Well, yeah, if Dear Old Dad is knocking over a liquor store or visiting a bawdy house, sure leave the kid in the car. There is always an equation to consider. No, I grew up in a different world. I'd walk two miles to downtown alone to see a movie on Saturday afternoon and get home around dark. Not a problem. My brother and I sat in a parked car many times while the folks ran some errand and we even managed to get the parking brake off one time when I was about 3. My brother was 5 and I still say it was his fault. No seatbelts and we rode in the back of the pick-up many times. What did we know? As I said, it was a different world then. Many of the risks were the same as they are today and we just tend to look at them differently. Who knows? Someday we may all be required to wear crash helemets when we drive and folks will shake their heads at those who refuse. Things change.

My point, however is that for known risks that might result in death or horrible crimes committed upon the person of a small child it is always reasonable to error on the side of caution, both for the child's sake and for the many years of mental anguish which could accompany that one in a million happenstance. It is simply not worth the risk.