Leave your Kids in a Hot Car and Go Directly To Jail – for 6 months!
Want a quick trip to the slammer? Leave your young kids in the car while you grocery shop!
It is NEVER OK to leave your kids alone in the car with no A/C while you go in to shop. I don’t care what age your kids are, TAKE THEM IN.
Yesterday, one of my friendsm Mary (lives in Katy), went to the grocery store, and potentially saved the lives of two kids (ages 9 and 2) left alone in a hot car by calling 911! The mother was arrested for child endangerment, and the kids were treated for heat exhaustion. She was really alarmed when the two year old was asleep. That would scare the mess out of anyone, because when it is 104° in Texas, a car can reach inside temps of 125°-130°, so you don’t really know if the baby is sleeping or passed out!
When I asked her if she knew how long they were in the car, Mary replied, “no, but they were in the car for 25-30 minutes, just in the time I was there” (while waiting on the police).
“One ambulance and three police cars showed up..”
Regardless of the temperature, it is NEVER ok to leave a any child in the care of a 9 year old in the car.
Check out what the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has to say about this:
Can I use these same factors when deciding whether to leave a child in my vehicle for a short period of time?
Answer: No. We do not recommend leaving a child in a motor vehicle for any length of time. If children are trapped inside cars, especially during seriously hot weather, it can result in heat exhaustion or heat stroke, leading to permanent disability or death in a matter of minutes. Heat stroke, also known as hyperthermia, can cause shock, seizures, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, and damage to the brain, liver, and kidneys.
Leaving a child in a vehicle is punishable under the Texas Penal Code, Title 5, Chapter 22, Section 10 LEAVING A CHILD IN A VEHICLE. A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly leaves a child in a motor vehicle for longer than five minutes, knowing that the child is:
- younger than seven years of age; and
- not attended by an individual in the vehicle who is 14 years of age or older. An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. If the child is injured, the charge is then elevated to child endangerment, which is a felony. The penalties are six months to two years in jail and a fine up to $10,000.
Leaving a child unattended in a car is also a form of neglectful supervision.
Let’s read that red part again. The penalties are six months to two years in jail and a fine up to $10,000! SO… the moral of the story here is… you didn’t want to deal with your kiddos for a 20 minute grocery store trip…. guess what!
Someone else gets to protect them from you for six months to two years!
You know what this means? I can’t (and wouldn’t) even leave KYLIE, my responsible 12 year old, in the car with my boys – nor would I want to! I can leave Kylie in the car by herself (on with A/C of course), but I can’t (and won’t) leave the two boys in the car with her!
Think this only pertains to kiddos? WRONG! A woman was arrested earlier this month for leaving her DOG in a hot car with no water! Idiot!
BE SMART! You only get one shot at your kiddos! Don’t screw it up!
Did you know that only 19 states actually have laws on the books that make it illegal to leave a child unattended in a hot car? And two of them it is only illegal if death or injury occur! It is sad that we have to legislate common sense, but apparently, common sense isn’t so common anymore!
It is so sad that even after all the reports over the years of children dying in hot cars that people still do this!
I hear this type of news every year about children dying or being hospitalized due to this irresponsibility, and it’s crazy how parents/guardians remain ignorant. Also, I don’t think parents should leave youngsters unattended in cars at all, even when it’s not hot. Some predator can approach the car and make an excuse, “Your mom is really busy, so she asked me to drive you home,” or steal the vehicle with the kids inside. Busy areas are also prone to this incident (or maybe from where I live), with robberies occurring in mall parking lots and robbers following shoppers home.