DEAR ABBY: Several times over the past month while I was dropping off or picking up my son from preschool, I observed a mother of one of the other preschoolers leaving her infant alone in her vehicle with the engine running while she went inside the school to retrieve her other child. At times, the woman was away from her van for at least five minutes.
Rather than confront the mother with my concern, I stopped by our local police department to ask if there are any laws against this. I was hoping an information flier was available that I could share with her, but there was not. An officer asked me to describe the woman's vehicle and the approximate time of day she came to the school.
Evidently, the police officer mentioned to the mother that "another mother" had notified them about her. Now she and several other parents in our preschool are upset. A friend in whom I confided that the "other mother" was me, told me I should have minded my own business! (She, too, has been guilty of leaving her little ones in her parked car with the engine running.)
Did I go about this all wrong, Abby? -- SAFETY-CONSCIOUS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
DEAR SAFETY-CONSCIOUS MOM: It would have been better to have spoken directly to the woman, or to the principal of the school. Adults should NEVER leave children alone in a vehicle with the engine running. What that mother did was child endangerment. Carjackers, as well as a child accidentally putting a vehicle into gear, are very real dangers.
Take comfort in the fact that although the mother reacted defensively, you may have saved her child's life. That woman was lucky. Other parents have not been so fortunate.