I need opinions please. Does anyone leave their toddler in the carseat, with
vehicle locked, for a real quick in and out stop in a store, Example 7-11 or
the video store to return a dvd? Is this illegal?

I'm not sure if it's illegal or not but I think it may be. I personally did not do this when my son was a toddler. I know alot of people do though. I just always thought the worst and was just too scared to do it. If someone wanted to-it certainley wouldn't take long to break a window. Also anything else could happen-your child could choke on something you didn't even know was in there, he/she could try to get out and get hurt. Some toddlers are smarter than we think and could easily unbuckle themselves and even get out of the car and also if it's hot out this is also very dangerous.
I once saw a woman leave her baby in an infant seat in the front of the car facing forward- the baby was about 6 months old and managed to lean forward enough so that he was hanging almost upside down out of the seat except for one strap holding him across the neck/shoulder area. It was a strip mall with alot of stores. I attempted to open the car but it was locked then I tried to find the mother but either she didn't hear or didn't want to admit it was her baby. Finally I called the police. That baby was in danger. And whoever left him was gone way too long. Just think-what if something happens to you while you attempt to do something quick? No one would know you had a baby in the car alone.

Thanks for the quick reply kdel. I had a situation the other day when I returned a dvd and was gone for less then a minute. When I came out
of the store there was a woman yelling that she was going to call CPS
on me. I understand your answer but I don't feel that I put my son in
any danger. He's further away from me when I put him to bed at night.

I guess I just need to hear what I did wasn't so terrible. Maybe I am wrong.

I live in WA state and I know this is illegal here. It does seem easy to leave them for a quick stop, but the 1st poster is right about any little thing that could happen. One time I went in to Subway when my daughter was 3 months old and I had been incredibly sleep-deprived and completely forgot she was in the car. Trust me, I felt like the worst mom ever. I couldn't live down that I had spaced out THAT bad (even though I could see my car was right in front of the store and I could see her swatting at her carseat toy and she was fine when I realized.) Thankfully I realized soon, and before it was my turn to order and I ran out there and got her, but it was SO EMBARRASSING! I felt like an idiot because other people were looking at me when I went to get her. Now she's almost 2 and has got a little personality and I couldn't forget her if I tried!

Normally I don't do this. BUT like you said returning a rental, VERY quick things (less than 2 minutes or so) I don't think is a huge deal. It takes SOOO much time sometimes to take them out of the car and get them inside, mine usually scream the whole time. So, I don't think this is illegal, just not right. I know that I am wrong to do it when I do, but like you, I ONLY do it when I have to make a very quick stop/errand (like running in a prescription, etc). Otherwise, I tote my kiddie poos with me at ALL times. The other thing is that I have remote start on my car, so if it is hot I leave the AC on and if it is cold I leave the heat. My daughter knows enough not to unbuckle her seat belt on her own (she is almost 4). The other thing is that I don't really go anyway very often, so this is extremely rare for me. ;)

I see you are from NY. I am as well. Sorry, I asked about this.....a professional .....and it is illegal. It would be considered "endangering the welfare of a child." Depending on the situation, it may not only be a misdemeanor, but a felony. I hope you all don't do it again:( It's just not safe.

No, I would never do it. Anybody could still take the car with your child in it. It just isn't worth the risk.

I am more paranoid and I would go through all the work of unstrapping my baby/toddler just to return a DVD. It is too risky to leave a childin a vehicle these days for many reasons, one also being that someone may report you.

