A small debate early this morning left me wondering about the true and actual dangers of leaving a child in a running, unlocked car.
On one freezing cold December morning, a rather good father by all measures stopped at a gas station on his way to taking his toddler to his daycare center.
The father left the car running as he got out and ran his credit card through the pump reader. The reader didn't work, so he left his child in the unlocked, running, warm car to pay the cashier. He claims that because he could still see the car that his child was perfectly safe.
As soon as I heard the story, my memory raced back to several news stories of parents doing just the same sort of thing and then having their cars, along with their child, stolen within minutes:
- On April 26, 2016, a mother left her 11-month-old inside her unlocked, running car that was parked directly in front of the gas station entrance, and it was stolen right in front of her eyes;
- On August 24, 2016, a car was stolen from a gas station in Florida with a 1-year-old boy inside;
- On September 22, 2016, another unlocked, running car parked outside of a gas station was stolen with a 2-month-old baby inside.
So, no thank you. While the idea of fighting a cranky toddler out of his carseat and hauling him through a cold, icy gas station parking lot is not at all appealing, I'd rather endure that inconvenience than risk these nightmare scenarios.
Maybe next time, the father could have waited until after he dropped his toddler off or made sure he filled up the previous night.
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