You Know What Really Grinds My Gears....The Sequel!

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by GGG

This Grinds my Gears. Why do we have to judge other parents in this situation for having a different risk tolerance than ourselves.

The question we need to ask is how many kids die or get kidnapped each year from being left in a car for less than 15 minutes in non-extreme weather? Then that risk needs to be compared with how many injuries are there from slip and falls in parking lots with kids, how many vehicle pedestrian collisions occur with kids, how many kids get kidnapped/lost in malls/stores. Once we have properly assessed the risk then we can pass judgement. All I know is that the risk of harm coming to the child in either situation is ridiculously low. And no doubt order of magnitudes safer than driving to Ikea in the first place.

My own personal policy is that if I can see the car then I will leave the kids in, if I cant then I bring them in. But I shouldn't judge people within reason if they take marginally more or less risk. Especially when we don't know which is safer.

Agreed 100%. Surely I'm not the only one that remember being left in the car as a kid? Christ I hated shopping. Guess how many times I got hurt? ZERO.

If your kid is an idiot and is going to open the door and wander off, then sure, don't leave them. Otherwise? There's many many other things you've probably done that same day that is more dangerous. Like driving to the store in the first place.

I wouldn't do it nowadays because the Helen Lovejoys of the world would call in a friggin' tactical team over it. But really, unless the temperature is extreme, I see no problem.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Stealth22

I don't have kids, but my personal policy is going to be to bring him/her/them in with me, unless my wife will be in the car with them.

The toddler can easily unlock the door and get out of the car, or even move up to the front seat. Sure, he won't have the keys. But it's not hard to move the gear lever. A toddler with half a brain who's watched mommy and daddy drive can put a car into Neutral without much of an issue. Kids are smarter than you think. I personally used to take great interest in watching my parents drive when I was little.

So you can see the car? That's nice. You'll have a front-row seat view of your car rolling out of it's parking space when your 4-year-old puts the car in Neutral because "he saw Daddy do it" all the time. Then, your car hits a passing SUV, and your 4-year-old, who is not wearing the seatbelt, hits his head on the steering wheel or the windshield. Or the more likely scenario, he gets out of the car and wanders off, or god forbid, gets hit by another driver. You've now got an injured or missing child, a police officer who wants to have a chat, a damaged vehicle, and worst of all, an angry wife.

/rant

Or you pull your kid out of the car slip on a patch of ice and smash your kids head into the ground as you fall on top of him. Both risks exist. Both are marginal and far less than driving itself.


I agree that there is some risk of the kid getting out of the car but well trained kids wont. That is also why My personal rule is in sight of the car. Also your commitment to never leaving your kid in the car alone will be put under great pressure when you have a kid and their asleep in the back and you need to run in and get something. I am confused how an automatic car gets into neutral without keys.

One thing I recently learned was that child safety locks on back doors are actually dangerous. They were fine while your car has them but if you rent a car and the car rental doesnt have child safety locks you end up with your kid opening up the door while going down the highway. So which is safer? As a parent you make a risk assessment and decide what you are going to do or if you are going to worry about.

[burn_this_city]

My folks left my brother and I in the car all the time. We preferred it to going inside the stores. There is definitely a lot of hysteria around this now that I don't understand. Of course if it's too hot or cold you shouldn't do it but I don't see an issue the majority of the time.

[Bmuzyka]

I agree that it depends on the situation. If I am stopping at my local 7-11 to get milk, and I can see the car at all times, yeah, I will leave the kids outside. But that is kinda the extent. I wouldn't go into Sobeys or something and leave them out there, unless there is another adult in the car.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by JonDuke

Blessed am I when something so boring and mundane is what angers me most in life...

Is that the Tuscany Sobeys? If so, that's the first time I have ever seen it without a bunch of lazy, entitled fire lane parkers blocking your view of pedestrians popping out of the store.

Lets hang out. You can slap around the diagonal walkers, and I'll take care of the fire lane parkers.

[JonDuke]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Is that the Tuscany Sobeys? If so, that's the first time I have ever seen it without a bunch of lazy, entitled fire lane parkers blocking your view of pedestrians popping out of the store.

Lets hang out. You can slap around the diagonal walkers, and I'll take care of the fire lane parkers.

Good eye. It sure is.

[OzSome]

Pedestrian who started crossing on the street without thinking someone might hit them. Twice yesterday that I stopped suddenly. First this idiot decided to stepped on the street and started crossing. Luckily for me he was on the other side so I had time to stop. The guy was not even on pedestrian crossing. I also didn't even see him look on my side. Then a few kilometers later by Century Casino, this lady with her hoodie on did the same crap. I mean if they don't care if they get injured or get killed, i do. Makes you wonder why there are so many pedestrians getting hit. Man/Woman vs CAR... guess who will win?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by OzSome

Pedestrian who started crossing on the street without thinking someone might hit them. Twice yesterday that I stopped suddenly. First this idiot decided to stepped on the street and started crossing. Luckily for me he was on the other side so I had time to stop. The guy was not even on pedestrian crossing. I also didn't even see him look on my side. Then a few kilometers later by Century Casino, this lady with her hoodie on did the same crap. I mean if they don't care if they get injured or get killed, i do. Makes you wonder why there are so many pedestrians getting hit. Man/Woman vs CAR... guess who will win?

