I must rant because I held in my anger earlier

UsedToBeHusky

Wow! So glad you were there. You did the right thing!

Melissa_H_39

I live in Florida and have recently witnessed this kind of behavior from a lady in the pharmacy. The child was crying in the car when I parked next to it and went in. My friend was with me and stayed in the car thinking it would only take a few minutes to get my things and be right back. I was stuck in line for 25 minutes due to a customer giving the cashier a hard time over an item they thought they seen on sale in the sales add. When I can back out the lady still had not came out to even check on the kid that was maybe 3 at oldest. My friend and I called the police and reported the tag number and as we were waiting on the police to get there ( about another 20 minutes passed) the lady came out and left about 3 minutes before the police arrived. We provided the police with a description of the vehicle and I pray everyday that the child is safe. People don't use their heads anymore. What are they thinking.

Lisah8969

For those who say that they wouldn't call CPS b/c that's too harsh, where do you draw the line? These were children who should not have even been left alone AT ALL! They were left in a hot car while the parent(s) went to go workout in a place that had free child care!!! There is nothing acceptable about what was done. There is nothing forgivable about what was done. There is only gratitude that this man told someone.

cinderwolfeh

Kudos for doing the right thing! I get POed when I see dogs in cars ( and I live in Vancouver it isnt nearly as hot up here) I definitely would have called the cops if there were children in danger! I cannot believe they would leave their children in the car if there was free childcare! that's just plan neglect! Even if there wasnt childcare they should have found a baby sitter!

I can recall waiting int he car on occasion for my parents but I was much much older and it was my choice and I was left with the keys if I wanted A/C

JDBLY11

while i agree with getting them into the daycare, i do NOT agree with some posters suggesting getting the cops involved.

Inviting Child Protective Services into any parents life can be life ruining. It is a drastic, terrible measure that has torn many good families apart. If the problem can be rectified in any other way (such as just getting those kids into the day care and informing the parent that the daycare is there) then that is a million times better.

Seriously, avoid sic'ing the CPS on anyone unless the circumstances are so extreme there is absolutely no other option.

I agree. You got to talk to the parents about the problem and give them a chance to change before calling CPS. Someone called CPS on me and my husband when my son was young when we went to apply for food stamps. Whoever reported us never even talked to us about what the problem was. I was so shocked. I used to get really nervous breastfeeding in public and we were poor so I did not have the best clothes. We lived in my husband's parents house at the time so my son was in no real danger. Please talk to the parents first. They may be more than willing to listen. I know I would have been willing to talk about whatever issues the person who reported me saw. I was trying my best to properly feed and clothe my son at the time. It is so low to just call CPS without talking to the parents at all.

drojen

Sometimes, as a parent, you have to make sacrifices. I'm thinking sacrificing a work out at the gym should have been a no-brainer instead of leaving little ones in the hot car unattended. I'm a single parent, my child has special needs - free day care or not, my child couldn't cope in the gym's day care - so I quit the gym, end of story. Can't afford to pay for a gym membership and sitters - so no gym. There are other options to work out. If you can pay a gym membership, you can pay for a treadmill or something at home. There are better solutions to this "problem". Shame on those parents and kudos to you for reporting them. It won't be the first time and it sadly won't be the last time either. I'd be checking every car in the lot for the next little while and if they're out there again - no hesitation - call the police.

JDBLY11

For those who say that they wouldn't call CPS b/c that's too harsh, where do you draw the line? These were children who should not have even been left alone AT ALL! They were left in a hot car while the parent(s) went to go workout in a place that had free child care!!! There is nothing acceptable about what was done. There is nothing forgivable about what was done. There is only gratitude that this man told someone.

True, it is a major problem, but talk to the parents and involve them, make it clear to them it is an issue, then if no changes are made call the CPS.

khoff170

You did good reporting to the management - saying something instead of going on in and ignoring the whole situation. Should you be elsewhere that there's not a managerial setup do not be afraid to involve the authorities as it is likely the gym (or wherever) is not the only place the parent leaves the kids in the car. There's an article in the 5/17/2013 Dallas Morning News website about a toddler who died while left in the car aat a school on an 85 degree day by her mother who worked there as a teacher.

Heat is not the only factor either; children who are willing to speak to a passerby are at risk for pedophiles and human trafficking - I know this because I work in the federal penal system and have seen my share of very bad people.

