Typically it’s not a great idea to stick your nose in other people’s parenting choices. But there are certainly exceptions, especially when you suspect a child may be in danger. One TikToker got a little nosey when he pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store, and found himself in an unexpected situation when he noticed that a toddler had been left unattended in his car seat.
He decided to document the encounter for social media, partially because of the unbelievable nature, but also likely to make sure that nothing happened.
'Where is the parent?' the TikToker asked.
In the video, the TikTok user IAM_FREDDYBOI90, still sitting in his car, narrates the scene.
“I get out the truck, I hear something." He pans over to the car next to him and shows a child in the back seat, stretching.
He says to the camera: “Where is the parent? I’m about to just sit here and just wait.” He asks a rhetorical question: "What are y’all possibly getting to leave a child like this?"
Commenters suggested that Freddy call 911.
The first video ends with the child still in the car alone. In the second video, Freddy waits until a woman returns to the car. Freddy offers an expletive before reiterating the fact that she left the child in the car, alone. The woman gingerly gets in the car as if everything were normal.
People in the comment section tended to agree with Freddy and his approach. Some would have taken it even further. “I would've called 911, then took pics of the plate & car,” one user wrote.
Some argued that older generations were raised just like this.
Another woman said she had six children and took all of them in and out of the store each time she went. Someone else pointed out that the child wasn’t crying, meaning this woman probably leaves him alone like that all the time.
But other people noted that generations before were raised just like this, left alone in the car while our parents ran quick errands. We're not sure if that was the case with kids who were young enough to still be in a car seat though. Not to mention that the rate of crimes against kids was much higher back then.
Should Freddy have done more?
If you witnessed a child left alone like this, what would you have done? Would you have confronted the woman? Do you think Freddy should have called the police? How would you ensure that this doesn’t happen to this child again?
Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens all too often, and it's definitely a complicated situation to find yourself in. Butting in could save a life, but it could also backfire.
