Tinley Park mom leaves child in car — endangerment?

If the mother faces time in jail for this petty situation, then I think it is somewhat ironic. Police think she did an injustice to the child, well–if she has to spend up to a year in jail for this, then the police did an injustice to the child and her siblings. Being without a mother for up to a year–that can be traumatizing and can carry with it future repercussions to the childrens’ egos. Parents all over the nation do the same thing this woman did. Like when a mom has to carry in her groceries into the house, leaving the child in the car for a brief moment. It would be more dangerous leaving the child in the house and then get the groceries because the child could wander off and perhaps fall down the stairs.

Sam,
Get a life and realize that your opinions are the EXCEPTION not the general consensus. You’re like the last person in the world arguing that it is flat when everyone knows it is round!

By the way if you have such a high and mighty education, why don’t you have the excess money that a good education brings in? You say you don’t have much money; yet suggest that people without much money either, spend it on babysitters while they go shopping. Learn to take your own advice before you try to give it to someone else!

wow, i heard about this on the radio and I cannot believe this poor woman and her family have had to go through all of this. And damn these people who are supporting the government on this. I have a 2 year old, watch a 2 year old and am 5 months pregnant. There is no way i could physically carry two 2 year olds while returning a cart or pumping gas.
And as for Sam (who would probably say that I am a horrible mom for not doing so) sometimes going out is unavoidable, and getting a sitter or a nanny is not possible. News flash not everyone is rich and can afford a sitter at anytime. And if you ask me there is more risk leaving your child with a sitter, even one that you know, than leaving to return carts or donate to charity. The fact that you would rather drop your child than leave them in the car for less than 5 minutes says something about what kind of risk you put your child in. As far as I’m concerned you and people like you are the reason why Americans are afraid to step out of the house, Bad things happen, too good people too. But should we only live partial lives and condemn our children to the same? I will be praying for this woman and her family as this case goes to trial. Their children will be far more effected by this than anyone else and really they most important part.

Wow Sam, get some exp with parenting before u offer up your education background about parenting to us Dads and Moms who have raised kids, and most posting here have raised more than three and there is a big difference between one, two, and so on. about all i gather from your post is that you type well due to a creative writing class, her decision to leave the kid probably wasnt the smartest but by no means should she have been arrested. My wife and I have been raising kids for 21 yrs now(about your entire life) ages 21,12,11,4,3 so my parenting skills and being a Dad not just a father far out weigh anything you think u learned in school(even if your a young teacher) or in the latest edition of how to raise babies, Or maybe you got the first copy of Brittneys Spears mothers book on how to raise kids before it was cancelled im sure it would of been a best seller! I guess when i take in the groceries while the little ones are waiting to be unbuckled im wrong, oh yeah i should of planned ahead like u said. You are so young and so full of it. I bet your mother did alot of things when you where a child that in your politically correct world would of put her in jail. Question for you young silly friend, when your kids get older and you decide to run to walmart because they say a toy on tv or u need some shaving cream(i assume you are shaving now), and u come out with both of them in the cart(maybe to dangerous for you both in cart?) do you load them first or leave them in the buggie while you put the bags in the trunk and leave them exposed to the cars driving up and down the isles at not so kid friendly speeds then return cart and finish loading the kids last? Myself i find a spot near to buggie return on arrival, sometimes i must wait awhile then on exit i put the babies in Van first ,load groceries, then return cart while keeping an eye of course on the van and of course now we must watch out for the dreedful policeman then hurry back to van to make our escape.Thats when im by myself of course, the wife sits in the van if we are together. Now under your view i should tell the kids no i dont have a baby sitter and we must plan ahead for these events, because there are bad people out there and your Dad or mom might go to jail because of it. Correct? ooooo young man please love your kids and when they get older remember that your not always right.Parenting is not easy and there are lots of times what you think is right may not seem that way to someone else especially a person who is young and had their first kid or person who has never raised any at all, But that does not make them correct and you wrong, there are laws yes, but officers are also known to abuse the laws, You voted for hillary didnt ya Sam? Two kids you might want to rethink, those child tax credits will help you alot.

Sam,

The fact that parents leave their children in cars in circumstances practically identical to those here (i.e., doors locked, alarm on, to run an errand taking a few minutes) millions of times a year, and you can’t find a single instance of that going bad, suggests that maybe it shouldn’t be illegal. There was no danger of the lady forgetting her kid in the car, since she wasn’t going home without it. You can’t regulate all human conduct for a reason- it leaves no room for discretion. See Jennifer’s post 64. And don’t let the police catch you pumping gas with your kids inside and the windows up, or it’s Old Sparky for you!

Tom - thanks for keeping the discussion on the level. It’s a good thing there are not alot of examples of this happening, right? But it happens every summer here in DFW, both parents leaving their car running while running in to get the mail (only takes 50sec per the above poster) and the car gets jacked, or they get cooked in a hot car. I am not willing to risk my kid for something i can control myself. And on the pumping gas comment, I made the point earlier, when i pump gas, I pay at the pump…and either roll the back window down or open the door and talk with my son while its pumping…

All I am sayings is that a child should never be left in their carseat,unatteneded in a locked car…thats it…period…nothing else…keywords here are unatteneded and locked car.