Reporting to the authorities could save a child's life and at the least change the parent's behavior.

amyx593

I know what you mean. I'm originally from Arizona and heard about babies and children being left in cars all the time! It's terrible. Windows down or not, it gets hotter in a vehicle than it is outside, which is bad enough. Thank you for reporting it! Hopefully that parent learned their lesson- and thankfully, their children are okay.

mandeenicoleb

It's nice to see good people like you who didn't just leave it alone and later find out that something horrible happened. I can't imagine ever doing that....EVER. Horrible. I'm glad you were there.

xiamjackie

while i agree with getting them into the daycare, i do NOT agree with some posters suggesting getting the cops involved.

Inviting Child Protective Services into any parents life can be life ruining. It is a drastic, terrible measure that has torn many good families apart. If the problem can be rectified in any other way (such as just getting those kids into the day care and informing the parent that the daycare is there) then that is a million times better.

Seriously, avoid sic'ing the CPS on anyone unless the circumstances are so extreme there is absolutely no other option.

It's so hard to say. Kids die every summer from leaving them in the car. I am sure the parents love them very much. I have no idea what was wrong that day. Hopefully the due to the disabled vet plate I saw on the car it could mean since military the person hasn't lived in San Antonio long and is originally from a state far north where heat isn't as much as a danger. That said why there still is an abduction risk. And so I hope the parent listened to the gym personal when they talked to her

I would've called the police. Heat exhaustion is a real, dangerous thing. I'm from PA and it still gets above 100 here, so I don't believe that the person wouldn't have known that it gets hot in TEXAS in the SOUTH. I agree with everyone else, that if you are going to let your kids in the car when you are going to work out (which takes a long time, not like just running in for a grocery item or two) then it probably wasn't an isolated incident. No one goes into the gym for 10 minutes and works out then leaves. That parent would've probably been in there a long time before they came out to check on their kids. If you take care of your kids, child protective services won't be called on you. Period.

Also, I work in the field of social work and it is extremely hard to present justification for taking kids away from their families. There is absolutely no possible way that if the police were called, they would've ended up in foster care the next day. It doesn't work like that. The parents would've probably gotten a good scolding though.

Gabrielm80

while i agree with getting them into the daycare, i do NOT agree with some posters suggesting getting the cops involved.

Inviting Child Protective Services into any parents life can be life ruining. It is a drastic, terrible measure that has torn many good families apart. If the problem can be rectified in any other way (such as just getting those kids into the day care and informing the parent that the daycare is there) then that is a million times better.

Seriously, avoid sic'ing the CPS on anyone unless the circumstances are so extreme there is absolutely no other option.

It's so hard to say. Kids die every summer from leaving them in the car. I am sure the parents love them very much. I have no idea what was wrong that day. Hopefully the due to the disabled vet plate I saw on the car it could mean since military the person hasn't lived in San Antonio long and is originally from a state far north where heat isn't as much as a danger. That said why there still is an abduction risk. And so I hope the parent listened to the gym personal when they talked to her

I would've called the police. Heat exhaustion is a real, dangerous thing. I'm from PA and it still gets above 100 here, so I don't believe that the person wouldn't have known that it gets hot in TEXAS in the SOUTH. I agree with everyone else, that if you are going to let your kids in the car when you are going to work out (which takes a long time, not like just running in for a grocery item or two) then it probably wasn't an isolated incident. No one goes into the gym for 10 minutes and works out then leaves. That parent would've probably been in there a long time before they came out to check on their kids. If you take care of your kids, child protective services won't be called on you. Period.

Also, I work in the field of social work and it is extremely hard to present justification for taking kids away from their families. There is absolutely no possible way that if the police were called, they would've ended up in foster care the next day. It doesn't work like that. The parents would've probably gotten a good scolding though.

I didn't call the cops not because I was concerned about Kids getting taken away. I only didn't because the gym so eagerly took over the situation. CPS usually tries to prevent child relocation at any cost unless there is constant neglect. Not to say that a CPS couldn't harm the family. A teacher can practically guarantee that she/he would loss his/her job if had CPS called on them. School districts constantly do back ground checks on teachers and that is a red flag for termination in most school districts. Also getting new jobs that require background checks I guess would be affected to. That said if I had to be the sole person to resolve the issue I wouldn't of thought twice about calling the SAPD. Too many kids die due to this