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Do you leave baby in car when you fill up with pertrol?

Hi ladies,

I don't have a baby and this may sound like a really random question but what do you do with your baby or small child when you fill your car up with fuel? I have read articles before where something happened to the child and the parent was getting negative press for having left them in the car but do you really take a baby out of the car when you nip in to pay?

I know alot of fuel pumps are pay at pump now but some are not.

thanks.

Replies

  • i don't have a car myself but i think most mums (and what i wld do if i did have a car) wld be to pay at pump where possible and if i had to go in to the kiosk then i wld probably lock the car doors, altho i know some probably won't agree with that, and each to their own, and i may even think differently if i had to do it, but hypothetcially speaking that is waht i'd do, the only problem with that wld be that if suddenly ur electrics went and central locking failed and lo's were stuck in the car....but i can't see how someoen wld (especially with 2 or more lo's) get them out of the car each and every time they had to pay....but as i haven't done it myself i may be wrong....xx

    xx
  • I personally would lock the doors and leave lo in the car while I paid. You can see the car the whole time. I'd obv do pay at pump whenever I could but if I had to go in that's what I'd do. Not had to do it yet as I try to hubby to fill up my car so he pays!
  • I nearly always use pay at pump, but we are lucky that both the petrol stations nearest to us have this. If I have to pay inside then I leave them in the car, doors locked but alarm off. When I only had Millie I did use to take her in with me while I paid, but with 2 of them it's just not practical, more chance of them getting mowed down on the forecourt than anything happening to them in the car. Like I say though it is very rare that I don't use pay at pump.
    xx
  • I leave the boys in the car with the doors locked. I cant carry both of them very easily and it would just be impractical. I dont like pay at pump as ive had problems in the past so I always go in but as Bedhead says (although mine arent walkin yet!) theres more chance of something happening on the forecourt than while in the car.

    Gemma, Ryan and Alfie 14 + 5

    P.S. I think getting petrol is one thing, and not many mums would be critisised like you say. I would never leave them in the car for anything else. I needed milk and struggled with both carseats into Tesco to get it. I would never leave them, even if I was just popping into a shop or a friends house - id make the friend come out to me! lol!
  • I leave my boy in the car, lock the doors and go in and pay. I can see the car the whole time and it only takes a few minutes xxx
  • I always pay at pump and always fill up to the top when I'm passing one. I hate leaving them in the car (although I obviously would if I needed petrol in an emergency - hasn't happened yet!). Leaving them in is a pain as they always set the alarm off - ha!

    xx
  • I pay at pump if I can but so often they don't work there isn't much of a choice. I do lock the car with DS in the car. Thankfully he doesn't mind being in the car so isn't unhappy about it and I don't feel bad about doing it as I can constantly see the car. If he was a child who screamed everytime I walked away from the car then I'd probably take him with me to stop him getting so upset if nothing else.
  • I don't like using pay at pump[ as I have had problems in the past so I always take him in with me,I know it's a hassle but if there is a queue or a problem at the till and it takes a while he is there with me.It really is each to their own but I'm not comfortable with leaving him in the car.
  • i never ever left ds in the car when i only had him in the car ,i heard so many awful stories about forecourt driveoffs etc and cars having faults and blowing up (gee why do i read these things)however since having 2 of them i sometimes do have to leave them while i run in to pay however this is very rare that i have them both on my own when we run out of diesel and i would never ever leave them for more than 1 minute if there is a queue i go back and get them ...leaving them whilst shopping or something is a whole different story and it riles me when i see children alone in the car whilst mum is in tesco doing her weekly shop!! image
  • I always take lo in to pay with me, i think the chances of anything happening are incredibly slim but i just wouldnt feel right leaving him, i don't even leave him in the car on our drive if he's asleep when we get home. I stay in the car with him until he wakes up, im sure im being OTT though!xx
  • thanks for all your replies, glad you all seem to think along the same lines as myself.

    Just know that people can be so ultra critical but like a few of you have said more dangerous getting the child/children out of the car on a busy forecourt with spilt fuel on the floor than leaving them in the car where you can see them the whole time for literally a min or so.

  • I leave my lo in the car on the times i do go and get petrol i do occasionally try to go to pay as you go one but it is at asda and so busy it awful!! When i do leave him in car it only for a minute and it is locked and i think it is a lot safer to leave him in. But anyway else i take lo with me! Even when i go clothes shopping he has to come in with me in changing room thankfully he still too little to notice my almost naked body. Today when shopping i needed to go for wee and had to take him through bust coffee shop (hardly anyone would move or help!) but these lovely old ladies move the chairs and even offered to watch him but i said no offnece but i cant leave him with stranger.
    Sorry i have just waffled lol xxxx
  • I've not read all the replies but I always try to use Pay at Pump, or I sned hubby (lol) or go in the evening when hubby is home with lo (but lucky to have a petrol station just down the road), or I try to fill up if we're out together so one of us stays in the car - or our local asda has drive-through kiosks to pay at. I think I've only once actually taken him in with me to pay - and I've never left him in the car.
    It might seem a bit complicated to think about before lo is here, I know it was something I worried about - but in all honesty there are more options than you'd think, and like I said, I've never left him and have only taken him in with me once.
  • I always leave them in the car with the doors locked, I try if possible to pay at pump, but not always an option. It would be more dangerous in my opinion to carry a 3 month and a 22 month across a forecourt!
  • personaly i would fill up the car while baby is in car seat but then take baby with me to pay im really parinoid in case someone reported a baby on there own in car or worse still if someone tryed taking baby.hope i dnt offend anyone thats just my personal choice
  • I leave lo in the car with the doors locked. She's far too heavy for me to carry in the car seat, and I think the odds of her being hurt in a locked car are much less than her being hurt loose on a forecourt.
    I leave her in the car when i'm loading up the car to go out, or locking the front door etc. I would never leave her to sleep in the car though, and usually when I get in from work with her I pop her in the lounge on the floor then get my briefcase, laptop etc in as its so cold out. When she was a newborn and it was summer i'd do it the other way round !
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