Locked the baby in the car

momtosix · Jul 27, 2007

OK, so I am getting all the kids out of the car to go into our hotel while on vacation after a long day. I realized my car isn't in straight enough, so I throw my keys and phone on the car front seat to move after the kids were in their strollers and on the sidewalk and older dks were with them. My DS (15)couldn't find something and must have hit the lock when he was looking under the seats. He closes the door to get by to get out baby and ugh!!! Keys, baby, and phone locked in!!! I panicked for a millisecond then calmly walked to the front desk to have them call the police for me. I told them the urgent nature and asked them to call the police non-emergency line and tell them the situation. I have AAA, but was worried I would have to wait hours. The police were there before I could even make it back to the car, (of course DS was car sitting

The police had me sign a waiver and tried to get in (scratched up the van something awful

), but ultimately their dispatcher called AAA for me and the were able to get in in like 20 seconds (no car damage) They have this giant wedge they use . The police waited with me until baby was safe in my arms ( she was asleep at the start, but pretty angry we wouldn't get her out) Anyway, just a caution NEVER put your keys on the seat. I had pockets, purse, etc., but I had always gotten my kids in the car throwing my keys on the front seat ( so I wouldn't misplace them)I had great anxiety about what I would have had to do if I was in the middle of nowwhere on a hot afternoon.

southpawboston · Jul 27, 2007

wow, good to hear you had a happy ending without much drama! good thing the cops were able to get into your car... some cars are pretty tamper-proof.

lovinwaves · Jul 27, 2007

What year is your vehicle? It is pretty much impossible to lock my keys in my car. The exception would be to lock it and then toss the keys in through the sunroof(if it was open)...I did that once LOL

My parents own businesses where people are constantly locking their keys in their cars. My dad invested in a "kit" to open car doors. It is pretty slick, and takes him anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes with no damage.

Glad the baby was ok, and all turned out well. :thumbsup:

momtosix · Jul 27, 2007

It's a 2003 Chevy Express 12 Passenger Van. LOL at the sunroof thing. Glad it is not just me

arly1983 · Jul 27, 2007

Don't feel bad, I did the same thing at the Vets office when Jackson was a baby...

The vet's assistant would always walk dixie out to the truck and I would get out and get Dixie and open the back door and put her in her crate..

When I got out I must have hit the lock button with my elbow because when I went to open the back door it was locked!

The vet's assistant ran back in with the dog and called the police while I sat with my running truck. They were there in no time and poped the door right open. Jackson slept throught the whole thing.

southpawboston · Jul 27, 2007

lovinwaves said:
What year is your vehicle? It is pretty much impossible to lock my keys in my car. The exception would be to lock it and then toss the keys in through the sunroof(if it was open)...I did that once LOL

it's not impossible. the hondas have a little trick for bypassing the anti-lock-out mechanism built into the driver's door (pull the outside door handle half-way, then you can operate the lock

). also, i don't believe there is any anti-lockout feature on the front passenger's door (but i may be wrong on this). so the passenger can lock the car normally without the key or remote. so no, it's not impossible, even on a honda.

most recent cars do have a lockout feature but it's only if your keys are *in the ignition*, not on the seat

.

jenmann21 · Jul 27, 2007

momtosix said:
OK, so I am getting all the kids out of the car to go into our hotel while on vacation after a long day. I realized my car isn't in straight enough, so I throw my keys and phone on the car front seat to move after the kids were in their strollers and on the sidewalk and older dks were with them. My DS (15)couldn't find something and must have hit the lock when he was looking under the seats. He closes the door to get by to get out baby and ugh!!! Keys, baby, and phone locked in!!! I panicked for a millisecond then calmly walked to the front desk to have them call the police for me. I told them the urgent nature and asked them to call the police non-emergency line and tell them the situation. I have AAA, but was worried I would have to wait hours. The police were there before I could even make it back to the car, (of course DS was car sitting The police had me sign a waiver and tried to get in (scratched up the van something awful ), but ultimately their dispatcher called AAA for me and the were able to get in in like 20 seconds (no car damage) They have this giant wedge they use . The police waited with me until baby was safe in my arms ( she was asleep at the start, but pretty angry we wouldn't get her out) Anyway, just a caution NEVER put your keys on the seat. I had pockets, purse, etc., but I had always gotten my kids in the car throwing my keys on the front seat ( so I wouldn't misplace them)I had great anxiety about what I would have had to do if I was in the middle of nowwhere on a hot afternoon.

Aww, poor mom and dd! I'm glad they were able to get in quickly.

