I locked Isabella in the car at Target. ![]()
I didn't forget about her or anything like that. I opened the door to get her out and realize my green bags were out of reach, so I handed her my purse (she likes to play with it) and shut the door to go around to the other side and immediately realized what I'd done. There was a mom and little boy just getting out of their car so I told her what happened and she let the employees know. They called the police for me who called a wrecker company and they got her out probably within ten minutes, but it felt like forever. At one point the cop asked if I had ID on me and I was terrified he was going to call DCS or something. I was in tears the whole time and she was crying in the car alone. I'm so thankful it wasn't hot out. The cop said it was fine and he would get her out immediately if she was in any danger.
Everyone was really nice and the cop assured me that he deals with it all the time, but I felt so ashamed. To make matters worse one of the employees that came out went to high school with me and recognized me. I just feel so awful.
Re: I feel like a terrible mom :(
I almost did that on Sunday. I changed a poopy diaper in the back seat and flung my diaper bag (with keys inside) into the driver seat. Luckily I picked her up to take her to the other side of the car to put her in her seat otherwise I would have locked her in and it was SO HOT on sunday.
Your are NOT a bad mom, it happens to all of us!
You are not a bad mom at all.
I work at a police dept as a dispatcher and seriously that officer was right, it happens all the time. It's tough not being hard on ourselves when things like this happen, the important thing is that she is ok.
~GRACIE JEAN 7-5-08~
not a bad mom at all! i locked mine in the car when he was little.
glad everyone is ok !
Thanks ladies! I ran into a couple women I know and one said she once locked her son in the car at the zoo, and the other said she accidentally did it once at home (although she had a spare key right there in the house). My mom apparently locked me in the car when I was a baby in the dead of winter and found a spare key in her coat pocket while some people were trying to break into the care with a wire hanger.
I'm so glad the cop was so nice. He even checked to see how far the wrecker was when I asked how long they usually take. BTW, apparently police don't carry the equipment to get into locked cars anymore due to liability issues. So many were being sued when they'd try to help people get into their cars and accidentally damaged something. Really, people?! They're trying to help you and you sue them? It's not like they'd do it without the ok from you, you know?
You are not a bad mom at all. She is safe and that is the important thing.
A bad mom would have done it on purpose and not gotten help.
My previous car had a number pad on the door that unlocked them. I loved that feature.