Soldato
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Leaving a child in a locked car while you go shopping is neglect though, and it is always wrong to do so, there is no black and white on that issue.
Quick question to all parents...
- Thread starter EniGmA1981
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Leaving a child in a locked car while you go shopping is neglect though, and it is always wrong to do so, there is no black and white on that issue.
Was referring more towards leaving the kids while shopping. But even so, in a petrol station, if i had kids too young, I'd chose a pay at the pump. If that wasn't working and I had a clear view of the car, then perhaps. But I would be uncomfortable about it and eyes would be on the car at all times.
As for shopping for 10mins, I would hope the social services would take the kids away from parents who do that.
I refute that it constitutes neglect.
In the case of an 18 month old baby left unattended I suspect that the Police would be very much interested.
I must admit your stance on this surprises the hell out of me.
My stance mainly stems from the fact that I refuse to buy into the media hysteria about paedogeddon and as such won't adjust my behaviour for this phantom threat.
Ahaha, is the car parked in the desert?
Soldato
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It really doesnt matter if you refute it or not, the fact remains that it is a criminal offense to do so under section 1 of the children and young persons act.
The offence under s1 occurs when you neglect the child. The section says nothing about what constitutes neglect. Does the act even define neglect or is that left to case law? Or for the judge and jury to interpret?
Even so, and I agree to some extent, leaving a Baby unattended in a public place is still not acceptable behaviour.
Whether the risks are low or not, they remain risks and abduction is not the only problem with leaving very young children unattended in this way.
Soldato
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It is obviously up to the judge and jury to interpret, if you look at what happened with the Celtic footballer (a pretty decent example), they argued out of it that they were watching the car the whole time and there was no danger to the child.
If it wasn't illegal then they would never have been charged in the first place.
Its fairly common for people to be charged for leaving children in cars, people either get charged with neglect or reckless endangerment of the the child.
I do respect the fact you have been honest in saying that it is something you have done before and I also do agree that children are mollycoddled too much now as well but it does remain a pretty solid fact that leaving your kids in a locked car while you go shopping is an offense.
I seems that it is the decision of social services to define whether a child is at risk or not.
Regardless of your personal opinion in this I expect that leaving a baby alone for 10 minutes while you are in a shop or out of earshot or the immediate vicinity of that child would indeed constitute neglect by their definition and at the very least would warrant an investigation into the Parents suitability in general. I doubt that alone it would warrant removal from the family home or anything other than a caution however.
A family court judge would I expect be the ultimate arbiter of whether it was neglect or not however.
Personally I would advise being a little cautious, as it is not whether the actual danger is real but how the risk of danger is perceived by the authorities, and given society in general Vonhelmet, I would err on the side of caution in future.
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Vonhelmet, you really should be a little smarter than incriminating yourself on a public forum, on what could potentially become a very serious outcome for that of you and your family.
I really think, someone could use this thread against you as to whether or not you and your wife were fit parents. To simply argue against all logic, in the self belief that your views are right and everyone else is wrong, would ring alarm bells if this thread and your identity fell in the hands of social services.
What were you saying about common sense again?
After all the risks are low on that too.
I really think, someone could use this thread against you as to whether or not you and your wife were fit parents. To simply argue against all logic, in the self belief that your views are right and everyone else is wrong, would ring alarm bells if this thread and your identity fell in the hands of social services.
What were you saying about common sense again?
After all the risks are low on that too.
Considering how appalling care can be in this country you must really hate kids if you want them to enter that system for being left unattended in a car for 10 minutes.
Soldato
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My dad did it once when my brother and I were young.
We released the handbrake.
He never did it again.
We released the handbrake.
He never did it again.
Yes of course I agree that would be too extreme. HOWEVER, i think it would be fair to say that a parent who leaves his 18month yr old kid in the car unattended is capable of negligence in other areas and the incident would be considered an eye opener .
To be honest considering what social services have to deal with on real cases of neglect I doubt that they would bat an eyelid about it. I have dropped a mail to a friend who has spent the last 20 years working in social care and will see what he comes back with.
I have serious misgivings over the validity of accusing Vonhelmet of being abusive or neglectful of their children. I am confident that they most certainly are quite the opposite.
He doesn't come across as being anything of the sort and to judge him on his stance on this point is a little premature.
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OF course, that is very unlikely anyone would do such a thing. Especially in a decent enough community such as OcUK. However there is a risk of it happening. I personally would never write such things on a public forum.
When it comes to young children, things do get blown out of proportion.. However like you said earlier, if I was him, I would err on the side of caution on publicly announcing such antics.