This morning we were out of the house to run a few errands and on our one stop, the boys asked me "Mom, can't we just wait in the car?". My answer was quite simple. I said "Absolutely NOT!". I then explained to them why.
First off, let me explain some background. I have never at any age left my children in the car. It really isn't ok at any age or any time of the year. We hear about incidences of babies being left in the car accidentally and that is why it should be routine to always get your children out of the car. I have seen and heard of incidences of vehicles being stolen with an infant or child in the car and so even if you don't think it is too hot out, it is not OK! Even when you think you can leave your car running if it is hot out, you are making it even easier for your vehicle to be stolen, or for your children to think they are playing in the car and to engage a gear shift. When there is an outside temperature of 75 degrees, within 10 minutes, the inside of a car heats up to 100 degrees. In 30 minutes it heats up to 120 degrees. When the outside temperature is 85 degrees, it only takes 5 minutes for the inside temperature to reach 90 degrees and 7-10 minutes to reach 100 degrees! At 100 degrees outside, it only takes 15 minutes for the inside of a vehicle to reach 140 degrees. Unfortunately we hear about incidences with pets and children in hot vehicles all too often. I even know of one situation that a mother got home from grocery shopping and with baby sleeping decided to unload the groceries first. The car was parked in the garage and in the process of unloading groceries she got a phone call. By the time she got done on the phone, she had moved onto something else in the home and by the time she remembered baby sleeping in the car, it was too late. A very sad and heartbreaking situation. So that is why with my boys being the ages of 11, 9 and almost 6, I will not let them or ask them to wait in the car. They go with me where I go and I ask you to do the same.
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