My kids (7,9) and their dads gf’s daughter (8) just spent a week at their dads place. They came back and told me that on Thursday (temperatures of 29° in Brisbane) they were left in the car whilst their dad and his gf went and got coffee. The windows were up and they said it felt like it was 10 mins and they were all really sweaty.
I’ve asked their dad about this and he said there is more to the story and doesn’t owe me an explanation. However I can’t stop thinking about it. All three of them could have had something terrible happen.
We have no court orders and I’m not sure how to handle this?
7 Replies
There are lots of studies that track the temp of a car inside. If the car was parked in direct sunlight during the maximum temperature for 10 minutes on that day, the heat inside would have been uncomfortable but perfectly safe. Your ex could probably see them while waiting for his coffee. Just make sure your kids know to open a door if they need and to climb into the front and open 1 of those doors if the back doors have the child lock on.
Tell them to get out next time they’re sweaty. Kids literally won’t think to do that if they’ve been told to stay in a car and are without a parent. They’ll do what they’re told. So tell them they’re to get out and go to shade.
Id actually be more suss on the coffee story, because surely one of them would have stayed. But then, if it’s a one off, just keep it and deal with it with the kids, don’t jump on him, he’s right, you don’t know what they needed to do for ten minutes.
I'd be angry but they are of an age where they can open doors. Since dad isn't easy to get a long with (apparently doesn't owe you an explanation) train your kids about car safety and to teach them that it's OK to ask for help if they need it. Only you can make a decision about how specific you need to be and that also involves road safety. Kids do what they're told by their parents BUT also, you can teach them to make smart decisions that keep them safe. Did dad leave them with any means of contact (mobile phone etc?)
Do they know how to get out of the car? Not meaning to sound smart but at those ages they should be able to open the door.
I am actually shocked at how many parents on here and the Facebook thread think it's ok to leave children in hot cars. It's no wonder so many children die in hot cars with this mentality.
The law states children under 12 should NOT be left in cars unattended. Looking at your children from a shop window (that probably has aircon) and not being able to feel the temperature rising inside a closed car is not attended.
All these children were under 12, therefore this father has been neglectful in his duty of care to his children. If it was my ex he would not be having unsupervised access to the children again until the matter was sorted out and he learns that no matter what your explanation is children's safety and well-being comes first.
This! Why did both adults have to go inside the coffee shop? One of them should have stayed in the car. Also the children are all old enough that should be able to wait patiently in a queue, while the adults get their coffees.
My kids are late teens now, but when I started leaving them in the car a few years ago if they didn’t want to duck into the shop with me, I would park in the shade or so the sun wasn’t directly on where they were sitting and would leave the windows down to let the air flow through the car keeping the temp lower.