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#61
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Hillary Israeli wrote: In , bizby40 wrote: *I was once on the opposite end of a similar situation. DD is 9. I *mentioned to a friend that I thought when she was 10, she'd be old enough to *stay home alone if I ran to the local grocery store or post office (these *are both less than 5 minutes away, and as it's not where I do my main *grocery shopping, a trip to either place is normally less than 20 minutes *round trip). She told me that if I were to do that, I need to tell DD not *to tell anyone, as it is illegal and CPS could get involved if anyone ever *found out. That's interesting. I actually called my local police department to find out when it would be legal to leave my kid home alone (I was spurred into this by a neighbor who told me she left her kid, who is my kid's age, home alone for five minutes one day while she ran a quick errand. She also mentioned she had another neighbor "on alert" that if she did NOT get a call in ten minutes saying she was home and all was ok, she should go check on the kid). I was told that it was legal for any "school age" child to be left alone, and the officer I spoke to interpreted "school age" as five years old (mine was 4 at the time of this phone call). The officer went on to say that he did not condone leaving 5 yr olds alone, and I frankly agreed with him, but it is apparently legal in the great state of Pennsylvania. *so to do something *so* bad that there was a law against it... So I *immediately began researching state law, and after an exhaustive search *discovered that there is no stated minimum age for a child to be left alone. Oh. Duh. I should have read further I got curious about this and looked into it for North Carolina once, and found that there is no hard-and-fast law about it here either. The 'guideline' appears to be that eight years old is the minimum for being left alone occasionally, and around 12 is the minimum for being left alone routinely (i.e. every day after school). It's not an absolute law, though, which works both ways. It's not strictly illegal to leave a five-year-old alone for a few minutes, but it's also not clearly 100% legal to leave a twelve-year-old alone for a few minutes. Whether a given situation was considered an issue might be up to the discretion of whomever was investigating it. Beth |
#62
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Stephanie Stowe wrote:
Steph, the wacky Mom... I used to have a keyless entry doo dad for the car. I would pull it off the ring, leave the car running (for heat or AC depending) and lock the car with the keyless doo dad while pumping gas. And I live in Fairfax VT. I do not do this in Fairfax, but I have done it in The Big Town of Burlington! You probably have a bigger risk of catching your car on fire because is still running then having your kid stolen out of it while you pay at the pump ;-) But - carry on with your wackiness, lol. We all have something we are wacky over. -- Nikki |
#63
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#64
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"Hillary Israeli" wrote in message ... In , bizby40 wrote: *I was once on the opposite end of a similar situation. DD is 9. I *mentioned to a friend that I thought when she was 10, she'd be old enough to *stay home alone if I ran to the local grocery store or post office (these *are both less than 5 minutes away, and as it's not where I do my main *grocery shopping, a trip to either place is normally less than 20 minutes *round trip). She told me that if I were to do that, I need to tell DD not *to tell anyone, as it is illegal and CPS could get involved if anyone ever *found out. That's interesting. I actually called my local police department to find out when it would be legal to leave my kid home alone (I was spurred into this by a neighbor who told me she left her kid, who is my kid's age, home alone for five minutes one day while she ran a quick errand. She also mentioned she had another neighbor "on alert" that if she did NOT get a call in ten minutes saying she was home and all was ok, she should go check on the kid). I was told that it was legal for any "school age" child to be left alone, and the officer I spoke to interpreted "school age" as five years old (mine was 4 at the time of this phone call). The officer went on to say that he did not condone leaving 5 yr olds alone, and I frankly agreed with him, but it is apparently legal in the great state of Pennsylvania. Virginia law has wording to the effect that you can't leave a child in a situation that child isn't ready for. Confusing for the mom who really wants to know what to do. *so to do something *so* bad that there was a law against it... So I *immediately began researching state law, and after an exhaustive search *discovered that there is no stated minimum age for a child to be left alone. Oh. Duh. I should have read further -h. -- Hillary Israeli, VMD Lafayette Hill/PA/USA/Earth "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read." --Groucho Marx |
#65
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Ericka Kammerer wrote:
A: Many people believe this safety warning only applies to older cars. That is not true. A running car presents a number of "ignition sources" for fuel vapor. The exhaust components of a modern car can literally glow red hot during normal operation. The typical ignition system creates voltages above 40,000 volts. While I've never known anyone to have a car stolen from a gas pump, much less a child, I have known one person whose car caught fire. She had their 18mo strapped in and, thank god, was able to get her out. Her other two kids were inside. I *always* turn my car off now and I don't get in and out of it anymore either because you can spark that way. That can be my wacky, over protective, worry wart, item ;-) I used to work at a gas station and some one pulled off the road - their car was on fire.....where did they pull up at? Right up along side a gas pump. I image they were panicking and on auto pilot. You generally pull up to a pump when entering a gas station but jeez - idiot move or what! -- Nikki |
#66
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P. Tierney wrote: Maybe I just hear different news stories than you do? I think a lot of people actually leave the car running when they get gas (even though you aren't supposed to). Right, which is why I was surprised that people did it for the "safety" of their kids. ;-) That said, I don't know the reason behind that rule, but I always assumed it was something chemical. See Ericka's post - tho I assume the people who do it for safety reasons are thinking of heat or cold issues. Besides, you don't need keys to steal a car. Right, "carjacking" is "the theft of an auto by force or intimidation". Meaning that the keys are taken in the process, and the driver is often still in the car. Carjacking is the act that I was responding to. Oops - I guess I'm using the wrong term for the actions I'm being paranoid about! It's true that a car can be stolen by other methods. I feel confident that pay for the gas, see the car most of the time, and do so under the amount of time that it takes for someone to break into the car, hotwire it, and drive off. Yeah - that's what I meant... As for me, I pay inside because I try to avoid credit and debit cards whenever possible. That's my only reason -- keeping it in cash. Pay at the pump is one of the few things I almost always do on credit cards - I prefer cash & checks when I can, too, so I understand that reasoning. ;-) Irene |
