Inappropriate?

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I've been stewing for nearly four days. I believe my anger is justified but I thought I would throw it up on this blog so you could leave outraged comments and continue to fuel the fire. 

Last weekend we headed to SLO for April & Landon's birthday celebration. Saturday afternoon, as any good returning San Luis Obispo visitor would do, we headed to Firestone for lunch (tri-tip sandwich and basket of fries). Walking down Higuera Street I noticed a fancy SUV parked on the side of the road  with an adorable little boy inside. He couldn't have been more than two, blond hair, stylish outfit, and strapped inside his car seat. There was no adult present.

I lingered for a moment hoping to see Mom, Dad, or Grandma nearby on the their phone waiting to collect him from his seat, or feeding the parking meter, but I couldn't see a single responsible adult. Not wanting to look like the creepy person who lingers near abandoned children (Is that really creepy or responsible, anyway?) I walked a few feet to the corner while keeping my eyes on the vehicle. 

By this point I had nudged my sister and filled her in on the situation. She too looked around and confirmed that there was no adult nearby to claim the child. We continued to wait on the sidewalk, unable to leave until we knew this little guy wasn't going to suffocate in the car (it was a fairly warm day). 

After nearly five minutes I see a petite blonde in heels leisurely crossing the street gaily swinging a black and white Sephora bag. She reached into her designer handbag, pulled out her keys, and "beep beeped" the locks on her SUV, depositing her new purchases and reunited with the child. Sephora was not only on the other side of a busy street from the car, but up a flight of stairs and in an outdoor shopping mall. 

You might disagree, but in my opinion that is completely irresponsible behavior.

Unlatching and removing a child from their car seat is an annoyance. It makes every outing take longer. There have been numerous times in the last year that I have forgone a Starbucks coffee just because I don't want to deal with taking Landon out of the car. And, at a certain age, children are old enough to spend 5-10 minutes alone while you run in for milk. But, in my opinion, a toddle is much too young. 

What are your thoughts?

12 comments:

Jess Roy said...

You - justified. Petite blonde chic - stupid.

I feel bad when I see dogs left in cars...but kids!? Helllooooo...

The Schmidts said...

Yes it is ridiculous, not to mention illegal. About the only time I will leave my kids in the car is to run to the ATM and of course only if I am parked right in front of it so I can see the car at all times. If you go far enough where you can't see the car at all times (in other words inside of a building) then it is not okay. Technically even running to the ATM is illegal too, but I figure 10 feet is doable. -Rhiannon

Bethany said...

ridiculous! and illegal... in CA the law is called Kaitlyn's law

Tracy said...

That is crazy! I think any child that sits in a CAR Seat is too young to be left alone in a car! I don't even want to leave my girls in the car to pay for the gas (thus I use credit if I am by myself). So irresponsible, dangerous, AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL!

Jessica G. said...

That is more than wrong. And like everyone else said, it is illegal. There was a woman who had her children removed by CPS just for jumping out of her car for 30 seconds to buy a paper at the side of the road.

There are so many things that could have gone wrong while she was gone. And this probably isn't the only time she has done this.

You are nicer than me. I am not sure I would have been able to hold my tongue...I probably would have at least called the cops and reported her.

Tim and Debra said...

Yes, and this is the kid I will someday teach in San Luis Obispo with the crazy parent! Geez!

SomisSurferGirl said...

that is UNBELIEVABLE.

SomisSurferGirl said...

i have now discovered drive through everything, and...if my little guy is asleep in my car, or it's not convenient to take him out (ie naptime or lunch time, etc), well, i forego any shopping until i can do it. after all, i knew what i was signing up for!

Annie Brothers said...

How can people do that? Up here in Lincoln a 7 week old baby was left in the car so the parents could go gambling. After 3 hours they came back and tried to say the were just going to the bathroom, but they were on tape showing they had been there for 3 hours. I can't believe a purse would be worth more than your child's life. Sometimes I wonder about people and their priorities. Grrrr. So ridiculous.

Chris & Amy Arslain said...

My mom literally had the same encounter this week. She came out of the Nordstrom Rack and saw a little boy in his car seat, crackers on his lap and a juice bottle. She said he was maybe 18 months old. The window was halfway down so anyone could have taken him. She waited and then called the police. The woman finally came out with her shopping bags (age around 28) and my mom confronted her. The woman said he is fussy in the store and she does this all of the time!!!

She tried to leave before the police came but my mom lied and told her she was seen on camera and that they needed to talk to her. She waited until they did. Can you believe people have the nerve!!! Anyway - I guess it happens everywhere (my mom lives in Portland). She said it took all self control to not scream at the idiotic lady.

RIDICULOUS!

Unknown said...

NOT OK... ever... did you say anything to her? If that mom makes a habit of it she's guilty of child neglect and endangerment!!!! Horrible!!! and all for some make-up....

Linda Z said...

So sad... he could have been "cooked" or kidnapped. It's amazing how many hours of classes we are going through to be fos-adopt parents... maybe they should require classes before you leave the hospital, too.

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