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Yesterday my 9 year old son and I went to the grocery store. As we were approaching the car after shopping, my son pointed out a young boy who appeared to be in a van by himself. The boy looked about 6 or 7 years old. Although it looked like he was by himself, my first thought was that it couldn't be. We sat in my car and looked for a minute trying to determine whether the boy was in fact alone and I could not see anyone else. Finally, my son asked me what I was going to do.
Note that the temperature yesterday was mid 80's and it was extremely hot in our vehicle. Only the rear windows were cracked slightly in the boy's van so I know the child had to be hot.
I went up to the vehicle (that was parked adjacent to mine) and asked if the boy was alone, where was his mom, was she coming right back, how long he had been left by himself, how old he was, etc. He told me that his mom was shopping and that he was 7 and turning 8 on the next day. Granted the boy never opened the car doors while talking to me, but he did willingly talk to me.
I got his mom's cell phone number and called her. I wasn't trying to judge, but I did tell her that I was concerned about her boy being left alone with it being so hot. (Not to mention we were in the parking lot of one of those superstores where there are lots of people coming and going). Her excuses were that he didn't want to come into the store and that he was 9 years old. When I expressed my concern further and told her that he said he was 7, she replied that he could open the doors if he got hot. I started to say something else, but she hung up on me.
There was an older gentleman in the car next to mine who asked if he should call 911. While I was talking to the man, the boy's mom came out to the vehicle (with no groceries) and appeared to be scolding the boy. I approached her gently and explained that I was just concerned. Again, she replied that it wasn't like he was 5 years old and that he could open the doors if he got hot. She got in her van and drove off.
My question is: Did I act appropriately or should I have minded my own business?
Even my 9 year old had sense enough to know that you don't leave a young child in a very hot car parked in a busy parking lot.
You did the right thing. The heat is not the only consideration here though. How safe is any child left alone, remember we live in a really sick world, you never know who is about. Plus, from my own experience of being left in a car alone as a child, it can be unnerving and scary.
All these people willing to call the police over something so small seems ridiculous to me. When was the last time you heard of an 8yr old child dying from heat stroke in a car? Really you're going to subject that family to a full CPS investigation because the mom ran in to grab something without her EIGHT year old?
You bet your bottom dollar I would have . the caller would not have caused the cps investigation the mother did by leaving a child in a hot car . I m sorry but the op should have called 911 and stayed until the cops got there and she should have gotten the ladys tag number . She was too nice way too nice ..
All these people willing to call the police over something so small seems ridiculous to me. When was the last time you heard of an 8yr old child dying from heat stroke in a car? Really you're going to subject that family to a full CPS investigation because the mom ran in to grab something without her EIGHT year old?
They're not going to investigate her for something like that.
A car is not a babysitter though and shouldn't be used as one. If your kid doesn't want to go in the store, bribe them. That's what I do.
My mom used to leave us in the car all the time when she went in the grocery store. I remember getting hot and shaky plenty of times...but she had told us not to open the windows and so we didn't dare open the windows. Once she left my sister asleep in her car seat while she went in the store. She came out and found the firemen breaking her car window to get the baby out
Here's the thing though...imagine that you leave your kid in the car at Walmart. He gets hot and opens the door. Some pervert comes by and takes him. You come out of Walmart and there's your car, wide open, and your child, gone. How could that make up for the convenience of a few minutes of child-free shopping? You'd have no description of the pervert or the vehicle, no way to prove he didn't just wander off, etc.
I think you should have called the police thier job is to protect and serve, they could have stayed with the child until the mom came out.
I posted this somewhere else here and it's still true today if not more so now, there are 50,000 children a year stolen or missing each and every year, most end up in the sex slave trade around the world, don't believe me, look it up, this is fact.
We're not just talking the weather here, there are some really sick people ( and I use that term losely ) out there.
yep, you did the right thing. Unfortunately some people are juggling too many things in their lives to stop and think about some of the things they do. As Dragonsong stated, the child could've been taken away, car stolen, who knows what else. I wonder what would've happened had you taken the license plate number and given it to the police. At the very least a warning and wake up call to the mom.
I guess I am going to be the dissenting voice. While 7 (well, 8 really) is on the young side, and I think you did the right thing in speaking to the boy and making sure he was ok, calling the mom is a bit much (assuming the child seemed fine- not scared or ill). I know at that age, I was often left alone in the car, by my choice, reading a book while my mom did a quick grocery shop.
Me too - unless the child is mentally very slow or handicapped.
Most 7-8 year olds can figure out how to get out of the car, they'll simply unlock the door and get out. I also suspect the boy didn't want to go into the store. It's not like the mother would have had to carry him.
Thanks for all the input. No parent is perfect, but common sense is common sense. And what was weird was that the boy said he was 7, but the mom said he was 9.
Hmmm..tough call. My mother left us in the car when we were little but that was a different time. As I a parent I never left my son alone in the car when he was young. I am a slightly paranoid parent with a vivid imagination. He is now 14 and I still feel uneasy about it. Not that I think he is going to over heat but I think about car jackings and so forth so when he insists on waiting in the car while I run in. I take the keys and make him lock the doors. Yes, I get big eye rolls and sighs. lol. I worked retail for a few years and I could tell you many stories of the crap I have seen. There are some pretty horrific parents out there.
The red flag with this is how the mother said he was 9. I am wondering if Texas has a law that 9 yr olds can be left alone and that is why she shot that number out there. Next time just call the police, some people are complete whack jobs.
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