MONTREAL – Three children were left unattended and crying in the middle of a Walmart parking lot in Vaudreuil on Monday afternoon.
The scene quickly sparked outrage, leading some passerby to call the authorities. While the children turned out to be fine, their mother was fined $60.
“Regardless of the temperature, you can’t leave a child unattended,” said Ingrid Asselin of the Monteregie police. “Even if the temperature was fine, you can’t do that.”
One Walmart employee witnessed the situation and took to a local Facebook group to express her anger.
“Dear Mrs. No-heart-no-brain,” she wrote. “I hope you regret what you did.”
“I hope you don’t have other children, you don’t deserve them,” she added.
Some mothers said they don’t have a choice, arguing they have no one to watch their children while they run in to get some milk, for instance.
But many mothers disagree, saying to do so is just irresponsible parenting.
“It is absolutely bad parenting,” said one mom.
“I am a mother and grandmother and I would never ever do that.”
“I have two small kids and I don’t care how busy I am, I don’t care if they’re asleep, if they’re crying, they’re coming with me,” said another. “Because you never know what could happen, and it’s very unsafe.”
“Every mom and every parent should make sure to take their kids wherever they are.”
This isn’t the first time this has happened in the Montreal area.
There recently was a similar case in Saint-Jerome, where police were quickly called to the scene and youth protection services were also notified.
The Laurentian Department of Youth Protection is investigating to see if those children are receiving sufficient care from their parents.
“It’s about prevention,” said said Mario Cianci, its director of human resources.
“When you leave your children unattended in a car, there could always be other risks.”
Asselin reminded parents that anything could happen and that they should always be careful.
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