Bubbas and petrol stations WDYD

[Sopdet]

It is just common sense, you basically do a risk assessment of the situation and make your decision based on that.

Things like:

State of the kids, are they awake, restless, sitting quietly
Distance from where you are to where you need to go, like have you been lucky enough to get a pump close to the door
How busy is the service station
The weather of the day, hot, cold, wet, dry

I have done both, left kids in the car, taken the keys with me & locked it, and other times dragged kids out of the car to pay for the petrol, which can be a nightmare because of all the sweets/lollies by the counter. I make a judgement call for myself in each individual situation.

You do what is best for you, in your situation, at that point in time.

[~*familyof3*~]

I never ever leave the kids in the car to pay. Even if there asleep. Too many times you see on the news storys of how parents did do that only to have the car taken. Yes the likelthood of that is small but i always think how would i feel the one time i do that that happens. Theres no price you could put on your childs safety.....and for the extra 5-10mins it takes to get them out, i dont see why you would risk it. BUT that being said that is MY choice and my reasons why. Each parent needs to choose whats right for them

[minimatron]

I have 3 kids 4 and under. I always leave them in. I lock the doors and make sure they are in sight. Fortunately I dont have to get petrol that often when they are with me.

[Gigi]

i've only got one child. I fill up, with her in her carseat. Then get her out, and we go into the petrol station together. The thought is always in the back of my mind, that some idiot will hotwire my (old bomb) car for a joyride, take off with my DD in the backseat, while i'm paying for petrol. i always tell her, "you can replace things, but you can't replace people".

We don't have car a/c, so in summer particularly, the car is so hot (another reason i can't bring myself to leave her in the car).

i haven't paid too much attention, to what the law is on this, i just do what i feel is right for me and DD. Maybe i'm just a paranoid single mummy.

i do make attempts to fill up when DD is in kindy, to avoid the situation when i can. But when i see petrol cheaper than usual, and she's with me . . . . then we go in together.

Sometimes i go to an out of the way petrol station, to get driveway service, still have to go in to pay though.

When bilby was smaller, i had to put an animal harness on her, to go in and pay. I cannot imagine going in with multiple kids, that must be such a challenge.

i can't think of one petrol station that lets you pay at the pump, maybe i am just ignorant about that service. Sounds good.

[Cherished]

I take DS in with me to pay. It's really not that much of a hassle getting him out of the car etc and he likes to get out of the house so that's all just part of the outing

[AndiE]

I think it's each to their own. Do what's right for you.
When DS1 was a baby I nearly always left him in the car, but with DS2 I nearly always took him in to pay (I generally did a petrol run on a day when DS1 was in daycare).
TBH my reason (with DS2) was less to do with fear of someone stealing the car with him in it, it was more a fear of DS2 being trapped in a car if there was a fire at the petrol bowser. There was a spate of bowser (petrol pump) fires either before DS2 was born, or just after, and while I'm not a nervous nelly, nor do I freak out easily, it got me thinking about DS2 being in the car if there was a fire at the petrol station. Even now, if one of the boys is with me when I fill up I'll take them in with me. I'm just not comfortable leaving them in the car.

[MrsBexie]

I leave DD in the car to pay. She hates being moved in and out of her carseat so leaving her and locking the car is more suitable for us than dragging her out screaming then putting her back in screaming even harder. Plus I rarely have to wait and can ALWAYS see the car

[Roryrory]

I would never take my kids in to pay. They are aged 5, three and a half and 8 months. If I fill up I do at our local petrol station. I can see the car and always leave it locked. Like others have said, IMO there is more chance of them being hit by a car in the station's driveway than being abducted with the car (I figure even a good car thief would take at least 30 seconds to break in and start the car, by which time I would be running at them like a banshee ready to rip their head off).

I would be very confident if questioned by police in regards to my decision. I am also quite confident of defending any charges related to child abandonment in court.

[MummyNaomi]

I've done both - if asleep I'll leave him and dash in, or if he's happily occupied I have too, other times I've taken him in with me, but it is rare that I fill up alone. I tend to fill up on the weekends so DH and I are together and then one of us obviously stays in the car with DS. If I am starting to run low on petrol then that night after DS has gone to bed and DH is home, I shoot around and fill up. As our petrol reminder goes off with about 80kms to go, its rare that I would need to fill up alone. I tend to fill up well in advance regardless of the price of petrol as I'd rather pay a few dollars more and reduce the likelihood of needing to get petrol with DS.

I've also left him in the car to get money out of the ATM, but fortunately our local ATM usually has parks directly in front of it (eg within about 2 metres) so I wind down the windows and chat to him while I get money out and he's completely safe, happy and within sight