leaving kids alone in the car for few mins ok?

amother

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 7:55 am

YESHASettler wrote:

amother wrote:

OP here

I can see that leaving an infant alone in the car would be a bad idea, but I'm talking here about slightly older kids who understand 'I'm just running into gan to get your brother and I'll be back in 2 minutes.

the car is parked totally in the shade. it's not even a hot day. the windows are slightly open. the doors are locked. I have the car keys with me.

I also know my kids. there is NO WAY they'd start fiddling with the controls. Heck they can't even get out of their carseats to reach anything!

and when's the last time you saw someone crash into a parked car on a quiet, residential street?

how many of you who responded make sure to strap your kids securely into car seats on EVERY journey, including taxis? Confused

thank you marina for your comments

I'm confused as to why you even bothered posting if you're insistent about 'oh no, not MY kids'.

You asked for advice, people are giving it, it's apparently not advice you wanted so you continue to post in the hopes someone will tell you what you want to hear?

Fine. It's totally okay and safe. Happy?

I'm confused why you think your response to me is reasonable and respectful. Do you speak to people irl like this?

The reason why I "bothered" posting was to find out if there were any reasons I hadn't thought of. Did that concept escape you? FWIW, it appears that the reasons most have given for not doing it are not so relevant to my circumstances, so I don't think it's the end of the world if I do it occasionally, in extenuating circumstances, but I will try to avoid it.

Golly, next you'll be bashing me for writing as amother Rolling Eyes

Go on!

As for the comment about using car seats in taxis, I would never dream of taking my child in one without a car seat.

saw50st8

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 8:36 am

ora_43 wrote:

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I went in a cab once with my daughter when she was a year or so and boy did I belt her in, on my lap.

You mean she sat on your lap and you put the belt over both of you? If so, that is very very dangerous. In case of a crash she would be crushed between you and the belt, with your full weight (times acceleration) hitting her. She could be very seriously hurt even in a fender bender.

It would actually be safer in that case to belt yourself in and just hold her, not that that's very safe either.

In case of a crash, your arms are virtually worthless. The force produced is way too strong for your arms.

That being said, we do take risks. I took DS to NYC today and the buses getting to the city don't have a seatbelt. I didn't *need* to take him in, but I felt he was safe enough with basic precautions.

ora_43

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 8:55 am

saw50st8 wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I went in a cab once with my daughter when she was a year or so and boy did I belt her in, on my lap.

In case of a crash, your arms are virtually worthless. The force produced is way too strong for your arms.

Your arms would probably be enough in case of a fender bender, enough at least to slow the baby if she's thrown forward. Whereas if you had a baby between you and the seatbelt, even a fender bender could be fatal.

tizunabi

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 8:56 am

saw50st8 wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I went in a cab once with my daughter when she was a year or so and boy did I belt her in, on my lap.

When I need to take a taxi with my DS (and the car seat is sitting in the car which my DH is out using..) I put him in the baby carrier (I happen to use a wrap) and buckle myself without the shoulder strap. That way I have no issue about crushing him with the seatbelt and I'm not relying on my hands to hold him in case of a crash. It's not perfect but its the best idea I had...

amother

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 9:23 am

tizunabi wrote:

saw50st8 wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I went in a cab once with my daughter when she was a year or so and boy did I belt her in, on my lap.

get or borrow a seccond carseat !! this is so dangerous ,in a accident you body weight would mush the baby!!!!!!! Nurses ???? where r u???

amother

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 9:30 am

ora_43 wrote:

saw50st8 wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I went in a cab once with my daughter when she was a year or so and boy did I belt her in, on my lap.

In case of a crash, your arms are virtually worthless. The force produced is way too strong for your arms.

No,NO,NO! The baby would be catapulted like a bullet!!

Thrown forward it can suffer severe spinal cord injuries or all the side effects of shaken baby syndrome!!! Go to your nearest firehall and ask to see the crash test dummies video.
Ignorance can kill Sad

ora_43

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 9:32 am

amother wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

saw50st8 wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

shabbatiscoming wrote:

I went in a cab once with my daughter when she was a year or so and boy did I belt her in, on my lap.

In case of a crash, your arms are virtually worthless. The force produced is way too strong for your arms.

Hello, we're not talking about what to do as the ideal way to transport a baby. The only question is - if you are in a car, without a carseat, is it safer to put a baby between your body and the seatbelt, or on top of the seatbelt.

tizunabi

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 11:01 am

ora_43 wrote:

Truthfully I don't know... Which is why I found my compromise...

Obviously no one wants to be in a situation where they have to make this choice, but there are always exceptions.

Besides the fact that carrying around a car seat and buckling it into a taxi probably isn't a good choice either. We all know how difficult it is to properly install a car seat and a car seat that is installed improperly doesn't do the job it is intended to do in the first place and is dangerous for a child to be in... So we are back at the beginning....