Was this turning onto 17th Ave from 8th St? I was at an advanced green and this guy starts crossing, then he nicely steps back and waves us (some other guy in front me) through. Thanks!

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Is that the Tuscany Sobeys? If so, that's the first time I have ever seen it without a bunch of lazy, entitled fire lane parkers blocking your view of pedestrians popping out of the store.

Lets hang out. You can slap around the diagonal walkers, and I'll take care of the fire lane parkers.

Fire lane parking? Don't you mean taxi cab pick up area?

[Bmuzyka]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

Fire lane parking? Don't you mean taxi cab pick up area?

Taxi cab? In Tuscany? No, you are mistaken, Taxi's aren't used for everyday errands in Calgary. They are only to be used for drunken rides home, and only from Downtown/Beltline to a surrounding suburb.

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by GGG

I agree that there is some risk of the kid getting out of the car but well trained kids wont. That is also why My personal rule is in sight of the car. Also your commitment to never leaving your kid in the car alone will be put under great pressure when you have a kid and their asleep in the back and you need to run in and get something. I am confused how an automatic car gets into neutral without keys.

Not sure what I was on when I wrote that, now that I read my post again.

Perhaps I was actually thinking about dumb parents who leave the keys in the car with the kid. I was adding 2 + 2 and came up with 222.

Anyhow, I guess what I was trying to say is that even if you can see the car, I still wouldn't want a 3-year-old being able to move about on his own. I mean, yeah sure, as long as I've got the keys, that car is probably not moving. Toddlers are still smarter than we give them credit for though.

It sounds a little Helen Lovejoy-esque, but most of my friends who have little kids, those kids are more than smart enough to open a car door on their own. In fact, one of my really good friends has a 5-year-old son. He and his wife train him well and keep him in check. But that kid is one smart cookie; he'll listen to what his parents say all day long, but if you leave him alone in a car, I'm pretty sure he'll get a bright idea to go exploring.

It's not that kids wouldn't be well-trained, or disobey what you tell them. But most toddlers have the attention span of a goldfish. The kid I mentioned above would simply get bored of sitting. I agree that the risk is minimal if its not super hot or freezing outside. All that being said, I still probably wouldn't do it.

You're right, when the time comes, there will probably be situations where I have to get something, and there's a sleeping kid in the back, and the wife isn't with me. And maybe my tune will change later, maybe it won't. But right now, the way I see it, I don't think I'd leave him/her in the car alone. Call it not wanting to take a risk, or not feeling right about it, or even just not wanting to be subjected to the ongoing hysteria from the Helen Lovejoys of the world about leaving anything with a pulse alone in a vehicle.

What I have a problem with though, is parents who leave little kids in the car when it's either +25 or -25 outside, or, running into a store to grab something, and leaving the kids in a car with the keys in the ignition. Either case is just a recipe for disaster. I think everyone here can agree on that.

[jayswin]

Waiting in the car during grocery shopping was the best grocery shopping trips possible when I was a kid.

[Ark2]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

My folks left my brother and I in the car all the time. We preferred it to going inside the stores. There is definitely a lot of hysteria around this now that I don't understand. Of course if it's too hot or cold you shouldn't do it but I don't see an issue the majority of the time.

Helicopter parents. I think Hesla acted reasonably, but saying that he wanted to punch the father is excessive. Nothing wrong with leaving your kid in the car for 15 minutes or less. Kids are coddled far too much these days.

[undercoverbrother]

I bring my kids in with me, but I like me kids.

I support everyone else leaving theirs in the vehicle.

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by fotze

We used to turn on the AC, window wipers, radio and everything we could find to full blast for my mom when she would start the car.

Did you put flour in the AC vents too?

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Waiting in the car during grocery shopping was the best grocery shopping trips possible when I was a kid.

I always liked to go into Safeway, because that meant I'd get to eat an apple while we walked around. You couldn't force me to eat an apple outside of the store, but the second I got in there, I had to have that Granny Smith. Maybe it was because I got to hand the core to the cashier so they could charge us a random amount for the apple.

[puckluck2]

The ONE time I order a side ginger chicken they pack my ginger chicken combo? 100 spoons and all I need is a knife.

[pylon]

Brand new car, less than 30 kms on the odometer, and some FATAface driving a half ton, with no mud flaps talking on his phone wanders into the gravel filled shoulder on Crowchild, and now I have a chip in my windshield. I was literally driving it home from the dealership. I still hadn't taken the frikking plastic off the seats.

1/2 ton owners with no mud flaps on their trucks deserve cancer and AIDS, and so does everyone else in their family.

[pylon]

No, definitely not following too close. I am not saying I never do. But being a brand new car, I was giving myself extra distance, rock chips drive me insane. I was being that annoying guy, with the extra large gap between me and the next vehicle.

[pylon]

It crossed my mind, but that would mean running a set of brand new 19" wheels in the gravel, and then I would have had damage on those too. I just popped into Crystal Glass on my way home, and they fixed it, but I can still see it a tiny bit. It might as well be the size of a f'ing cantaloupe now I know it's there.