Do you leave mindees in the car?

Twinklestars · 12-06-2010, 11:41 AM

i know a childminder who sometimes leaves 2 or 3 3 year olds in the car most days when she drops off or picks up. I've noticed she doesn't if she's meeting any of their mum's there. She used to mind my ds and one day she left him for over 10 mins in the car unlocked and he could unstrap himself, i didn't use her for long after this incident. I have been tempted to report her for various things. I never leave any children in the car, if the babies are asleep i would wait in the car and ask another mum to bring my ds to the car but he goes to a small school so i know them all

**FussyElmo** · 12-06-2010, 04:47 PM

Well I have just been to my local asda where I have just seen a car in the parent and child space with two children left in it. The boy was about 6 and there was a baby. Whoever had left them had left both front windows wound down.

As i was walking past someone was reporting it to a member of staff, he said he was going to put a call over the tannoy I butted in and said you should just call the police.

It was absolutely manic in there no way has she/him just popped in as the queues were down the aisle.

LOOPYLISA · 12-06-2010, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by FussyElmo

Well I have just been to my local asda where I have just seen a car in the parent and child space with two children left in it. The boy was about 6 and there was a baby. Whoever had left them had left both front windows wound down.

As i was walking past someone was reporting it to a member of staff, he said he was going to put a call over the tannoy I butted in and said you should just call the police.

It was absolutely manic in there no way has she/him just popped in as the queues were down the aisle.

Omg

Even worse windows open !!

**nannymcflea** · 12-06-2010, 07:09 PM

It's a very valid question.

I never left youngsters in the car, cm kids or my own but was never put in a position I ever had to.

I did however ring the police one lovely hot sunny July as hubby and I saw a toddler in a car outside Tesco in Kings Lynn, roasting.

The police came, one smashed the front window and the other went into the store....we drove off at this point knowing the child was ok.

**Blaze** · 12-06-2010, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by Daftbat

Why is it different when its your own children?

Children are children at the end of the day and surely the risks are the same regardless of who they belong to. I am not criticising the person you replied to - I see no problem if the car is in plain sight given the distance involved as described but surely we can't discriminate between minded children and our own given that most posters who have voiced a concern are worried about the car being invoved in an accident etc.

My post was meant to point out that as a parent the choice is hers to make, but as a CM it's not IYSWIM...I know a parent that left there LO in a car on the road outside of school (out of sight & hearing, the the enterence to the school was at the back, so no where near the road) whilst she went & collected her older LO from school - there was an attempted abduction (which another parent stopped - thankfully) - police were called etc - the police didn't bat an eye lid that the parent had left the child & there was no comeback - this parent later went on to become a CM & was nearly not registered because of this instance showing up (also can you imagine the fall out if that had been a CM at the time & not a mother)....now this was 61/2 years ago, but still!

**babs** · 12-06-2010, 10:37 PM

well after reading the last 5 pages my personal opinion is NO i would never leave a minded child or my own in a car, when i put mindees in my car i close the gates put them in one at at time if i have 3 yr old and 9 month old , but when i have the 3yr old and 2 yr old at same time both walk to the car with me climb in and i then fasten them in, open the gates and off we go. when i get back i pull on drive close gates get children out lo's normaly run round my front drive gates locked at this point while i open the front door, sometimes if its nice i let them run round look at plants in pots etc.. i now do 1 school pick up and sometines have lo with me others go home at 1.30 and 2 if im out in car i pick up on way home if not i walk to school... teacher is always late letting kids out so sometimes can be in playground 10 to 15 minutes and thats me arriving at 3.10 kids come out at 3.15 ( or are suppose to .... i have it written in my policy's that i never leave a child unattended in my car and that i fill up when i am not minding so not taking them to petrol stations... only time i may have to do this is when we go on a long outing but then there would be another adult with me anyway...