That's one of my biggest fears. I have one of those hook/clip things on my keys (it's similar to what they use for rock climbing but not that heavy duty). When I get out of the car, I clip my keys onto my belt loop or around the strap of my purse and then get the kids out. Works pretty well.

hapaness · Jul 27, 2007

Wow..that must have been nerve wracking! Luckily my car only locks with the car alarm remote or I'd have done that many times over!

beeman · Jul 28, 2007

With the right tools it is quite easy to get into a locked car. (It took CAA about 20 seconds to get my friends truck unlocked). Since I've replaced my ignition on my truck, the door key and the ignition key is different, so I usually have a door key well hid in a safe place on the outside of my truck, and a door key in my wallet. Glad you got the baby out.

elle7715 · Jul 28, 2007

Whew, glad it worked out!
One of my old teachers was driving with her sister through a very bad neighborhood. They had to stop for gas and her sister was so jittery she managed to lock them both out of the car. They were scared because a lot of people were just hanging around. Then a pretty creepy looking guy came up to them and said "Locked out?". They nervously told him yes and he yanked something out of his coat sleeve, turned to the car, and had in unlocked in less than 5 seconds. I guess it was a car thief's good deed for the day. :ROTFLMAO:

Patriot201 · Jul 28, 2007

I'm glad it all worked out and that everyone is safe and sound!

sfeitler · Jul 28, 2007

What a scary thing! I stayed with a mom once after a La Leche League meeting while she waited for the cops, and then a locksmith, to unlock her car. She'd popped her toddler in, and somehow the door got locked before she got in... The cops were not good at unlocking, but the locksmith got it in mere seconds. Lucky it was 9pm, so not hot out.

southpawboston said:
most recent cars do have a lockout feature but it's only if your keys are *in the ignition*, not on the seat .

I love this about my Prius.

It has the smart key, so 1) my key almost never leaves my pocket. The only exception is if it's in a backpack 'cause I don't have pockets. Two, I can lock it with that cute little button on the outside door handle, so I never try to lock it from the inside. And three, if a key is inside the car and you push the cute little button, it won't lock. It beeps at you.

I think it might be possible to lock a key in, if you used the lock button on the inside. I've never tried. I have left my key in a bag inside before and tried to lock, and I love that it just beeps at me and refuses to lock.

I think all cars should be this way.

-Sarah

CDNTech · Jul 28, 2007

sfeitler said:
What a scary thing! I stayed with a mom once after a La Leche League meeting while she waited for the cops, and then a locksmith, to unlock her car. She'd popped her toddler in, and somehow the door got locked before she got in... The cops were not good at unlocking, but the locksmith got it in mere seconds. Lucky it was 9pm, so not hot out.

I love this about my Prius. It has the smart key, so 1) my key almost never leaves my pocket. The only exception is if it's in a backpack 'cause I don't have pockets. Two, I can lock it with that cute little button on the outside door handle, so I never try to lock it from the inside. And three, if a key is inside the car and you push the cute little button, it won't lock. It beeps at you.

I think it might be possible to lock a key in, if you used the lock button on the inside. I've never tried. I have left my key in a bag inside before and tried to lock, and I love that it just beeps at me and refuses to lock.

I think all cars should be this way.

-Sarah

This feature is exactly what made the CX-9 rise to the top of my list... gotta love a keyless vehicle!

I have also locked Mikkel and Aiden in the van before... it was a hot day, the engine was not running and I was standing right outside the passenger door with an OFFICER!!! He's a friend and he claims that he distracted me just enough that I forgot the keys were on the front seat and closed the door. Aiden was buckled in and can not undo his own harness.

He was on duty at the time, so he radioed to get CAA (AAA) for me and the fire department. The fire department made it there first and tried for almost 20 minutes with no success. We were just at the point where I told them to break the window (Mikkel had been screaming & was now starting to look lethargic) when CAA came around the corner. He had the door open in 10 seconds flat, literally!

I haven't locked them in since... knock on wood.

azgirl71 · Jul 28, 2007

momtosix said:
OK, so I am getting all the kids out of the car to go into our hotel while on vacation after a long day. I realized my car isn't in straight enough, so I throw my keys and phone on the car front seat to move after the kids were in their strollers and on the sidewalk and older dks were with them. My DS (15)couldn't find something and must have hit the lock when he was looking under the seats. He closes the door to get by to get out baby and ugh!!! Keys, baby, and phone locked in!!! I panicked for a millisecond then calmly walked to the front desk to have them call the police for me. I told them the urgent nature and asked them to call the police non-emergency line and tell them the situation. I have AAA, but was worried I would have to wait hours. The police were there before I could even make it back to the car, (of course DS was car sitting The police had me sign a waiver and tried to get in (scratched up the van something awful ), but ultimately their dispatcher called AAA for me and the were able to get in in like 20 seconds (no car damage) They have this giant wedge they use . The police waited with me until baby was safe in my arms ( she was asleep at the start, but pretty angry we wouldn't get her out) Anyway, just a caution NEVER put your keys on the seat. I had pockets, purse, etc., but I had always gotten my kids in the car throwing my keys on the front seat ( so I wouldn't misplace them)I had great anxiety about what I would have had to do if I was in the middle of nowwhere on a hot afternoon.

