carmen, don't you know that every stranger is itching to steal a baby? I mean, someone compared it to leaving a million fucking dollars out in the open. Who wouldn't steal your kid? I know. Anyone with half a fucking brain.
All the kid snatching stories I know involve a mall or your kid walking home alone.
Now carjackings with your kid in the car, yeah, that happens. But no one wants my POS car anyway. They certainly don't want the passel of kids I left in the backseat to run into walmart for five minutes.
Dang I leave the baby sleeping in his crib and the three year old playing to get DD from the school bus. It does drop off at our driveway, which I find silly when the stop is just three houses down the road. They acted like I was crazy saying it was okay to drop my 1st grader at the bus stop. They also got all in a huff when I signed the form that said to drop her off without me in the driveway. I am always outside but I was worried the two little ones would need something at the last minute. If you don't sign this form and are not outside they take her back to school.
The chances are slim, but sometimes cars get stolen with kids inside of them.
My bff just had her wallet stolen from her car (window smashed) when she was dropping her kids off at preschool. She was in the building less than 5 minutes and probably never out of direct eye sight.
see, that's bad.
I used to leave DS in the car while running in to get DD at preschool, but there was a community of people there. a parking lot. everybody knew everybody and each others cars. hell, there were ordinarily a teacher or two outside. people milled around and chatted, and the prevailing culture was that it was OK to leave sibs in the cars because everybody kept an eye out for each other.
I can't imagine anybody smashing a windshield in that kind of environment.
The chances are slim, but sometimes cars get stolen with kids inside of them.
My bff just had her wallet stolen from her car (window smashed) when she was dropping her kids off at preschool. She was in the building less than 5 minutes and probably never out of direct eye sight.
see, that's bad.
I used to leave DS in the car while running in to get DD at preschool, but there was a community of people there. a parking lot. everybody knew everybody and each others cars. hell, there were ordinarily a teacher or two outside. people milled around and chatted, and the prevailing culture was that it was OK to leave sibs in the cars because everybody kept an eye out for each other.
I can't imagine anybody smashing a windshield in that kind of environment.
I don't think she could either.
I don't think that there were people milling around and chatting though. It's not a small preschool though, and it was at a normal drop off time. I think the person was just bold or maybe even a fellow parent? Who knows. It totally freaked her the fuck out though and when she turned around was half expecting the guy to still be there.
There is stigma about leaving kids in a car, even for just a minute, because many kids have been accidentally left in cars and died. I'm not saying the hysteria is warranted but I see where it comes from.
The risk of harm coming to a sleeping infant/toddler in a car alone while you go inside to get something is pretty small. The harm that could come to them is catastrophic, however; all you have to do is read the paper for a few horrific stories to see what COULD happen, if you take the risk and lose.
When ds1 was about two, there was a woman who left her two year old in her car outside the TCBY yogurt shop where she could see him through the glass window while she ran in and got a yogurt. Someone broke into the car, and was trying to steal it, which she saw happening. So she ran out there and tried to get her two year old out of the back seat, and as she was trying,the thief got the car started and drove off (he did not realize that the child was in the car, he said) The child's foot was stuck in the belt of the car seat, and the child's head was on the pavement and he was dragged to death. The last thing his mother heard her child utter was his screams for her. I nver left either child in the car for any reason after reading about this.
Did she expect/intend this? No, I am sure she did not. Is it likely to happen? One in a bazillion odds this would happen; you could never plan for this. And yet it did happen, and wouldn't have if she'd taken him inside. Not something I could live with, and this is what she has to live with.
that's awful. ...but it's just as (if not more) likely that, if she took her child out of the car and took him into TCBY, there would be a gunman in the store who goes on a shooting rampage. Or a gas leak. Or a fire. Or a million other things.
And also, babies die sleeping soundly in their own crib. So you know, there's that.
Living life is a risk. You could also get in a fatal car crash driving to WalMart, where you had every intention of bringing the kid in with you when you got there.
And shit has recently happened to you. I don't see you advocating people not allowing their children to drive because BAD THINGS HAPPEN AND YOU WILL REGRET IT!
It's emotional manipulation, pure and muthafucking simple. How fucking dare you? I'm sorry but that was a cruel post to make. Not just the story itself but your whole bizarre, you'll rue the day spin on it to boot.
I think the thing is everything has risks. Sometimes you have to expose your child to these risks, like being driven in a car. Sometimes you don't have to expose your child to theses risks, like leaving a child in a car. It's up to each parent to conduct their own risk assessment.
Well, Sue Sue's kid was recently in a very serious car accident from which he's still recovering. So she's not exactly talking out of her ass nor is she coming from a rational place atm. Just a wee bit hypocritical one.
Not trying to be a douchebag as much as maybe explain her nonsensical hysteria. I probably should have been a bit more measured in my response given that bit of background.
Wow, thanks for posting that graphic story of something that is extremely unlikely to happen again to anyone. My mind has been changed.
thank you.
nothing made my day more complete than hearing that shit. because SOMETIMES I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE. i have to leave at least one of my kids in the car at a time because i don't have four arms.
CAN'T PEOPLE PUT SHIT LIKE THAT IN A DIFFERENT POST?
"This prick is asking for someone here to bring him to task Somebody give me some dirt on this vacuous mass so we can at last unmask him I'll pull the trigger on it, someone load the gun and cock it While we were all watching, he got Washington in his pocket."
It's not "YOU"LL RUE THE DAY". It's "it's a risk, and it's a small one, sure. But if you lose the loss is not fixable". And it's an easy risk to avoid. Don't risk what you cannot afford to lose. I don't think it's cruel at all, but will delete.
My entire house could burn down every time I turn on the oven.
My babysitter could be a fucking nutcase every time I hire one.
I could get kidnapped every time I stop on I-95 for gas.
We could argue all day about acceptable risk and that's a fine discussion to have but dude, you really took it to another level.
Well, Sue Sue's kid was recently in a very serious car accident from which he's still recovering. So she's not exactly talking out of her ass nor is she coming from a rational place atm. Just a wee bit hypocritical one.
but that accident had nothing to do with a baby. he's a teen.
I think people need to chill. If something like what happened to Sue Sue's friend happened to my friend, it would probably affect my actions too, and probably not rationally.
I think people need to chill. If something like what happened to Sue Sue's friend happened to my friend, it would probably affect my actions too, and probably not rationally.
that's great. my friends lost their child at someone else's hands but i don't randomly post the details of it unless asked. at best i'll mention that it happened and i'll either post if asked or PM.
but that accident had nothing to do with a baby. he's a teen.
I know.
I think she's being a dingding. A full scale ding ding. But I also think that recent experience is fueling her crazy at the moment.
Plus, you ever get in a post where you're all IF YOU KNEW ersumshit and the person comes back with WELL I DO KNOW! and then you feel like a jerk because you would have worded it differently if you did?
Yeah, I'm just trying to save us all from that lol.
There are just so many risks out there. I see where Sue is coming from, and realize that she is currently experiencing her own tramatic event that nearly cost her son's life, so I think that she deserves some compassion.
However, there are so, so many things that could harm our children. I would argue that there is a greater risk of my child running out in front of a car on our way into the grocery store than someone stealing him while he's waiting. He could get mauled by our family dog, get cat scratch fever from the cat or fall in the bottom of the well without Lassie there to save him.
I really think the issue here is Mommy Wars and the entire sanctimommy culture. We have to be the most attentive, the most caring, the best parent to even be worthy of changing the poopy diapers of the little ankle biters that we birthed. We are putting so much pressure on ourselves and others to be perfect, that often we are too stressed out to give them what they really need.