At what age can you leave your kid in the car?

swediemama

New member
At what age do you feel it's ok to leave your kid in the car while running a quick errand? Providing of course it's not a hot day. I read an article somewhere where they interviewed some expert and she said when they are of driving age...
 
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jacqui276

New member
I feel like when they are old enough that I would let them be home alone for a short period of time, which seems to vary quite greatly depending upon the child. That would be before driving age in my opinion.

DD is 10 and if it isn't freezing or boiling out I let her wait in the car if I am only grabbing something really quick. I let her stay in the car younger if I had a good view of the car from wherever I was (like running in to pay for gas in a store with big windows all over the front). I live in a pretty safe area though and always lock the doors when she is left in there. I wouldn't leave anyone in the car for like a 2 hour shopping trip or anything though.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
It depends on where the car is- in my driveway to run back inside for my phone or to pee real quick, infancy and up.

If at a store- I'd probably leave my 11 year old now but not of there were siblings in the car.

At school pickup or gas station with full view, possibly 8ish but only if I can see the car.
 

Jackie010307

New member
I will leave our 13 year old for a few minutes, but not with his siblings. I have stepped over to pay for gas at the stations where there is a booth with an attendant, but that's as far as I will leave the younger two.
 

tiggercat

New member
I am ok leaving my kids in the car when I know I can trust them to look out for themselves. So around the time they can stay home alone (9-10ish, ime). I leave my 13yo with his 9 and 5yo siblings if they are getting along ok that day ;) I have left my 9yo a couple of times, but only when I could see the van and she could find me easily if needed.
 

Mysweethoneybee

New member
In Missouri it is illegal to leave a child 10 and under in the car, but really only for two things. If they die or if they do something that causes an accident such as opening a door into traffic or making the car move etc. So if those things don't happen I guess there is no legal age.
I would leave my older boys in the car while I ran in to get something if I only had one of them when the one in the car was 10 or older. Now they are 16 and 20 and I still can't leave them in the car alone or they will fight.
My youngest one I leave in the car while I walk to the post office drop box, but my kid is still in line of sight and he is 7. So he might be younger than 10 when I can trust to leave him in the car but he is mature for his age in a lot of ways and he is the size of a normal 10 year old now.
 

krasota

Well-known member
My 7yo still doesn't like to be left in the car, but I'll leave him and his BFF (also 7) and my toddler in the car while I run into the spice shop or butcher shop. No line of sight, but I reiterate that he's not to get out of the car. I don't do it on hot days, I park in the shade on warm days, and I don't leave the keys in the car (it's not running).

I wouldn't do my grocery shopping, though. Or wait in line at the PO (ours takes forever). Quick transactions, sure. Paying for gas, dropping a pre-paid package off at the UPS counter, picking up pre-ordered coffee. . .
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
*I* am okay with leaving my kids at the same age as I'd let them go in to the library to pick up a book by themselves, or walk to the playground by themselves, etc. Basically when I trust them and would be comfortable with them leaving the vehicle and going to the front counter of the store to page me if they needed me.

BUT it definitely depends where I am! Around here, or in other small towns, I'm fine leaving my 8yo, and I'm fine leaving her with younger siblings. In Vancouver where someone will call the cops in a millisecond, I only leave the kids if one of the big girls (14 & 16yos) are in the van and I have them sit in the driver's seat.

At a gas station or something like that with line of sight, I leave anyone. I figure they're safer locked in the van than being in a parking lot environment around moving vehicles. Although about 10 years ago, someone in Vancouver called the cops on me for going to a bank machine on the other side of a piece of glass from my vehicle.
 

katymyers

Active member
My answer depends, if I'm running in somewhere like the gas station to pay or to drop Levi off at school or speech or something I leave my kids in the car, usually with it running, I don't see anything wrong with that and I know at speech and the school all the other moms doing drop offs are all doing the exact same thing. If I were say, going in a store to grab a few things and my kid didn't want to come it, I'd want them to be probably 10 or 12 depending on the maturity of the kid. Waiting til driving age, which is 14 here but I'm sure the author intended 16 when she wrote that, seems really extreme to me.
 

bnsnyde

New member
I don't know. Probably never, lol. At this rate we'll always have little ones in tow.
Legal age to stay alone in IL is 14. Now, I know lots of people do younger, but that's the legal age.

If just my oldest was with me, maybe 12? Around the time I'd be OK if I had to make use of the front seat.

At school pick up next year, I am thinking the big kids (8 and 9) can walk to ME. The van will be parked on a stretch of sidewalk and I'll pretty much always have the same spot. Far since I can't get there too early and sit with the littles. They don't have to cross any roads or drives. It is a long stretch of sidewalk and it gets cold, but the alternative is taking newborn, toddler, preschooler, and kindergarten child out on icy sidewalks that can never accommodate the stroller, near a road I can't trust littles to be safe around, to walk to them to meet the older kids, then back. I can't picture that at all. Seems best and safest if they walk to me.
 