#67
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On 1 Mar 2005 07:44:15 -0800, "Irene" wrote:
I've never heard of carjackings at gas stations, but at places like stoplights. In the latter situation, the keys are in a running car, making it possible. If you go pay for gas, you probably take your keys with you. I do, at least. Anyway, I don't see how paying at the pump would prevent a carjacking. Maybe I just hear different news stories than you do? I think a lot of people actually leave the car running when they get gas (even though you aren't supposed to). Besides, you don't need keys to steal a car. ;-) I know that paying at the pump doesn't completely protect me from carjacking, but at least it makes me feel better - especially since it's less likely that someone could sneak into the car while I'm not looking, and attack me when I get back in. We all have our areas of paranoia - that's one of mine. ;-) Carjackings seem to be fairly uncommon crimes, but as these articles show, they do occur at gas pumps as well as at other places. Of course, some of the thefts occur because the person leaves the car running or the keys in the car which the parents here would not do anyway. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2005Feb9.html Patrols Bolstered Near Gas Stations After Carjackings Attacks, Thefts Reported in Northeast By Clarence Williams Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, February 10, 2005; Page DZ03 D.C. police have stepped up patrols around Northeast gas stations after a rash of carjackings and vehicle thefts, officials said. About 20 carjackings have been reported in recent months in the 6th Police District, officials said. Some victims were accosted after paying gas station cashiers. In other cases, thieves got behind the wheel and rode off after drivers stepped away from gas pumps, leaving their keys in unlocked cars. http://www.thegreenvillenews.com/new...2052023632.htm Greenville sheriff's Investigator Tony Lee said his department's statistics are similar to those in the city. He said his department hasn't had more than 11 carjackings in a single year since 1999. He said Greenville County experienced a small wave of carjackings several years ago when they were being reported around the country at fast-food restaurants, gas pumps and convenience stores. -- Dorothy There is no sound, no cry in all the world that can be heard unless someone listens .. The Outer Limits |
#68
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dragonlady wrote:
In article , "nimue" wrote: I know it is a pretty safe place. Things will always happen to people somewhere, here included. But a bit of perspective is always a good idea. P. Tierney So you would leave your 2 year old alone in the car, out of your sight, for 15-20 minutes? It depends. Where is this, and why might I do it? The circumstances under which I HAVE done it: This was in front of my friend's rental property. We went into the house and checked it and went to the back and checked the shed. The toddler was completely out of our sight and indeed out of our hearing. The neighborhood is o.k. -- a student neighborhood near a main road. It's not a horrible neighborhood nor a really good one. The windows were down in the car for ventilation. To run into a pharmacy to fill a perscription for said child; actually, that doesn't quite count -- I chose a pharmacy with a large window facing the parking lot, so I could see the car and the child. At home, in my driveway, with the doors left open, and a window in the house open so I could hear of she started to cry. Child was sleeping, weather was cooperative (warm, but cloudy). Hmmm -- I think that covers it. In a public place while I go shopping? -- no. -- nimue "If I had created reality television I would have had a much greater influence, but then I would have had to KILL MYSELF." Joss Whedon "There are two types of women -- those who like chocolate and complete bitches." Dawn French |
#69
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dragonlady wrote:
In article , "nimue" wrote: Okay. I just wanted to make that clear. I just spoke to my friend and she EXPLODED all over me and didn't want to hear it. It was very unpleasant. I was surprised she called me today -- I wasn't expecting to hear from her until tomorrow at the earliest. Anyway, she sees NOTHING wrong with what she did and she got VERY angry. FURIOUS. I tried very hard to be mild and caring, but no matter what I said, she just reacted and got angrier and angrier. It was very unpleasant and I am feeling kind of down about it now. When my kids get this angry at me when I call them on something, I know it's because they KNOW they were in the wrong, and are angry at having been caught . . . Thank you, dragonlady. That makes me feel better, because she just left a SCREAMING FURIOUS message on my answering machine. Oh, boy. -- nimue "If I had created reality television I would have had a much greater influence, but then I would have had to KILL MYSELF." Joss Whedon "There are two types of women -- those who like chocolate and complete bitches." Dawn French |
#70
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On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 22:15:25 GMT, "nimue"
scribbled: dragonlady wrote: In article , "nimue" wrote: Okay. I just wanted to make that clear. I just spoke to my friend and she EXPLODED all over me and didn't want to hear it. It was very unpleasant. I was surprised she called me today -- I wasn't expecting to hear from her until tomorrow at the earliest. Anyway, she sees NOTHING wrong with what she did and she got VERY angry. FURIOUS. I tried very hard to be mild and caring, but no matter what I said, she just reacted and got angrier and angrier. It was very unpleasant and I am feeling kind of down about it now. When my kids get this angry at me when I call them on something, I know it's because they KNOW they were in the wrong, and are angry at having been caught . . . Thank you, dragonlady. That makes me feel better, because she just left a SCREAMING FURIOUS message on my answering machine. Oh, boy. She's still acting angry?? I'd say you struck a nerve. Nan |
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