Can i leave my child alone in the car?

Our author just had to quickly fill a prescription at the pharmacy and left her son waiting in the car – with a very bad conscience at first .

It was a wednesday in november with glorious sunshine in hamburg. I spent the afternoon with my son on the Elbstrand, on the way back we had to stop quickly at the doctor to pick up a prescription. Arrived at the pharmacy, the almost three and a half year old had no desire to get out again, which I could quite understand. And actually it came in quite handy . Children have to wait in front of the door at this pharmacy anyway, since corona has been around, and I’m very reluctant to leave the little one alone outside. In addition, things like constantly putting on and taking off the winter jacket, fastening and unfastening the seat belt and, of course, getting in and out of the car on his own ("I can do that on my own") are not always easy!") are not necessarily among my everyday favorites either.

so i turned from the driver’s seat to him and said: "but then you have to wait in the car all alone." i had expected a protest, but instead he answered in a totally relaxed way: "that’s okay, mama. I am not afraid." i briefly wondered whether i should still give him instructionsà la "if you need me, you just have to call for me loudly" – but that would probably have scared him more. So I made him instead a follow "leo truck" on my cell phone and got out, with a slightly queasy feeling.

At this point, it could get exciting- because of course something could happen right NOW. I in the pharmacy, the child mutterseelenallein in the car. But: nothing happened at all! I was just incredibly nervous, while my son calmly and of course highly concentrated watched his favorite video.

The car was parked right in front of the pharmacy- through the big window i had him in view all the time. When I went back and pulled open the car door, I was still so relieved. But why actually? What could have happened? can pass?

Leaving children alone in the car is a tricky issue .

. It is always the subject of lively discussion on the net. In our old live-and-let-live.De-forum there is for example the following entry of a mother:

"Hello. Something happened to me today. I went with ben and my mom right after breakfast to run a few errands and visit my grandma in the hospital. At the very end we wanted to buy a few more things. Ben fell asleep on the way from B to C. He slept for a good 15 minutes when we arrived at the store are. And since I didn’t want to wake him up, we left him in the car. I must say that I always leave him in the car when he sleeps. If he is awake, I never leave him in the car, unless I have to refuel. So, we took between 10 minutes and 15 minutes in the store, and when we were at the checkout, I gave my money to my mom, which she pays for me, so I can go and look. As expected he slept peacefully. Then I went back to the checkout, and then I heard how they called out a license plate, and when I repeated it, I noticed that it is mine. I then there, and was approached by a man, whether I could justify leaving my baby alone in the car. Me: yes, he is sleeping. He: it is forbidden. I since when then that? He:is like this. Me: asleep yes, I should have woken him up? He: the sun is shining on the car I: yes, but we do not have 38 degrees, but 10 degrees.In the summer it is ok, but now. He then said again that it is forbidden, and was already leaving. I then said that I think it’s good that he looks and then reacts. I think it’s really ok, but if the child sleeps quietly. If I come to a car and the child is sleeping in it, I think it is ok. But if it cries, I would let the parents call out, or if it is hot is. What do you think about this. "

The comments under this entry are clear. Tenor: to leave a child alone in the car does not go at all! One user writes: "honestly i find it absolutely irresponsible to leave a child alone in the car whether he is asleep or not!" Another commented: "sorry but that you can go there with calm conscience in the store I understand absolutely not. My son also often falls asleep, but I ALWAYS wake him up when we go to the store or something. Aren’t you afraid that something will happen to your child?. "

Here we are again at my initial question: what exactly is supposed to happen when you leave your child alone in the car?? My biggest worry was that someone might take my son away with them. I did not want to lock the car . I calmed myself with the thought that you could not just yank my son out of the car because he was strapped in. And just between us: how big is there any chance that a nasty kidnapper will come along at this very moment and kidnap my son?? In the middle of hamburg? In the late afternoon?

In the forum entries there are however still completely different scenarios:
the child could choke on his own spit while asleep or he could have a seizure, a truck could run into the parked car, the mother or father could slip and pass out after getting out of the car, so no one knows, that there is still a child waiting in the car .

Honestly: of course all these things could happen . Or not! I find these reasons exaggerated. After all, you can not put his child 24/7 under observation.

But there are exactly two arguments that I find plausible: sleeping children should not be left alone in the car, because they might panic when they wake up. And even in summer, children have nothing to look for alone in the car, babies certainly not! Because cars heat up incredibly fast, as the graphic from ADAC shows.

Since my son is one of the few kids on this planet who doesn’t like to fall asleep quickly while driving, I don’t think this will be a problem for us. And in the summer we are usually anyway with the bike or scooter on the road.

In the end, it’s probably- as with so many things- it is a matter of common sense whether you can leave a child alone in a certain situation or not. With my son the situation or as he proudly calls it "I waited all alone in the car for mama" led to a proper push of his self-confidence. And that is exactly why I would- as long as all the factors fit- leave him alone in the car again.

Our author

Jana kalla is editor-in-chief at live& educate. Before she was for many years mainly in the beauty cosmos on the road.

since she has her own little son, her life has not only become a lot more turbulent, it has also led her to broaden her range of topics. And what could be better than writing about diapers and mascara?

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