**sweets** · 13-06-2010, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by babs

well after reading the last 5 pages my personal opinion is NO i would never leave a minded child or my own in a car, when i put mindees in my car i close the gates put them in one at at time if i have 3 yr old and 9 month old , but when i have the 3yr old and 2 yr old at same time both walk to the car with me climb in and i then fasten them in, open the gates and off we go. when i get back i pull on drive close gates get children out lo's normaly run round my front drive gates locked at this point while i open the front door, sometimes if its nice i let them run round look at plants in pots etc.. i now do 1 school pick up and sometines have lo with me others go home at 1.30 and 2 if im out in car i pick up on way home if not i walk to school... teacher is always late letting kids out so sometimes can be in playground 10 to 15 minutes and thats me arriving at 3.10 kids come out at 3.15 ( or are suppose to .... i have it written in my policy's that i never leave a child unattended in my car and that i fill up when i am not minding so not taking them to petrol stations... only time i may have to do this is when we go on a long outing but then there would be another adult with me anyway...

you are very lucky to have a driveway with gates and i would do exactly the same as you if i was in the same situation. but id be interested to know what people would do in my situation. i live in a terraced house with no driveway, a small garden about 8-10ft long and i look after 2 mindees that dont walk! i have to leave one in the house or car while i load/unload up the other one.
i suppose in theory i could get the double buggy out and do it but the buggy is stored in the car and doesnt fit through the front door very well, it just wouldnt be practical to do everytime.

so what it do, is that classed as 'leaving children' in the car?

**Rubybubbles** · 13-06-2010, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by Daftbat

Why is it different when its your own children?

Children are children at the end of the day and surely the risks are the same regardless of who they belong to. I am not criticising the person you replied to - I see no problem if the car is in plain sight given the distance involved as described but surely we can't discriminate between minded children and our own given that most posters who have voiced a concern are worried about the car being invoved in an accident etc.

I remember a few years ago (or maybe not so long lol) a childminder left her own children in the car whilst shopping, she had all her ads on the car and she got reported, and had to fight tooth and nail to prove it was her own children.

I don't leave children in the car and am luckly not to have to drive to school! It honestly shocks me that people leave kids in cars! I used to look after a 2yr old, and mum picked him up at 3pm on school run from school gates, she would get him off me, then go put him in the car (out of sight

) then come back for her other children! I questioned it a few times but she just laughed

jumpinjen · 13-06-2010, 07:55 AM

Sweets, I don't see what else you are supposed to do......

no it isn't classed as leaving them in the car.....

You are taking them into the house, I have a driveway and no gates and i take one out from the far side away from my frint door, put them down to walk to the open door in full view whilst i get the other one out and put them down. I am behind them in case they turn around and walk back down the grass but i don't consider it as leaving them in the car. I have never considered that what i do isn't safe practice.

i know that there are plenty of scare stories out there but really, some common sense is needed. I don't actually think that if your car was unlucky enough to blow up or be ploughed into be a large lorry, that you can be blamed for being outside the car at the time, even if you are filling it up with petrol. For those minders that work 10 hours or more a day five days a week I am sure that plenty fill up their cars during working hours or leap out to shove letters into a post box. They just daren't say so on this thread.....

Don't worry about getting them into the house sweets...... you're fine xx

jenni

**sweets** · 13-06-2010, 08:06 AM

i am not worrying about it as i know its the only practical way to do it.

to me thought it is no different than the lady who leaves her children in the car to cross the small road and pick up her schoolies. her children are left in the car and within sight probably no longer than my mindees! i would do exactly the same as her in that situation.

i think we just need to be sensible and use common sense,

i'm quite sure that none of us would 'leave children' in our cars out of sight.

We constantly think of dangers and risks but dont always let them stop us or our children doing anything! we would all be wrapped in cotton wool if we did.

yes cars can blow up or a uncontrollable lorry may come along but its highly unlikely isnt it.

