Why I’ll never again leave children alone in a car

I REMEMBER reading an interview with actor Neil Morrissey (aka Bob the Builder) some years back where he spoke of his childhood as the son of Irish immigrants in Britain in the 1970s.

He described his parents’ abject lack of parenting skills and how he ended up in care as, just like many Irish of that generation (his words, not mine), Mum and Dad would head down to the pub on weekends, leaving three or four children alone in bed.They were duly reported to Social Services and hauled before Her Majesty’s Court for child neglect, quite shocked at a perceived British overreaction.

That anecdote left me seething as here was a legitimate justification for our stereotype as gormless, uneducated, drink-obsessed peasants. How could anyone be that stupid and selfish, I thought?

My reaction wasn’t dissimilar to that of American man, Ed Hynes when he heard of children dying after being left in cars by parents.

He remembers saying: “What kind of idiot would leave their kid in a vehicle?” upon hearing of the case of Florida dentist, Dennis Sierra, who accidentally killed his infant son one summer when he forgot him in the back of the car.

Two weeks later, he did the same thing when he forgot to drop off his daughter Mackenzee at the creche. She had fallen asleep in her car seat and unaware, he walked into his office and left her in his office carpark. Eight hours later his wife called looking for Mackenzee. She died of hyperthermia, or heat stroke, as her temperature hit 107 degrees.

At least 14 US states have made it a crime to leave kids in the car and several more have legislation pending. Just like Ed Hynes, it is easy to distance yourself from this scenario. An Irish child overheating in a car? Hello? Look at our perennially grey skies. Or dismiss this as another crazy story from the land that brought us Jerry Springer. Note any similarities?

About two weeks ago, my two-and-a-half year old son was up all night with a fever. Going shopping the next morning, he fell asleep in the car. I had the option of waking him up and bringing him in, which would mean contending with an exhausted toddler for half an hour.

Or else I could park near the shopping centre doorway, leave him asleep in the locked car and run into the butcher’s shop and just pick up meat for that day’s dinner — forgetting about any other non-essential groceries.

What did I do? I did the latter and returned about four minutes later to a still sleeping child and drove us both home.

I do not think I am alone amongst Irish mothers in doing this. How many parents leave children in the car on the forecourt when they pay for petrol? Or outside the dry cleaners when they run in to make a dropoff?

Do I think I’m an irresponsible parent? Certainly not. Would I say that I have ever knowingly put my kids in danger? No way.

Or so I would have said until researching this article — a piece that came in response to a recent Garda investigation into children being left in a Cork carpark.

After looking at some of the online stories about children pulling up handbrakes in parked cars and electrics starting a fire, I’m feeling more than a little irresponsible. One US couple set up the Harrison’s Hope website after their son was killed while parents stood chatting beside a running car with two children inside. The children released the handbrake, the car mounted a kerb, injuring Michelle Struttman and killing her son, Harrison, who was looking at boats on the Missouri river.

While overheating is unlikely to take place here, handbrakes can be manipulated and we all know how many electrical systems there are in newer cars. The ISPCC says it regularly gets phone calls from concerned adults about children left home alone or outside shops when their parents go inside.

The charity’s Childline coordinator Lloyd Byrne says the group believes it is unacceptable but it can depend on where the car is parked and whether the parent can see the child. “Parents do need to be vigilant though. They are taking the risk of a handbrake being pulled up or another car crashing into their car. You have to ask, why put children at risk?”

While we don’t have specific legislation in this area, under the 2001 Children’s Act, it is an offence to willfully ill-treat, neglect or abandon a child. A fine of up to €1,500 or 12 months’ imprisonment can be imposed.

I would never leave my children alone even to stand outside the house and natter to a neighbour. The risks are too many and children too daring. That zero tolerance policy has now been extended to the car.

Why take the risk? It’s not worth the potential consequences, no matter how unlikely they may appear.