I think it's really child/situation-dependent. I've left K and L in the car from about 4 & 7 to run into the post office to drop something off (1-2 minutes), or at the gas station in the dead of winter to go pay (I can clearly see the car and I am 2-3 minutes in the gas stations or less), but I've spent a great deal of time going over various situations with them both surrounding what to do if someone approaches the vehicle and tries to get in, what to do if you need to get out in an emergency (I've put them in their seats while the car is parked in my driveway and locked the doors from the outside with my remote and stood there while they unbuckled and unlocked the doors 5-6 times so that I knew they could do it if need be) and things like that. I wouldn't leave them for more than 2-3 mins, and only in a handful of situations. When would I leave them unattended in the car for more than 2-3 mins? L, maybe age 10-11, K without L, on the other hand, 45. He's easily frightened and I wouldn't put him in that situation. Mind you, I live in a very safe place where most people know one another.
 

seb3244

New member
My answer depends, if I'm running in somewhere like the gas station to pay or to drop Levi off at school or speech or something I leave my kids in the car, usually with it running, I don't see anything wrong with that and I know at speech and the school all the other moms doing drop offs are all doing the exact same thing. If I were say, going in a store to grab a few things and my kid didn't want to come it, I'd want them to be probably 10 or 12 depending on the maturity of the kid. Waiting til driving age, which is 14 here but I'm sure the author intended 16 when she wrote that, seems really extreme to me.

The driving age is 14?! Omg! Buckle your kids up super tight lol
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
I remember being in the car when I was...maybe 8th grade...or 5th? I don't even know if gearshifts move without the keys in the car, or if the key was in the car (this was a 1975 Volvo, and the driver ran to the convenience store, in line of sight, for 2 minutes), but the little kid (6?) I was with dared me to move it from P to another letter :rolleyes: and the car rolled toward the curb.

So, no matter how old a kid is, teach them not to touch stuff like that...that's probably what the author was going for when she suggested driving age, because that's when you had better know what could go wrong in the car alone.

This organization always has a rep at lifesavers...http://www.kidsandcars.org/

Anyway, I think I've been leaving my kids briefly (like running in to get a receipt for the carwash...) in cars since about 7, as they get old enough to want to sit in the car and listen to music while another kid is in Karate, I let them do that from about age 12.
 

katymyers

Active member
The driving age is 14?! Omg! Buckle your kids up super tight lol


I started driving at 14. You can't get an actual license until you're 15.5 so until then you have to have a parent in the car. And then you're not allowed to have other kids in the car or drive after sundown until you're 17.
 

Brigala

CPST Instructor
Partly it depends on the definition of unattended. If the car is inline of sight and in earshot, or you only have to turn your back on the car for 30 seconds, frankly I don't consider that unattended. In many cases that is the situation at the gas station for example.

Truly unattended is case by case. I ask myself, if something comes up, is my child capable of making a logical decision and executing it? Can the child get out of the car, lock the doors behind him, safely cross the parking lot (if applicable), and come inside to locate me? If yes, then I think it's ok. But that will vary based not just on the child but the location. Parking right in front of my small town post office is one thing, and parking in the middle of a mall parking lot is quite another.
 

sm1982

New member
I remember my friend's mother leaving us in their large van while she went grocery shopping. We were in 2nd grade at the time. I only remember this because we both had overactive imaginations and both swore once we saw Joey McIntyre in the parking lot (teen heart throb grocery shopping in a small town in upstate NY? It could happen!).

For me, 13 is probably the age I'd consider it, but without the keys still in the car. Although by 13, I'd probably be inclined to send them in to grab a carton of milk or whatever while I waited in the car..
 

Lee-B-

New member
Where I am kids 10 and up can legally be home alone but have to be 12 to watch siblings or other children.

I do feel that a 10 year old may be safer at home (alone) than left in a car (out of sight the parents for a period of time) because a child sitting alone in a car is possibly more likely to be snatched. A criminal walking by seeing a child alone in the car may act on a whim but that same child alone at home wouldn't be seen by a criminal walking by and therefore may be safer. Obviously this isn't always the case.

I also can't help but feel that while kids can repeat back what is expected of them under certain scenerios...in the moment when a stranger is at the car door with a weapon or mean voice...odds are the child will open the door as commanded. Fear takes over logic and even adults react poorly in such situations.

My daughter isn't even 2 yet so I can't answer the question as to when we'd leave her alone in a car as it is far off...but there seems to be more risks to being left in a car than at home when I think about it.
 

BananaBoat

Well-known member
Since birth?
Yes, I've never had an issue leaving my sleeping baby in the car for 2 minutes while I run to the ATM.

My general rules around it are: must be above freezing but below 70F, kids must be unable to get out of their car seat, car is NOT running, doors locked, windows up, must be able to see the car from where I am.

It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while. Both kids (6 & 3) cannot get out of their 5-pt harness alone. Even DD1's booster is hard for her when she's in it. DD1 is a huge rule follower. Generally, I have to beg them to stay in the car for the 1 minute I need to get cash or drop off the UPS package!
 

kathysr98

Active member
I have left dd for a minute or two in line of sight since she was 4. I will leave her in our driveway for 5ish minutes while I leave the front door open at six. I set the alarm on the car so I know if a door is opened. I also leave her at home in a locked house while I pick up a friend's child from school occasionally, but it's only three houses down and across a tiny street and I can see our house for all but maybe two minutes of that trip.
 

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