What Can Happen to a Child Left in a Running Car in the Winter Time?

Leaving your child alone in the car for a minute or two can be very tempting. Getting a young child in and out of a carseat and carrying her into everyplace you frequent can seem like a hassle, particularly when you just need to run into a convenience store for two minutes to grab milk. However, it's not a good idea. Even for short periods of time, your child can face serious risks from being left in the car at any time of year, but winter poses its own risks.

  1. Abduction

    • A child who is left alone in a car faces the risk of being abducted by anyone who happens to walk by the car and see him unattended. Even "safe" neighborhoods can have an abduction occur, so it's important that a young child never be left alone where someone could grab him and run.

    Injury from Accidents

    • With winter weather often comes snow, ice and slippery road conditions. If you leave your child alone in the car for periods of time, for instance, to shop or to finish out a nap if she falls asleep in the car, serious injury could occur. A car driving on the road or in the parking lot could slip on bad road conditions and slide into your car, injuring the child inside. The other possibility is that your child could get out of her seat and climb into the front seat. With the car running, it's possible she could knock off a parking break or even figure out how to shift gears and cause the car to begin moving, possibly having an accident.

    Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

    • If the area where you live has snow, there can be a serious danger to leaving your child in the car alone that you never even thought of. Snow on the ground can cover an exhaust pipe of your car when it is running, warns OneToughJob.org. This can cause carbon monoxide to back up into the car, which your child would most likely not even smell or be aware of. Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause brain damage or even death.

    Freezing

    • Children who are left unattended in a car for extended periods of time can face the danger of freezing to death. Even if you left the heat in the car on with it running, the heater could malfunction or a child that manages to get out of her seat and wander about the car could inadvertently turn it off.

    Seat Belt Dangers

    • SafeKids.org points out that seat belts should be treated with the same caution you would use with any other type of rope. This means that leaving a young child alone in the car is dangerous because the child could get tangled up in the seat belt and be injured or strangled.

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