**sweets** · 13-06-2010, 08:07 AM

by the way if i need petrol i will fill up with mindees! lol.

but i always try and use the pay as you go pumps

**Ripeberry** · 13-06-2010, 08:09 AM

Originally Posted by hayleysd

i know a childminder who sometimes leaves 2 or 3 3 year olds in the car most days when she drops off or picks up. I've noticed she doesn't if she's meeting any of their mum's there. She used to mind my ds and one day she left him for over 10 mins in the car unlocked and he could unstrap himself, i didn't use her for long after this incident. I have been tempted to report her for various things. I never leave any children in the car, if the babies are asleep i would wait in the car and ask another mum to bring my ds to the car but he goes to a small school so i know them all

I've also asked other mums at my school to collect my dds when one of my mindees falls asleep in the car. But it was only because this particular mindee would cry a lot if woken up and was too big to put in a buggy (3yrs old).
One minder at the school has had a problem with some mindees sleeping when she gets there and she has asked others to collect the mindee for her (bring to the car), there are no roads involved here just from the gate to the car park and a couple of times she has run up quickly to collect the mindee so is not away for more than two minutes.
But hopefully it is a one-off.

**Ripeberry** · 13-06-2010, 08:11 AM

On yahoo news today, there is a report of a 2yr old girl who managed to start the engine of a car and the car shot backwards and she got run over by the front wheel

And the mum was chatting to a friend just standing by it

How could you not notice?

jumpinjen · 13-06-2010, 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by Ripeberry

On yahoo news today, there is a report of a 2yr old girl who managed to start the engine of a car and the car shot backwards and she got run over by the front wheel

And the mum was chatting to a friend just standing by it

How could you not notice?

Oh I always let mine play with the car... I class it as ICT ******JOKING*****

**Celyn** · 13-06-2010, 09:43 AM

Never ever do I leave any child unattended in a car. I have a real terror of fire and, for that reason alone, I won't take even the slightest risk over it.

I used to live in Reading where, a few years ago, 2 children were killed in a car fire after their mum left them for a few minutes on her employer's drive.
The most likely time for a car to catch fire is just after it's stopped, when the engine is warm.

In 3 cases that I've personally known of (didn't even make it to the news!), the driver didn't even get to the door of the office/house/cafe when it went up.
The first was a new car with an electrical fault and my colleague saw the flames reflected in the door of the office as he approached the entrance.
The second was a lady who'd pulled up opposite my MIL's house. Unbelievably, she actually tried to lock her daughter in the car while she went for help, until my MIL intervened!

The third was my dad's friend in the army, who'd pulled up in an army vehicle to get a cup of coffee at the cafe. As he put it in his report: "I locked the vehicle and proceeded to the cafe. As I approached the cafe, I heard a fire alarm go off and I thought "Ha Ha! Some poor b*gg*r's car's caught fire!". I went into the cafe and ordered my coffee. As I was sitting down, the proprietor of the cafe came and informed me that my vehicle was on fire."

OK, I've only personally known of 3 incidents, and read of 3-4 others. I admit it's unlikely to happen, but I wouldn't want take even the tiniest risk of this happening to a child in my care.

aly · 13-06-2010, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by Ripeberry

On yahoo news today, there is a report of a 2yr old girl who managed to start the engine of a car and the car shot backwards and she got run over by the front wheel

And the mum was chatting to a friend just standing by it

How could you not notice?

how could she start the car and get run over?

**kindredspirits** · 13-06-2010, 10:36 AM

i believe she was standing beside the car withthe door open and reached into the keys - the car shot forward and she lost her balance and fell under the wheel.

poor little thing - i hope she makes a speedy recovery.

**The Juggler** · 13-06-2010, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by sweets

by the way if i need petrol i will fill up with mindees! lol.

but i always try and use the pay as you go pumps

I fill up with mindees too, at pay at pump garages. This is not a no-no is it????

**4365** · 13-06-2010, 01:59 PM

I would say the children are not unattended if you are right next to the car and can see them properly as in some of the above examples. Of course you may have to get them out one by one or get the pushchair out of the boot or take non walkers into the hall whilst others remain strapped in the car if you can park close to the door. I did all this in front of my last inspector and explained that overall it was safest and I could see them as well as I could when I am driving (if not better!) Unattended means leaving them in the car and moving away so you can't see and hear them and/or leaving them for longer than a absolutely necessary e.g. to get the buggy out or to carry a child in and go straight back for the others with all children in hearing and sight at all times.

Anni