It's time for a Mom Confession -- because, let's face it, we're real mothers and sometimes it doesn't work the way the parenting books say it should.
This Week's Confession:
In comfortable weather, during the day, I let my kids nap in the car in the driveway if they fall asleep on the way home from somewhere. We live in a two-stoplight town with very low crime rates. I park the car in the driveway where I can see it from the house and lock the doors. I go out every five minutes or so to peek in at them and check the temperature inside the van to make sure it's not too warm or too cool for them. But some people (my mom) still think it's terrible that I do this. I check on them so much and they're all locked up that they're probably safer in there than in their bedrooms! -- anonymous
We all have secrets -- so thanks to this brave mom for sharing her honest thoughts, and thank you for keeping this conversation non-judgmental!
Do you have a Mom Confession you want to share? PM me. We can share your confession with your CafeMom screenname or anonymously.
Past Confessions:
I'm Afraid My Husband is Going to Die
I Don't Like Being a Stay-at-Home Mom
I Have a Family, But I'm Lonely
I Lie and Say I'm "Working" to Avoid Playing
I Let My Son Fall Asleep to DVDs
I Don't Shield My Kids' Eyes from Nudity
I Use Housecleaning to Avoid Playing With My Kids
I Don't Set Up Play Dates for My Kids
I Wish I Had a Fulfilling Career Outside the Home
I Use My Kid's Flushable Toilet Wipes
I'm Going to Disney Without My Children
I Hate Reading Children's Books
I Let My Toddler Play Outside Alone
I Turn My Kids Over to A Mom I Just Met
My Toddler Wears Crude T-Shirts
I Let My Toddlers Climb Play Equipment Unassisted
My Kids Go to Sleep After Midnight
I Let My Toddlers Go Naked in Public
I Paid $22 for My Son's Haircut
My Toddlers Eat Pizza for Breakfast
I Leave My Toddler Alone in the Bath
Our Children Aren't Invited to Our Wedding
I'm on Vacation, But My Kid Is Still Going to Day Care
This Hot Dad Wants to Vacuum Your Rug
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
KStew Refuses to Shower
This Hot Dad Wants to Cook You Dinner
Comments 59
I've left my daughter sleeping in the car while I ran into get something, probably max time being 15 minutes. That was when she was a baby and I was at my mom's house. Now, my daughter rarely falls asleep in the car, and if she did, we have an attached garage. I would leave her in the car in the garage, it's no less safe than leaving her sleeping in her bedroom.
Uhhh. NO! I wake my son up. Needing more sleep is WAY better to deal with than any o the alternatives that COULD happen. No one ever thinks 'it' could happen to them...but guess what 'it' happens to everyone at some point in time. I'm not willing to risk my son's safety or life over a few Zzz's. That's just plain stupid.
I agree with Nily. That's one of my biggest fears when I have people watch my son, that they will forget about him and leave him in the car. Don't get me wrong, I fully trust anyone I leave him with, it's just a little mom paranoya, but I would NEVER leave him in the car on purpose let alone leave him in the car and then go inside. there's too many weirdo's out there and it takes a max of 5min for an infant to overheat in a car sitting in direct sunlight. As I said, I agree with Nily. ITS WRONG!
I have let my children sleep in our car in the garage with the windows open, and the door to the house open, garage door closed. I don't care where you live, NEVER would I let a child sleep alone outside in a car. Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, you still might have other threats then crime to think about, like wild animals, unexpected whether, a child getting hurt or forgotton, your child waking up alone and scared, etc. It's just not safe.
Did you ever think about what the ppl next door might do if they felt this was child abuse?? You could seriously get into allot of trouble doing this. This is NEVER OK! My son is my life and when he fell asleep in the car when we got home i carried his sleepy head inside into his own bed. And here's another question, if your car is safer then there own bedroom?, What do you have in your child's room thats not safe??!!
I think this really depends on where you live, what your driveway situation is like, and what you are doing when kid is in car. If you are right there with the doors open and tending to something right near where your kid is...perhaps it's OK. But it all depends.
I live in the city...and don't have a car. But if I did it would often be parked blocks away since parking is so hard to come by and I don't have a driveway. So obviously this would not be something anyone would do by me.
Nope someone would call the cops on you in my town if you left your kids in the car.
I live on a military base which is suppose to be safe but I still wouln't let my boys sleep in the trailblazer by themselves. There is too much that could happen.
I agree w/ RanaAurora If I was outside while my child was in the car that is differant. Or if I had a garage that opened directly to my house I would close the garage door, turn off the car, open the car door and the door to the house and let them nap. But not while I am inside and they are outside.
Yep, if my 3 year old falls asleep on the way home and I know she's tired I'll park in the garage, leave the door up, and the windows down until she wakes up. Of course, I check on her every few minutes. If I pick her up and try to take her to her bed she will wake up and not go back to sleep.