Grandmother Abandons Kids in Car While She Gambles

August 29, 2008

A Florida grandmother was arrested recently after she left her grandkids in her car while she gambled at a casino. August in Florida, as you can imagine, gets quite warm in the summer. The woman left the kids in the car -- with the windows rolled up -- for almost an hour and a half.

Let me repeat that she left the kids in the car with the windows up for well over an hour. During the Florida summer.

Fortunately, the kids were okay. The boy was 14-years-old and the girl was only 2. At least the boy is old enough to know to open the doors and let some air in the car (which we assume he did, since they were unhurt). Look, when I was a young teen, I would stay in the car sometimes while my mom ran into the store. But she left me the keys so I could turn on the a/c or roll down the windows. And I never stayed in the car for more than 15 minutes. Any more than that and I went in with her (I almost always went in the store anyway).

This grandmother would have been better off leaving the kids at home and letting the 14-year-old watch the 2-year-old, since it's usually okay to leave a child over 12 to watch someone younger. But to leave them in the car, out in the heat while she gambled? Boggles my mind. Would this even be an issue if she had left the keys so they could roll down the windows? Maybe not.

Don't forget that a car's internal temp can rise 20 degrees for every 30 minutes in the sun. And a little girl like that heats up 3-5 times faster than adults. It's a recipe for disaster. We're so glad that the kids were okay.

The grandmother was charged with two counts of aggravated child neglect. As the summer heat continues, we will, sadly, probably hear of more stories like this. It doesn't have to be that way. Please remind anyone who cares for your kids that it's never safe to leave them in the car - especially during hot weather.

Source: UPI
Image: morgueFile

By Becky Scott
Contributing Editor