How scary!! I am always paranoid I am going to do that. I am glad everything is ok.

jen_nah · Jul 29, 2007

I have done it myself in my VW Passat. So VW owners beware that the little slim jim thingie will NOT open your doors. They ended up having to break my front passenger window out to get to my girls.

What had occured in my situation. We were leaving the gym and Kaylee grabbed my car keys. I opened her door and she crawled in and sat in her seat playing with the keys while I buckled Kinlee up on the other side. Once I was done I walked over to Kaylee's side and buckled her up. In the process she must have hit the door lock on the key fob. I grabbed the keys from her and throw them over the front seat. As soon as I closed her door the key beeped at me which meant the car was locked. I FREAKED out and ran into the gym to call the police & AAA. They both arrived quickly but AAA couldn't get the doors open. Finally the FD had to break the window out.

The AAA guy said the VW/Audi/Saab and some other German vehicles are almost impossible to slim jim.

Then VW told me there was no way to bypass the anti lock feature so this could never occur again. Yep, Another reason on the long list of why I got rid of that car. I love my OnStar but luckly never locked the kids in the car again but Kaylee has locked us "OUT" of the vehicle.

SarahP · Jul 29, 2007

Ah the beloved Carabeaner Keychain (spelling?). I have had one ever since the same thing happened to me as a brand new mother. I bumped the seat with my elbow getting out - My keys were not with me, and DH's were in the car, he was in the store. All ended fine, but now my keys are attached to me or in the ignition! Of course now with a 4yo and 6yo they can open for me, but still!

jenmann21 said:
Aww, poor mom and dd! I'm glad they were able to get in quickly.

That's one of my biggest fears. I have one of those hook/clip things on my keys (it's similar to what they use for rock climbing but not that heavy duty). When I get out of the car, I clip my keys onto my belt loop or around the strap of my purse and then get the kids out. Works pretty well.

lovinwaves · Jul 29, 2007

southpawboston said:
it's not impossible. the hondas have a little trick for bypassing the anti-lock-out mechanism built into the driver's door (pull the outside door handle half-way, then you can operate the lock ). also, i don't believe there is any anti-lockout feature on the front passenger's door (but i may be wrong on this). so the passenger can lock the car normally without the key or remote. so no, it's not impossible, even on a honda.

most recent cars do have a lockout feature but it's only if your keys are *in the ignition*, not on the seat .

Oh gosh, I know this SPB

I have had Honda's for over 10 years...

I said "pretty much" impossible, because I would NEVER voluntarily do the anti-lock out on purpose without triple checking I have my keys in hand. In 10 years there has only been a few times where I had to use this feature. I have to use two hands to do anyways, so I am pretty self-conscious about where my keys are before I do it. LOL!! Posssible? yes...would I ever do that...NO.

Mommypooh · Jul 29, 2007

I locked my 4 month old in the car out of state in the middle of july on a 95 degree day. Fortunatly we had the car running and we were loading it so the air was running. But my keys were in our luggage in the trunk and DH were in the ignition. We had to call the police, we got 3 policemen, 1 ambulance, and 1 fire truck. My daughter slept through the whole ordeal. I am also now on the Indiana CPS list though because of it. I was reported for it, and it anything happens again they could come out and investigate. The police men told me that. So I have since been very careful and it has been 4 years since it happend.

We still can't figure out how the doors got locked. Okay now I am crying remembering this. Man these dang hormones. I need to give birth soon.

lovinwaves · Jul 29, 2007

Mommypooh said:
I locked my 4 month old in the car out of state in the middle of july on a 95 degree day. Fortunatly we had the car running and we were loading it so the air was running. But my keys were in our luggage in the trunk and DH were in the ignition. We had to call the police, we got 3 policemen, 1 ambulance, and 1 fire truck. My daughter slept through the whole ordeal. I am also now on the Indiana CPS list though because of it. I was reported for it, and it anything happens again they could come out and investigate. The police men told me that. So I have since been very careful and it has been 4 years since it happend.

We still can't figure out how the doors got locked. Okay now I am crying remembering this. Man these dang hormones. I need to give birth soon.

Oh my gosh that is horrible, you poor thing

WOW, it's not like you PURPOSELY locked her in there....

southpawboston · Jul 29, 2007

jen_nah said:
The AAA guy said the VW/Audi/Saab and some other German vehicles are almost impossible to slim jim.

Yep, Another reason on the long list of why I got rid of that car.

so designing a car so that it can't be slim-jimmed is a reason to get rid of it?

Locked the baby in the car

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