Bubbas and petrol stations WDYD

[RainbowBrite]

Truth is that it is much more dangerous for me to be getting them out of the car and dragging them into the shop area.

I agree.
It is not very often I don not have my little ones with me and with a 17mths old, 2.5yr old and a 3.5yr old it would be much more dangerous to get them out then leave them in the car.
I always use the closest bowser to the doors and they are never distressed or upset when I go.
If only have one then I tend to take them in (very rare occurrence)

[~*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.

[RainbowBrite]

For me I see chances of my kids getting hit by another car is greater than somebody stealing your locked car without keys. (not questioning your choice family of 3 just offering a different view point )

[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.

[black_rose]

I am like RB with a 3.5, 2 and 9 month old I dont feel it's safe to get the kids out at the service station. I can see them and I don't have to worry about keeping them away from cars and also the lollies inside. I always have the keys and lock the car.

[luna moth]

I don't fill up. And I never will. My DH does it, and if there's no fuel, I walk.

[Junglemum]

Audax, that would be a dream! If only the petrol fairies would fill mine. I hate getting petrol.

Bring back driveway service I say!

[Fleur]

i agree that it needs to be whatever you feel comfortable with. i do leave DS in the car while i pay for petrol - like everyone else it's within eyesight & i run in & out, small petrol station & no queue. it's the only time i leave him in the car though - i know people who leave their kids in the car while they go to the atm or similar but, for me, petrol is the only thing i'm comfortable with.

Same here.

[Cranky Kitten]

It does irritate me a bit so many petrol stations are removing the option to pay at the pump. If a supermarket can do it, why can't a fuel station? Besides which, having worked as a console operator I used to love them as at least then I didn't have to watch them like a hawk so they didn't nick off without paying (which is incidentally why those who move their cars closer get watched so closely until you come in and pay).

Personally though - it depended on the situation. Hot days or busy servos and I'd bring DD in with me, if she was asleep and everything felt ok, I'd leave her

[~clover~]

I leave the kids in the car. I have more than one & its too dangerous to have them running round a servo.
If I have DD on her own, I'll go to the smaller, more exxy servo so she's closer. They often have driveway attendants so if I'm lucky I don't even have to get out!

Its your choice. I take the keys & leave a window down.

[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

[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

[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.

[peanutter]

I always take DS in with me. I'm not a paranoid mum, I just don't feel ok leaving him by himself.

That being said, my DH fills up, and then (like some others below) moves the car up to the door, locks the car and keeps a weather eye out.

It's one of the few things we do differently - and we accept the validity in each other's POV.

But we almost always now just get gas when we're both in the car, so we don't have to haul DS out for a 90 second transaction, or leave him alone! One of us fills up and pays, the other does the windscreen and stays with bub.

That all being said, I raised the exact same question at our MHCN group when DS was only a couple of weeks old, and the MHCN (and about 1/2 of the group) said not to be ridiculous, and that nothing was going to happen to him in the 2 minutes we were apart. But the rest of the group just didn't feel ok with that answer, and said that they also took their baby with them to pay - even though it's a bleeding hassle.

So it's a valid question, with completely understandable arguments each way (particularly when taking into account multiple children, or kids old enough to run around, beg for lollies, and possibly get hit by another car).

Decide what's right for you

[LoveKnowsNoBounds]

One more thing to consider is people hijacking cars. Remote possibility I know but it does cross my mind, especially if you have an expensive car. I've left him in their once and didn't like not being in control and him being so far away. He is always within arms reach, it just didn't feel right.