Leaving Your Child In The Car Be Illegal And Get You Jail Time In Texas?
As the summer starts to get a little closer here in Texas, it will mean that our babies will not be necessarily going to school, and our children will be with their parents most of the time. Now, if you live in Central Texas, the summers here can be miserable, sometimes it gets so hot here. Central Texas degrees are at a three-digit number, yeah right hot. Even though our kids will be out of school, the same errands, chores, and responsibilities are still something as parents we have to make sure we take care of. A lot of parents are guilty of running errands and just quickly running into an establishment to take care of may be paying a bill and coming back to your car, which is no harm right?
CAN YOU GET JAIL TIME FOR LEAVING YOUR CHILD IN YOUR CAR?
According to Versus Texas, a person can be considered making an offense if he or she intentionally or knowingly leaves a child in the motor vehicle for longer than five minutes. The question is what type of trouble can you find yourself in if you leave your child alone in the car? If your child is younger than seven, and not attended by an individual in a vehicle who is at least 14 years old or older, you could possibly find yourself in a lot of trouble. Leaving the child in a vehicle is not necessarily not illegal, but it is still always a liability and it puts your child in all types of danger. If you find yourself leaving your child in the car longer than the five-minute window in Texas, it’s going to be considered a class C misdemeanor punishable by the maximum of a $500 fine. Not only will you have to pay a $500 fine.
LET'S PROTECT OUR BABY'S
The offense will be classified as neglectful supervision, which means Child Protective Services will also more than likely get notified and it may go as far as to become an investigation. As a parent myself, I can say I know it is very hard to try to get your kids organized while trying to take care of certain errands, but it’s not worth the trouble. The heat alone can be dangerous for small children outside of the car, so let’s not leave them inside any car. Keep your child close so we can avoid any issues in Texas.