After ALL we know know about how dangerous it is to leave kids in cars people still do it. I was just wondering what you all thought was a good punishment for those who still do it. Is it manslaughter? 2nd degree murder? Or an innocent mistake??

J.

By Jewlz on Saturday, July 20, 2002 - 12:32 pm:

i have never left my kids alone.if i couldnt be close enough to hear them playin or talkin or see them then they werent alone. to leave a child that cant fend for himself in a car where the temperature is risin and then sayin ohh i forgot about the child or i thought i was just going to be in there a few moments is heartless. its worse than murder to make a child suffer in such a way. i had a weiner dog and he lost his collar and we were on teh way to the park and the kids wanted to take rusty the dog ... so we stopped by the pet shop...i ran in and got a collar and came back out and handed it to my son to put it on ... it was to big so i left the keys ( with out thi nking ) in the car and ran in again with the kids ( couldnt take the dog in this one with a leash ) and my son did as he was always told to to lock the doors ( i didnt tell him to this time ) and we came back out to see the dog locked in .... called AAA and they were busy for the next few hours ... so called the police to get him out it was acout 85 out ... he came out and was real nice about it ... till the job was done ....then he lectured me for about 20 minutes till i was in tears ... then he said im not going to give u a ticket or even a warnin as i can see u understand the severity of this situation ...have a good day he said .... i already new the seveerity of it ..and accidents do happen ...but to forget about ur kid is not what a good parent duz!!!

By Ginnyk on Saturday, July 20, 2002 - 05:18 pm:

Certainly neglect and probably reckless endangerment (which is a felony). A New Jersey legislator noted that it is a felony in NJ to leave dogs locked in cars, but not children, and has proposed legislation making it a felony to leave a child unattended in a car. Which I think is appropriate.

By Annie2 on Saturday, July 20, 2002 - 06:58 pm:

Sorry, about punishment. I think she should be charged with attempted murder, neglect, child endanngerment....anything they can think of...also she should spend the same amount of time in the car to let her know just how awful she is!

By Terri0930 on Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 07:47 am:

I think its almost premeditated murder. She knew when she went into the salon, that her children were in the car.

What did she think they were going to do?
I don't know how many times, that I have brought my kids into a quick trip to the store, just because of the dangers.

I think child endangerment or reckless, is being too nice.

By Feona on Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 10:25 am:

I think one of the problems is the police just let the parents off with just a warning if they catch parents doing this.


At least they could fine the parent or something.

By Karen55 on Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 12:27 pm:

I don't trust myself to even get started on this one. IMO, there is NO excuse for leaving kids in a car, for any reason.

By Loving2 on Sunday, July 21, 2002 - 01:12 pm:

I think charges and punishment might depend on whether they were left intentionally or by accident....maybe not much of a difference in punishment but some. I saw a show the other night which said most kids are left because parents forgot them...

When I was a new mom I once forgot Conor in the house; you know I lugged 20 tons of baby stuff to the car, locked the house door, went to get into the car & realized I'd forgotten the baby! I've never forgotten my kids in the car though, and if I had, don't you think any parent would realize that in a few minutes? I mean, no one screaming for juice or needing a diaper change, silence in the house, etc.

The show I saw also mentioned preventative steps.....placing a teddy bear in the carseat & then putting it in the front seat (so if you don't see the teddy, you remember you forgot your kid); placing your wallet or something else 'important' near the carseat (so apparently you remember your wallet even if you've forgotten your kid). And some car manufactures are supposed to be coming out with key chain 'alerts'.

By Trina on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 07:26 am:

This happens more often than we think. I feel sick after reading these articles. I just do NOT understand how this happens!! I have NEVER forgotten my children or left them unattended in a vehicle.

http://www.4rkidssake.org/news-heat2002.htm

By Trina on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 04:29 pm:

Here's another one!! If charged this mother will face 3 yrs. in prison. To top it all off - this baby is only 8 mos. old and is forward facing in an over head shield seat. Argh!

http://www.theindychannel.com/ind/news/stories/news-158364420020730-080733.html

By Nanaoie on Tuesday, July 30, 2002 - 06:25 pm:

OK...........Call me strange but, i think they should put them in a hot car and leave them.........they should feel the pain the children felt.