Besides the fact that there are plenty of places where there is no where for a car seat to be put... Buses, trains, subways, not everyone has the privilege of always using a car, so there has to be an "alternate, but definitely not preferred" option..

But I digress....

amother

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 11:29 am

Firstly as for the seatbelt situation, I would have asked someone to borrow one & mailed it back the next day.
For anyone who said "never even for a minute" to leave the kids in the car. How do you get a few toddlers & babies into the house? what if one is sleeping? You can carry 3 together? I usually leave the kids in the driveway (always with car off no keys in & we are talking about kids in carseats) as I unload my average $250 grocery order. It is safer than letting them wander the house alone. Think of that danger!!!!! I am leaving them for a minute at a time.
I actually think leaving your purse in the car is more risky than leaving your child. Don't scream just yet, give it a minute. Really how many people want to kidnap children? You then have to try to identify the parents, try to get the ransom, feed the kid, change diapers...& not get caught. But to reach in & grab a purse, take the $$ & dump the rest is so very easy. Someone walking by not looking to steal anything can be very tempted by the ease of it. But a baby? takes much more planning , not an impulse thing.
Last point then I'll stop. The arguement of a car could crash into your parked car....come on! Silly me . I didn't realize that the mom sitting in the car prevents those types of accidents.

MrsDash

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 11:51 am

amother wrote:

The risk isn't solely based upon a "ransom" type kidnap. Some crazies out there want to kidnap a child, and never leave a ransom note, and I'm not going to elaborate on such a tragic occurrence. Another danger is someone stealing your car without realizing there's a child in the car.

If your parked car gets hit your child may be injured or scared, and the driver may drive away whether it's a note left or a hit and run. Or the driver may call the cops, not an ambulance, and perhaps the child needs an ambulance, every moment delayed could be the difference between life and death.

Why when given the choice would one opt for the more dangerous rather than the safer route?

But, like with any offender, there will always be excuses to rationalize their behaviors.

amother

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 12:53 pm

yoshi wrote:

amother wrote:

You are really grasping to think people just walk around looking to grab children. Do you ever let go of your kids hand in park, walking on the sidewalk,at the library.
As far as the hit & run scenario: I said I was talking about a minute. Most women here are talking about being in view of their car, where they can wrte down the license plate number. You are more likely to see that if you are outside the car than sitting in it with your kid. And picture this hit & run: you are leaning in the car to get your child out. The car comes & hits your car, of course you are the sidewalk side beacuse you never do anything from the street side in case of hit & run, you never ever even get out from drivers seat that way. You always climb over to the passenger side. Anyway so s/o is getting the child out & get hit, now out? The mom is unconcious & when she got hit her head slamed into the babys head!!! Who is going to call the ambulance? Now it's life & death for mother & child!!!
Shall we continue with the scenarios? I have more...

MrsDash

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 1:07 pm

amother wrote:

yoshi wrote:

amother wrote:

One thing is obvious, the fact that you don't post under your name shows that either you are embarrassed about your beliefs or you're not truly faithful to your convictions on the matter.

ora_43

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 1:15 pm

OP - I thought it over some more and decided that I wouldn't leave my kids in the car in a situation like you describe, because I think there's a better solution:

Send your 7-year-old (and 5 or 6-year-old if you've got one) into the store to do the shopping while you wait with the little kids.

It's a yishuv, so I'm assuming the storeowner knows them and they know him (/her). Actually shopping will probably be more fun for them, and will do more to build their independence, than would sitting in the car. If it's really just a 3-5 minute store run for you, it's probably something they can handle (ie you're just buying milk and bread or something similar). And last point - I think it's less of a stretch for the average 7-year-old to buy bread, than to watch his/her younger siblings.

I think I would leave my kids in the car once they get a bit older, if it were a yishuv, but only if they wanted to be there. But thinking about it more, the car would make me kind of nervous because I'd be out of earshot (or would you? if they yelled, would you hear it?). If the kid were in the store, there would be an adult in earshot, and the little kids in the car would have adult supervision.

amother

Thu, Dec 23 2010, 1:26 pm

amother wrote:

is it a real big no no to leave your kids alone in the car while you run into a store quickly to collect something?

of course I'd be careful to park the car in the shade and leave the windows slightly open, and I'm only talking about 5 minutes maximum gone from the car.

I'm also talking about doing this in a safe israeli yishuv, not like in nyc or someplace dangerous.

I think it's fine. My ten year old is in the car with all the kids so they aren't really "alone" per se, and I hit the alarm button so that if some criminal tries to open the door I will hear it. However, this is literally such a closed community that it would be REALLY obvious if someone new in town was wandering around.