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Neighbors routinely leave toddlers in car with car idling for long periods of time

Posted by freedomchick 
Need some advice on what to do here. I share a driveway with my nextdoor neighbors so this is sort of right in my face and I can't ignore it.
They have 2 toddlers who are, frankly, sweet but incredibly whiny kids aged about 4 and 2. The wife is a SAHM and the husband is just odd -- but that's a different post. Anyway,I have noticed over the past few months that they often leave their kids in the back of their SUV -- strapped into the kid seats-- with the car running, parked in the driveway. The first time I noticed it, I thought she had forgotten to turn off her car and went and said something, and the wife said " Oh the kids are napping." It has happened other times and today has been going on for over an hour. I checked online and there is no ordinance in my city against idling your car for an hour ( thought I think there should be, but again, that's another post.) I don't want to start a war with my neighbors and am a kind of live and let live person, nor do I think that leaving a kid alone in a car while you pop into the grocery is a big deal, but I do have a problem with the kids being physically restrained for an hour just for the parents' convenience. Should I say something to them or not? Should I call the police? Suggestions appreciated.
Just to add - part of my reluctance to say anything is a sneaking suspicion that they do this to get the kids out of the house while they have sex. I don't want to mess with anyone's sex life, but if doing so will prevent them from spawning another kid then maybe... thus, the dilemma deepens.
I would consider calling the police if only to find out whether it's legal or not. If it's not legal and it turns into a Lil Sizzler, you don't want to have to deal with any legal ramifications of saying nothing.
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keeper of traken
I would consider calling the police if only to find out whether it's legal or not. If it's not legal and it turns into a Lil Sizzler, you don't want to have to deal with any legal ramifications of saying nothing.

This. You share a driveway with these people, so any "accidents" would happen in close proximity to you. If the kids get fried and you were home (or even worse, seen outside near the car where it was happening), you will get blamed for not jumping in and saving the day. Not the parents - never the parents - they will have suffered enough. I completely understand not wanting to start a conflict with your neighbors, but this is a CYA situation.

I wish I was being paranoid, but after Susan Newkirk you can never be too sure. Calling the cops on them a few times may get them to knock it off.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
"Not every ejaculation deserves a name" - George Carlin
Why not mess with their sex life? You don't want them making any more kids, do you?
I would call the cops. Like LoveToLurk said, you don't want to be liable for the sprogs. In a perfect society, you wouldn't be, but unfortunately this idiocracy values kids above all else, so anyone who chooses not to protect them is guilty.

Lock him up or put him down.
Stolen from Shiny.
What a waste of gas. Won't anyone please think of our troops fighting oversees?
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contemplativeintrovert
In a perfect society, you wouldn't be, but unfortunately this idiocracy values kids above all else, so anyone who chooses not to protect them is guilty.

...Except their parents, of course.

This is possibly a lose-lose situation. If you don't call the police and something happens to the kids, you're liable. If you do call the police, Moo and Duh might come after you. Wasn't there a thread here months ago about a woman who reported a lil'-sizzler-to-be and got seriously injured by its moo?

(As for what I'd do, I'd probably call the police anyway.)

I don't have low self-esteem. That's a mistake. I have low esteem for everyone else.
-Daria
Here's an alternative: call Child Protective Services. Your name is kept confidential, so it could look as if any passerby witnessed the kids in the SUV and called.
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