Leaving Your Kids In Cars Alone

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From time to time we hear of children being left by their parents unattended in a car. And it's not just deaths in summer from heat exposure in a hot car. Here are a couple examples I found from a news story from a local New Jersey (U.S.) radio station which really upset me. Police found a 2 year old girl toddler wandering aimlessly around an active parking lot at a shopping center. The child had fallen asleep in the car and the mother decided to leave her there while she went shopping inside the Burlington Coat Factory store. She could have been killed. Or taken. The mother was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and only given a summons and released. In another case someone noticed outside a bar four kids ranging in age from 1 year old to 8 years old left unattended in a pickup truck. Police were called who determined they had been left there for half an hour. Inside the bar police found the mother and father shooting pool. The man and woman were both charged with four counts of endangerment. The man also was driving without a license and operating an unregistered motor vehicle. The couple also had no car seat for the children. When the police found he had warrants, he was taken to the Ocean County jail. The mother was charged with endangerment and, just as the other mother, released. Why were the mothers allowed to go home instead of being booked and jailed? I know they will have to appear in court for the summons, but should not the penalty be more severe? After reading this story It seems odd to me there is no universal punishment for child endangerment? In these instances the women received what amounted to a slap on the wrist. Is this how the law should treat abandoning children? How is this adequately protecting the child? Tragedies can happen! What if someone stole the car with children still inside. Or worse. What if that toddler wandering in the parking lot was hit and killed by a car. There should be tougher laws and uniformity for this offense. Do you consider any of these penalties appropriate: -a small fine -a heavy fine of $500 or more -10 days in jail -90 days or longer in jail -remove children from home What is your opinion about this issue and what punishments do you believe should be instituted? Source- NJ 101.5 FM Photo- huffingtonpost.com