Anonymous wrote:You will learn to share the kids nicely, and do not overreact again. Makes you look bad. Even bringing this incident up makes you look bad. your kid/messed up more than the dad and grandma. Just share the custody and all is good.

Who called her about this emergency?

I’d feel guilty as $hit if I lazily left my 6 and 8 yo in a parked car in a busy lot while I waited five minutes for a pizza out of sight.

I’d really feel like $hit if they wandered out of the car lost and scared.

And I’d really feel like $hit if I had to call a locksmith because I left the keys in the ignition with my two kids in the car while I walked away for five minutes.

Courts will eat this up, especially if there is a pattern of poor judgment, lazy parenting, and mishaps. OPs ex just won extensive parenting classes at a minimum.

Where was the car? This is a misdemeanor in MD.

Anonymous wrote:A 9 year old can sit in the car for a minute if its out front and visible. A 8-9 year old can open the car door.

Cool but these kids are “under nine” which means the oldest is eight and the youngest is statistically six or younger.

A 9 year old can sit in the car for a minute if its out front and visible. A 8-9 year old can open the car door.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did the kids get out of the car?

Do you have kids?!?!?

Are you really asking why little kids would get out of a car in a parking lot when left alone there!?!? And even told or yelled at to stay there?!?

Yes. I have several under nine. And they know to stay in the car if I’m, say, running in to grab our pizza. So I’m curious whether these children got out because they were disobedient or if there’s some other issue OP didn’t mention, like Dad was gone for twenty minutes or the AC stopped working or one of the kids had spontaneously combusted.

Maybe delinquent dad and delinquent grandmother are the problem here, and the kids know that.

You will learn to share the kids nicely, and do not overreact again. Makes you look bad. Even bringing this incident up makes you look bad. your kid/messed up more than the dad and grandma. Just share the custody and all is good.

As a kid who was the kid in a breakup like this, I think you overreacted OP.

There is no context here for why you are in a bad divorce or if dad is abusive (I will admit I only read the first page) but the fact that you showed up when he had the kids and no one was in danger seems extremely over the top and it put the kids smack dab in the middle of a fight. Your ex participated in that too by yelling at you while you were there, so I'm not saying he doesn't also suck.

But the reality is that two kids who are old enough to unbuckle and get out of the car hanging in a car while dad and grandma go pick up the pizza is not an extremely dangerous situation. The kids locking the dog in while the car was running is a very annoying and inconvenient situation for dad but also not dangerous. There was really no imminent danger here and 100% no reason to get into a screaming match in public with your ex in front of the kids.

TLDR: That screaming match was far more damaging and distressing to them than anything about this car situation, take it from someone who knows.

I've never accidentally locked my keys in the car with or without my kid/dog, but a few of my mom friends have and no one called the cops on them and no kid/dog was harmed!

You are being vindictive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did the kids get out of the car?

Do you have kids?!?!?

Are you really asking why little kids would get out of a car in a parking lot when left alone there!?!? And even told or yelled at to stay there?!?

Yes. I have several under nine. And they know to stay in the car if I’m, say, running in to grab our pizza. So I’m curious whether these children got out because they were disobedient or if there’s some other issue OP didn’t mention, like Dad was gone for twenty minutes or the AC stopped working or one of the kids had spontaneously combusted.

Never let kids alone in a running car: The only reason you would do that is if you're too lazy to do the right thing, ie turn the car off, get the kids and dog out, or, OR: leave one adult with them! What a concept. Kids left in running cars is just asking for trouble.

The kids were under nine. Slow your enthusiasm to spew vitriol at women and actually read.

Leaving a child alone in a car with the keys in the ignition is incredibly irresponsible and would likely result in a citation if police were called— it doesn’t take much to put a car into reverse and kill someone.

Anonymous wrote:Why did the kids get out of the car?

Do you have kids?!?!?

Are you really asking why little kids would get out of a car in a parking lot when left alone there!?!? And even told or yelled at to stay there?!?

Why did the kids get out of the car?

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who thinks your kids are partially to blame here? 9 years old is old enough to stay in the car if your parent asks you to stay in the car.

It's not like he turned the car off and left them in a hot car.

I always blame or partially blame my kids for accidents I could have prevented.