My husband leaves our 8mo in the car to get Starbucks, his excuse is insane

"I do this," one commenter admitted after reading the mum's post. "No different in my opinion than leaving kids buckled in while I carry groceries into the house."

A mum has been left horrified after she found out her husband had been leaving their baby and toddler in the car while he picked up his morning coffee.

"My husband usually does morning drop-offs for our daughters, one who is two-and-a-half years old and the other who is eight months old," she explained in an advice forum post. 

"I recently found out that he gets Starbucks two or three times a week and he’s leaving our girls in the car to run in and get his order. He puts in his order through the mobile app. So when he arrives at Starbucks he parks in front and leaves the car on with our girls inside," she continued. 

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"It's more dangerous to take them in"

The husband assured the mum that he locks the door "so no one can get in" and claimed it takes him less than two minutes to run in and come back out and he's never been longer than five minutes. 

"He went on to say that he orders as soon as he leaves the house to ensure that his order is ready by the time he gets to it," the mum explained.

"I told him that I didn’t want him to ever do this again. He went on about how it's not that serious and that they are only alone for less than two minutes on average and that he leaves the car on to make sure the AC or heat is on to ensure their comfort. My oldest daughter is not yet able to unbuckle herself from the car seat."

Then came his final excuse. "He insisted it was more dangerous to take them in to get the order with him than leave them in the car because we live in a busy area."

"I gave him numerous worst-case scenarios and he finally said, 'Ok, fine I’ll take them in with me.' I believe him when he says that he will not do this again but am I overreacting?" the mum concluded her post.

Image: IStock

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"It wouldn't bother me"

People flocked to the comments to share their perspectives on the issue. 

One person suggested that "it could actually be true that it would be more dangerous to take them in. One of the kids could be hit by another car while he's juggling them in/out of the car seats, for example. It really depends on the safety of the area. There's also the issue of whether it's legal where you live."

Another said, "Personally if I were him, your rule would mean no more Starbucks before dropping off the kids. It would have to be a detour to get coffee after dropping the kids off because it's just not worth the hassle of juggling a toddler and a baby in/out of the car."

"I do this. I’m only gone for a minute or less. No different in my opinion than leaving kids buckled in while I carry groceries into the house," claimed one commenter.

"Not going to lie, it wouldn't bother me. But if it bothers you then you should make a decision as a couple as to how to handle it," replied someone else.

Then many other parents suggested that if he kept on leaving his kids like that, child protection services could get involved. "This happened to my sister," shared a user. "It was awful. We were twenty feet away for a minute, the car was on and we could all see it. One guy walks by and calls the cops, knowing it was her child and she was right there."

"I would never leave my kids, four and six, in the car for any amount of time..." replied one mum.

Then many users suggested this issue could be avoided altogether if the dad just made coffee at home.

Originally published as My husband leaves our 8mo in the car to get Starbucks, his excuse is insane