Mom leaves infant alone in car with note to passers-by

Mom leaves infant alone in car with note to passers-by


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PORIRUA, New Zealand — A New Zealand mom's unconventional "babysitting" idea has people around the world steaming.

It appears the woman parked her car outside a Porirua supermarket Saturday, left a note on her sleeping newborn for anyone who happened to pass by and went inside to get her shopping done. A man and his family pulled into the neighboring spot and quickly noticed the baby — who was in a car seat in the front seat.


My mum's in doing the shopping, call her if I need anything.

–note left on infant


When the man leaned in to get a closer look, he was stunned to read the contents of the handwritten message.

"It was written from the baby's perspective," the man told the New Zealand Herald. "It said, 'My mum's in doing the shopping, call her if I need anything', and it had the cell phone number."

The man and his wife waited at the car for a few minutes, hoping the mother would return. When she didn't, another pair of passers-by agreed to stay with the baby and call the mother while the couple went inside.

The proof is in the photograph — snapped by the man who found the baby. The image was posted on Facebook, prompting a flood of backlash from around the globe. It drew about 1,500 comments in 24 hours — the majority criticizing the mom's move, according to the UK's Daily Mail.

#poll

Some commenters, however, offered sympathy.

"Maybe mum needs some help with the everyday things," said one commenter. "We are quick to judge what we call right and wrong, but we are also slow at offering help."

Even the man who found the baby acknowledged it may have just been thoughtless mistake.

"Majorly stupid error in judgment by a tired new mum," he said on his Facebook page.

The photo of the sleeping infant has since gone viral.

Authorities in New Zealand said they likely won't investigate the case any further since no one has come forward to file an official complaint. Investigators said they have no way of tracking down the mom since they have no real information at this point.


Majorly stupid error in judgment by a tired new mum.

–Unidentified eyewitness


"We don't know who the people are, we don't know the phone number," national police spokeswoman Annie Coughlan told the Herald. "We don't know where to start."

It's against New Zealand law to leave a child under 14 alone "for an unreasonable time or in unreasonable conditions." Doing so can result in a fine of up to $2,000.

Even if someone did file a complaint though, charges are rarely filed in situations such as this one, police said.

"[Incidences like this] need to be taken on their merits and often it's a mum that's run into a shop, for example, and is only away for five minutes," said Porirua police Senior Sgt. Justin Rakena.

Related links

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

FamilyUtah
Jessica Ivins

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast