to find a manager

 

[dannic]

I wouldn't leave my seven yr old unattended in a car, period, but especially in the heat.

 

[elmh23]

I'm going to assume a 7-year-old can get out of a car, even if it's locked (my 5-year-old can) so it wouldn't worry me to much. Is it something I would do? Probably not, but I wouldn't fret over someone else doing it.<br><br>
And actually, now that I think about it, if I had to just run in to the bathroom really quick for whatever reason, I probably would leave a 7-year-old alone outside (and probably with my cell phone <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">)

 

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Depends on how long they are out there. I often leave the kids in the car with the dog for 5 min to run in and get a prescription filled or to run in and buy a single object or check the mail. I rush like the dickens though and I can usually see the van from the window of where ever I am.

 

[MacKinnon]

Children's body temperature rises significantly faster. Heat stroke sets in at 104 degrees, 107 is fatal. Vehicle interior temps rise much, much quicker then exterior temps, even temps in the 60s and 70s can be fatal. I would absolutly NOT be OK with leaving my 7 year old in 90 degree weather. In Michigan it's illegal to even leave your DOG under those circumstances, your child too. I would have called the police, and notified the manager. Even though a 7 year old is capable of leaving the car, I would still not be OK with it.

 

[luv-my-boys]

I dont think it was safe too many "what ifs". Personally I wouldnt do it because its illegal and it gets hot FAST. Could people do it, oh course I see it all the time in hotter weather than that. In fact I called the cops on a child that was left in 100 weather while the dad went in to a chain store and the kid was left in a locked car/carseat with window rolled up for "safety" This is what I found out on the DPS website<br><br><b>Texas Penal Code, Title 5, Chapter 22, Section 10 LEAVING A CHILD IN A VEHICLE A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly leaves a child in a motor vehicle for longer than five minutes, knowing that the child is:<br><br>
1.younger than seven years of age; and<br>
2.not attended by an individual in the vehicle<br><br>
who is 14 years of age or older. An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. If the child is injured, the charge is then elevated to child endangerment, which is a felony. The penalties are six months to two years in jail and a fine up to $10,000. Leaving a child unattended in a car is also a form of neglectful supervision</b><br><br>
The state goes on to define "neglectful supervision" in the case of unattended children in cars.

 

[2cutiekitties]

UGH, so not safe, IMO. But I dont know if I would have called the cops. I would have to have been there to make that call.<br><br>
I wouldnt leave my 7 yr old in the car alone period. <i>AND</i> I am a child of the 70's and NO ONE left their kids alone in the cars in my middle class world. I am always reading "how it was" "back in the day" and I dont remember it like that at all and I asked my mom if that is how it was and she looked at me like I had two heads and said no all crazy like.

 

[mamadelbosque]

Umm... my boys are 3 and 9 months... and I've left them in the car while I ran in to pay for gas, or grab one or two things from the store. I left DS1 in the car a couple days ago with the windows cracked for 5 minutes while I ran in to buy a few things at the grocery - I just had zero desire to wake him up. I actually skipped voting cause' I didn't want to wake him up (and it was packed... if it'd been dead, I'd have just ran in and voted <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/shrug.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="shrug">). Maybe I'm a 'bad mom' but whatever.

 

[Catubodua]

was it possible that the car was running and the air conditioning was on?

 

[fresh_veggie]

I wouldn't do it just because someone could kidnap them so quickly...<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"> I know they can't be in your sight at ALL times, but in a car while you're in Target where you can't see them? All it takes is a couple of minutes.

 

[feminist~mama]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>mamadelbosque</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15380113"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Umm... my boys are 3 and 9 months... and I've left them in the car while I ran in to pay for gas, or grab one or two things from the store. I left DS1 in the car a couple days ago with the windows cracked for 5 minutes while I ran in to buy a few things at the grocery - I just had zero desire to wake him up. I actually skipped voting cause' I didn't want to wake him up (and it was packed... if it'd been dead, I'd have just ran in and voted <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/shrug.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="shrug">). Maybe I'm a 'bad mom' but whatever.</div>
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Huh. VERY different comfort levels exist I guess. I live in a little hippy town and still wouldn't leave a 3 yo and 9 month old in the car alone regardless of the weather... and it's rarely above 75 or below 30 here! It just seems unsafe on so many levels- kidnapping, the car could be hit or stolen, the child could wake up and be frightened, etc.<br><br>
ETA the obvious that I also wouldn't want to hassle with someone calling the police or CPS because they were concerned about my kids alone in the car...

 

[jillmamma]

<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/wave.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="wave"><br><br>
No way would I do that...especially here in Houston! The car can get hot so fast, not only that, I would not be comfortable leaving a kid alone in a small space with a dog, no matter how well trained the dog is. What if the kid was just "playing" with the dog, the dog thought he was attacking him, and then bit the kid? Maybe I am biased because DS is 7 and autistic, but NO WAY would I leave kiddos out in the car in the heat for any amount of time...you know how here in the summer, you just turn the car off and even before you open the door, it is already getting hot inside (after running the A/C full blast in the car while it is running).

 

[lunarlady]

I think a 7 year old is old enough to be left alone for a few minutes, but I think 2" is not enough to have the windows down! I would leave the windows all the way down. If it is safe enough to leave my child unattended, then I think it should be safe enough to leave my open car unattended. Note that a parking lot at a busy Target wouldn't fit my bill, but maybe going to the restroom at a quiet gas station or park? Sure.

 

[HeatherB]

I'm glad to see the actual penal code. My understanding was that if the temperature during the day hits 80, it's too hot to have a child (or anyone, honestly) in the car alone. The only time I *ever* leave them in the car is, once in a while, in the driveway, car off, while they're sleeping and most often when another adult or sibling is outside with them (or, at a minimum, the house door is open so I can see them). And I wouldn't do THAT without the windows down and/or doors open unless it was COLD.<br><br>
Call me paranoid, but the heat here is nothing to play around with. And, if you do leave the car with the a/c on, then you have a high risk of someone making off with the car AND kids. There really is no right way to do it in any public setting. Seriously, walking away from the car while it's parked in front of my house on the street (we have a storage unit in the drive now and can't park up by the detached garage) to unlock and open the door so I can take a sleeping child in makes me antsy. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment">