Should I have stayed out of this?

[dizzyblonde]

Ralph.....are you a grumpy fart??

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Ralph.....are you a grumpy fart??

Er, yes he is , not quite upto my standards but getting there.

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Dunno really. But then I leave my nine year old in the car with baby if I need to nip in somewhere. If a baby is strapped in a car seat by the time someone has tried to steal him, number one son will have punched someone in the face, and he'll have run off crying!

Don't think leaving a 9 yr old in a car with a baby is anything to be overly concerned about, cos like you said, he is old enough and wise enough to know if something is going wrong and likely to tackle the threat.

However, I think the OP did the right thing because at 5 yr old, I'm not convinced a child is wary enough of dangers.

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

. Do you know if the car was locked or unlocked? What age, make and model of car was it? Did the parent definitely leave line of sight with the vehicle for more than a few moments?

No idea if the car was locked or not. Looked like quite an old Golf. Mother left line of sight for certain, unsure of the amount of time she was out of line of sight because I returned to my business once I alerted the police but I suspect long enough to queue up and buy some KFC in a moderately busy restaurant. I was in the shop for at least 5 minutes and when I left she was talking to the police.

Someone mentioned she could use the drive through, there is no drive through for this particular restaurant.

[appollo1]

you certainly did the right thing Dave.

She may have been doing this lots of times and not even thought of the consequences so maybe and hopefully the police having a word with her after she calmed down is enough for her to realise what could have happened and the seriousness of what could have happened if the wrong type of person was around.

You did what anyone else with a conscience would have done - I've done the same myself in the past. I parked the car in Sainsbury's car park and noticed that there is a small child (about 3) and a small dog in the adjacent car, unsupervised. I hung about a bit, but no sign of an adult. meanwhile the child is openig and closing the windows - so clealry the car is powered-up.

I took down the reg no, ran into the store and asked the stor staff to put out an announcement. They refused. I then asked them to call the police. Again they refused, so I got my mobile out and called themmyself. I stood with the car until the police arrived - a good 10 mins. At that point, the mother arrived with a full trolley and 2 other, slightly older kids in tow. I told the police what I'd seen, and the mother's response was "Well, he wasn't supposed to be doing that". At that point, I decided to leave them to it in case she got nasty, but I could hear the Police giving her a rollocking.

If I hadn't spotted the child and taken action, what might have happened? At best, he might have let the handbrake off and rolled the car into the one in front. At worst, someone might have taken advantage of the situation and stolen the car with the child in it (this was Tottenham, after all).

Originally Posted by ravingdavis

Looked like quite an old Golf

So probably nothing stopping the 5-6 yr old getting out and playing with the traffic!

I sometimes wonder whether people should be sterilised at birth and then have to apply to have it reversed when they want kids.

I'm not sure that if the police didn't prosecute that she wouldn't do it again. Some people are so bloody minded that they won't listen to advice from anyone. If they think they have done nothing wrong, then they see no reason why they shouldn't do it again.

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Ralph.....are you a grumpy fart??

Dizzyblonde has to ask!

Now there's a northern lass that speaks my language

Grumpy Fart loves you Dizzy!

[21QUEST]

Originally Posted by ravingdavis

......snip....

My question is: Was I right to get the police involved or have I been way too touchy and should have kept out of it?
......snip...

Going by what you've narrated, it does sound like, you probably should have kept out of it.

In todays world, my Ma would probably have been reported by a 'concerned someone' for leaving minors 'home alone' . I suppose, she could have gone on the dole to keep a host of people and Agencies happy

As an aside, anyhoos, a few people don't get involved when they probably should and on the other hand, get involved when they probably shouldn't.

Originally Posted by 21QUEST

Going by what you've narrated, it does sound like, you probably should have kept out of it.

In todays world, my Ma would probably have been reported by a 'concerned someone' for leaving minors 'home alone' . I suppose, she could have gone on the dole to keep a host of people and Agencies happy

As an aside, anyhoos, a few people don't get involved when they probably should and on the other hand, get involved when they probably shouldn't.

Well, respect for posting what you think and putting your head above the parapet anyway.