in most states it is highly illegal to leave your child in a vehicle unattended for any length of time for any reason.the biggest reason is anything could happen during what you "expect' to be a very quick in and out visit anywhere.some random things could happen and no one would even know your child was out there.too many things could take place in those few or couple of minutes you 'expect' to be gone to even go there these days.no one can say with any real certaintly just what is going to happen to them in the next few minutes,ya know?you just really have no idea what is awaiting you around that next corner.i worked EMS for 14 years and we did have a case of a mom who ran in "real quick' to pick up pictures at a drug store.unbeknownst to her,she actually suffered from epilepsy.she had not been Dxed or ever had a siezure in her entire life before this one hit her out of the blue one day,while her children were in the car seats outside the store.since she was pretty much out of it when we came,she never mentioned to us that her kids were actually in her car outside.it took one of the police officers,after she had left in an ambulance,to actually notice that there was a car with two kids sitting in their car seats.he put two and two together and ran the plate on the van and luckily broke the window and managed to keep them safe til a family member got there.but who knew?if it had been a really hot day with the windows rolled up,can you imagine what could have actually taken place in that scenerio?its just not worth that very real risk to your children.there are very good reasons that this is an illegal thing to do,and trust me,if you get found by a cop or someone calls on you,there is NOTHING you will be able to say to that officer that he will take a 'good reason' to do this.you are ALWAYS better off taking your child with you,you just never know what can happen,espescially these days.too many really awful and just unexpected things can actually happen and you would have absolutely no way to even 'get to' your children.please take them with you where ever you go.better safe than sorry,espescially when it involves our most precious of people.its just too risky.marcia

One post made me laugh because I do take my child with me to the bathroom at home, also when I take a bath too. I have to see her all the time so she doesn't get hurt. I will read a book or take my computer or clean the room she is playing in during the day, so I can keep an eye on her and know what she is up to. It helps having an open floor plan with her room attached too. Even if I run upstairs to grab a pair of socks, I pick her up and take her with me. I never walk away from her and leave her alone. I could never in good conscience leave a child of any age in a car, not even for a second.

There are many reasons not too, even to the extreme of the lady having a seizure while the children were waiting in the car. To those who leave their children in the car please know that you take a chance of at least having someone call Child Protective Services on you and they may not care why you left a child in a car even for a few seconds. Times have unfortunately changed for the worse and we can no longer leave children in vehicles unattended so it doesn't really matter if your mom left you in a car. Someone may walk by and see a small child alone and they may be unsure if you are going to be gone for 1 minute or 1 hour and they have a reasonable concern to approach you about your decision or report you, you are taking the risk of that and with your children.

I live in Florida and would never leave my young child locked in a car. Even if the A/C is on, you never know when the engine will stall or your keychain remote battery will die, leaving your child stranded inside a hot car. (Remember Murphy’s Law?)

You can get held up in the store for many reasons. You could run into a long-winded friend or maybe you will have a medical issue. Maybe it will be someone else’s medical condition that holds you up. My niece started choking at Wal-Mart once and the procedure for the employees was to stop what they were doing and surround her until the EMS arrived. During this time, no one was allowed in or out. (I've also heard this done in stores when a child gets lost.)

Also, there are many cases where cars are stolen with children strapped in car seats or sleeping in the back. It takes car thieves a matter of seconds to get in and steal a car. And then what reason for leaving them will make you feel better? There was a mom killed one time when she left her child for a minute and someone broke into the car and took off. In an attempt to stop the car, she got entangled in the seatbelt while she tried to climb into the window and was dragged.

Of course, children aren't completely safe at home and you can't watch them 24/7. But that's why we go to great lengths to childproof our home. You can't childproof the general public, so you should be more diligent when away from home.

I don't think anyone is a bad mother for leaving a child in the car; she's just a mother making a bad choice (IMHO). I think everyone knows going into parenthood that children take up our time. It's a sacrifice that we make to be parents. Isn't it worth the extra few minutes to unhook your child and take them with you, rather than risk a catastrophe? You don't want to be the mom, crying in the back of the police car because one minute running into the drug store has changed your life for the worse. It's your life, though. Take the risk if you think the time savings is worth it.

I would never, ever leave my child in the car. I am way too paranoid that someone would take him or that something would happen to him. I don't even leave him in his carseat at my house when he's fallen asleep in the car. I agree with Alexa that I keep an eye on him pretty much all of the time. Anyway, just wanted to share my opinion.

Thank you everyone for your responses. Never again will I leave my son
in the car even for a minute. I think Healthboards is a fantastic website. Thanks again to all of you out there.