Anonymous wrote:Except that the things we do because it's the law, not because it's necessarily unsafe, are not going to kill our kids. it's uncomfortable to pull a sleepy kid out of the car for an errand, but not life-threatening. Leaving him in the car on a hot day would be.

But only if you are a moron. We all have to abide by these laws they have to create to protect kids (and people) from idiots. MOST parents can tell the difference of when they should/should not leave a kid in the car. But a minority of dummies ruined it for everyone.

Except that the things we do because it's the law, not because it's necessarily unsafe, are not going to kill our kids. it's uncomfortable to pull a sleepy kid out of the car for an errand, but not life-threatening. Leaving him in the car on a hot day would be.

Yes this is true. People haul their sleeping 5 yo into the post office when they could have just left them in the car. Most likely they won't get kidnapped, and the car isn't likely to spontaneously combust, bit it is likely that some nosy person with too much time on their hands will come past the car and make a stink about how you have endangered your child.

https://www.thestar.com/life/2016/09/13/if-you-leave-your-kids-alone-its-not-predatory-strangers-who-are-a-risk.html

A friend of mine posted this article on Facebook and it's an interesting read (IMO.) It essentially says that people's perceived level of danger is tied to whether they think something is immoral and that kids are in more danger from do-gooders who think they're helping than from actual dangerous people or situations. Would love to hear other people's thoughts. I know I played alone and didn't necessarily tell anyone where I was going as a kid, and I was definitely left alone in the car (with nothing to do! The horror!) while my mom shopped or ran other errands. I hated it but that doesn't mean that it was dangerous...just unkind. (Though as an adult I can appreciate why she left me rather than take me.)