By Karen55 on Wednesday, July 31, 2002 - 05:22 pm:

My God, Trina, I don't believe that ANYone would switch vehicles with their DH and *forget* they had their baby with them! If you leave home with a baby or child in the car with you, how can you forget that?

Lori, I agree with you.......and that's just for starters!

By Mineral on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 06:23 pm:

Now, i have left my daughter in the car to run in and pay for my gas. Run into the post office. Is that endangerment?

By Annie2 on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 07:02 pm:

I do think leaving a child in a vehicle, unattended, is child endangerment. It takes one stranger, one stupid mistake, another vehicle hitting the car, that can change the small errand into a catastrophe.
There have been many times I would have thought it easier to leave my kids, four of them, maybe while two were sleeping, etc. in the car, but I would never have been able to forgive myself if something happened to them.
There were many errands I had to put off and make the day earlier to abide by my kids' schedules.

By Mommyathome on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 08:48 pm:

I agree....leaving a child unattended is child endangerment. What if the car for some unknown reason started on fire...then exploded. Sounds far fetched, but you never know. Just like you never know who's waiting around the side of the building for a parent to leave their child in the car so they can go take the child.

I think that parents who leave children in cars, hot or cold, are irresponsible. There is no excuse. They know what CAN happen, they are deliberately putting their child in danger. Why would they do that?

If something did happen to the child left unattended I believe the parent (or whoever left the child) should be punished to the fullest extent of the law....or even more. JMHO

If the child dies, then it's murder. The person who left the child in the car didn't do it on accident. They knew what they were doing.

By Palmbchprincess on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 04:09 pm:

I did it once a few weeks ago, not thinking clearly and will never do again. I was picking up pictures of my car while it was in the body shop. I meant to only be in there a minute, but the lady talked my ear off. My kids were sweating and flushed when I got back, and I'll never do it again. I have never been so scared or ashamed of myself in my life. And I knew better, I just didn't think about it very clearly.

By Mommyof4 on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 04:30 pm:

In Nebraska....
Legislative Bill 129: Unattended Children in Motor Vehicles


Sponsor:
Senator DiAnna Schimek (District 27)


Summary:
Nebraska law defines "child neglect" to include leaving a child six years of age or younger unattended in a motor vehicle. LB 129 would add a minimum fine of $100 for leaving a child unattended in a car.

By Mineral on Thursday, May 29, 2003 - 09:34 pm:

Wow, I didn't realize where the line was drawn. I completely understand how things can go wrong in a split second and I definately didn't realize the punishment involved. It may be a bit easier to run in and out real fast but certainly not worth the risks. You've changed my mind.

By Kate on Sunday, June 4, 2006 - 04:34 pm:

Did something happen this week to bring this topic up? Did I miss something?

By Ginny~moderator on Sunday, June 4, 2006 - 08:06 pm:

Someone spammed this thread, bringing it up to the top. The spam resulted in the usual Authentication Error message that is produced when someone tries to post without a registered username and password. When one of the moderators sees it, the moderator (in this case, me) moves it to our troubleshooting board where we try to track down the ISP and make a complaint. But, because the spam post brought it up to the top of the topic, it stays there until newer threads move it down. In the past 2 months we've moved 32 spam posts off the board.

By Kate on Sunday, June 4, 2006 - 08:25 pm:

Ohhhh, I didn't even notice the dates! Well, I'm glad there wasn't some awful recent case regarding this issue! What does it mean to 'spam the thread'?

By Ginny~moderator on Sunday, June 4, 2006 - 10:23 pm:

Someone tried to post an ad in the thread. Spamming a thread is just like the spam that comes in your e-mail box - it is an outsider trying to post an ad on the message board. Because the spammer wasn't a registered user, what got posted was the Authorization Required message. With luck, if the moderators continue to stay on top of things, you'll never see that message. Sometimes spammers manage to get around that, however. and actually do post a message - one recent one included a link to a site for s e x toys. But again, the moderators caught it and removed it.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, June 4, 2006 - 10:54 pm:

I'm glad you guys are on top of things!