Why I will never shop at Bed, Bath, and Beyond again.

My sis's sil forgot her little dog in the car last summer. He didn't make it. It was very sad. I know you can forget about a baby, and it has been in the news before.

when Saige was a teeny tiny little one... my first trip with her alone (no hubby) I was taking her for a check up and then stop at a friends. I set her in her carseat on the garage floor while I went back and forth loading up what I would need, like the diaper bag, library books to return, a few other things for errands. Very careful not to forget anything I would need. Got in the car.... got to the end of the road and realized I forgot the baby!!!!! Luckily we lived at the end of a dead end road and she was perfectly fine and still sleeping when I pulled back around the driveway 90 seconds later. I have not forgotten since.

Nowdays however I am very guilty of leaving them in the car in the driveway... I always load them first and run back in for everything else (running with A/C or heat if needed). Same goes when I get groceries... I carry them in before getting Rylan, and well I make Saige stay with him to keep him company. Never more than 3-4 minutes and I can see the car the whole time... I just don't have enough arms and Rylan is a monster... he is safer in his seat than going through my grocery bags before I can put away stuff he can't have or running out the door when my arms are full, and it's just easier on me. I wouldn't leave him without Saige, but she is not a typical 4 year old. I don't worry about leaving her for a minute or two. Plus with the windows down and the house door open I am still only a few feet away and I can hear them while I grab my purse and coupons.

I would NEVER do it anywhere else or in a hot car. I get them out for two second post office trips, paying for gas... basically everywhere else.

oh tara, I do that all the time. (at the house) or going into a relitives house. There really is no other way to do it. ANd I cant holler up a neighbor, so I fiqure I am relitivly safe from car jackers.

If I bring in Bow he will be in everything or following me outside, or breaking the eggs. Plus, it means waking him up.

and LOL about forgetting her at home!

I am trying to think back what I did with the little ones who were around here when I took them with me. I'm pretty sure they were left alone while I did something but only if they were older. For sure, if it was hot, no way! And if there was only one (they had to come with). Sometimes they asked to stay in the car to listen to the radio but that was in the days before MP3s and iPods and videos. Although this city is a "big" city, it has a small town environment. It was pretty safe to leave kids in cars while you ran errands. However, errands should come in under 20 minutes, like paying an utility bill or picking up a load of bread.

But, I can't for the life of me, understand how anyone can leave a child in a car in sweltering heat or just leave a baby alone like that. As horrible as it seems, I can understand the employee's point of view as you never know what people are up to these days. I doubt if I could have ignored it but some people are like that. I've been had before... as a city employee at a park, I had to close everything up at night (low on the totem pole, lol). One day this kid came in and she was hysterical! I had never seen such crying in my entire adult life. I couldn't get a clear understanding of what was wrong with her and decided to take her home. I closed the place up and packed her in the car. She was still crying really hard a part of the way to her house, WHICH WAS TWENTY MINUTES AWAY IN ANOTHER TOWN! By the time we got to her house, she was calm and smiling and thanked me very much. I asked her what in the world had been wrong with her and she calmly told me if I hadn't taken her home, she would have gotten home when her mom told her to. Then smiled this cute smile and I knew I had been had... And the fact that the park director told me I'd been had. Apparently, this child was very good at what she did.

Then there are stories on planned robberies where the employee is distracted, etc...

Holy cow, Pearly! She's lucky you weren't a predator. Most people think women are safe and would never hurt a child, but there are some sick people out there and women are no exception. I've read of women who picked up female hitchhikers to take to their boyfriends to rape.

Tara, I leave my kids in the car in the front yard when they're asleep. I roll down the windows and let them nap while I unload the groceries or run the dishwasher or whatever. I've left them for hours. We're a good hike away from the nearest neighbor and you can hear any car approaching because the lane is gravel. But I'm always in earshot so I can go to them when they wake up. And I have a dog who will sit nearby and bark if they start fussing.

That's so right, Karen. It doesn't matter that I had worked at the park all summer. Some predators just lay low and she certainly would have been an easy mark for the situation. I was so perturbed with her and myself. Actually, if it during these times, I probably would have put my job in jeopardy.

Oh I never wake them form sleeping in the car... I park in the shade, roll down the windows and grab a book or magazine and sit on the porch. They do some of the best napping in car : )