After I read this story I had to find someplace to express my support for this wonderful mother. I hope she reads some of these blogs and sees how many other good mothers agree with her and thinks the police should be taken to task for what they put her and her family through. I’m the first one to admit that I regularly step out of my car to my post office box that’s 10 feet away. I leave my 2 1/2 year old strapped in his seat for the 30 seconds or less it takes me to run in. I ALWAYS lock the door and I can ALWAYS see the car. If I didn’t think it was impossible for someone to try to jimmy my locked alarmed vehicle in the 10 seconds it would take me to run back to my car, do you think I’d do it? Ms Coyne, you have my utter support, I hope you are completely successful in your case.

If this woman is being charged for what she did DO NOT EVER walk your shopping cart back in the corral in a parking lot….get out to step to the box to mail a letter….walk your child to the door of the school/daycare/etc if you have another child in the car…..

Do you see what I am getting at?

This is classic “no tolerance because we can’t think for ourselves” run amuck.

The Crestwood police should be ashamed.

Hey Sam,

I like that you are being protective of how you would deal with your daily parenting routines and I’m sure you keep it up diligently.
But thinking practically. Either you must be a good multi-tasker or you are doing way to much work. SCENARIO: You have three young children, one is a toddler and must be held. Two other children are old enough to walk at your side. You can put the toddler in the car seat, lock the door, put alarm on (or all the children for that matter) and put the cart away or risk taking all your children, holding the toddler as you push with your one hand, trying to guide the cart to its directed spot. You have two kids who might wander off or stay close to you. Now, the chances of an abduction are real but very slim. The chances of an auto accident where you, pushing the cart with all your kids by you, are hit is more likely. Therefore all your kids are in danger of being struck. It would seem more practical, and even safer, to keep all the kids in the car, windows opened a bit for air circulation, as you make your short trek to put the cart away. One task. Multiple tasks when pushing cart, holding toddler, watching out for kids and cars–all at once. Which seems more practical?
In these days, people’s times are more and more restricted. That’s why we have technology to basically do the work for us that we would have had to do 50 years ago. When you say, why not wait 40 minutes until the toddler awakes and then take them to give to the charity box? Now, will the average American wait that long for such a small endeavor? It’s just not practical. I applaud you if you are capable of doing that, but most likely others are unable. The time to unbuckle the kid and carry him into the post office to drop off a letter and then buckling him back in again–you catch my drift, people’s time schedules might be very limited and they might be in a hurry–such as, perhaps an emergency at the house. In my illustration a couple posts up, I said, do you live your life in fear of contracting a deadly virus when the chances of getting it is 1 and 1,000,000? No, and if you do, I feel bad for you. Although child abduction is real, it is rare but with certain precautions such as 1. turning on the alarm, 2. turning hazard lights on, 3. locking door, which all this mother did, then you make it hard for a child abductor to take your child. Most cases of child abductions are because of the parent’s negligence, such as the sad story of Madeleine McCann where they left their children at the hotel alone while they feasted. I know you don’t agree with the vast majority of people here but, even though we are opposed to you doesn’t mean we are bad parents and you aren’t either. You just think in a different way. And folks who chastise Sam, she is not crazy, her routine is different from yours. As long as she doesn’t partition for new child laws requiring parental assistence of children at all time (literally all the time) no matter what conditions, such as Mrs. Coyles, then her opinion should be respected. Anyways, I have no doubts Mrs. Coyle will find victory in this suit and I just hope the trauma her children experienced in this situation aren’t affected in the long-term. The police did more damage to the children then the mother did.

Sam,

You repeatedly argue that “….a child should never be left unattended in a car…period!” And you talk about putting the child at risk. What exactly are the dangers that this mother subjected her child to while strapped into a car seat in a locked and alarmed car while she was 30 feet away? I’ll bet you can’t name a single risk greater than, say, being abducted by aliens. I think the problem the people are having is that you state a conclusion as if its clearly correct, yet don’t bother to offer any support.

As for your example: “Some crazy walmart shopper may have plowed into the car parked in the loading zone…heck just the other night some car ran smack into a parked 18-wheeler…just a freak accident.” Isn’t the risk at least as equal of the child being hit while standing outside the car next to her mother 10 yards away? And wouldn’t the child actually be *safer* in the car? So, looking at the risks in the situation, it was the more risk-averse choice to leave the child in the car.

No one is saying that you, as a parent, cannot make the choice to never leave your child in a locked car “unattended.” The problem people are having is that you are forcing YOUR choice for YOUR child onto everyone else, and saying it is irresponsible to think otherwise. The risks involved in what this particular mother did do not outweigh any number of things I’m sure you do with your child every day. So I congratulate you on your safety-conscious attitude. But please don’t tell me that the state should enforce your particular preferences, especially when I haven’t heard an even moderately convincing argument in support, backed by the police power.