So, I just read an article on Salon about a woman who allowed her young son to stay in the car while she ran into a store to buy him a pair of headphones for a plane trip. The child expressed that he wanted to stay in the car, and she was gone for barely 5 minutes. While she was in the store, a "good Samaritan" called the police to report the mother for leaving her child in the car, and she was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Excerpt:

"I took a deep breath. I looked at the clock. For the next four or five seconds, I did what it sometimes seems I’ve been doing every minute of every day since having children, a constant, never-ending risk-benefit analysis. I noted that it was a mild, overcast, 50-degree day. I noted how close the parking spot was to the front door, and that there were a few other cars nearby. I visualized how quickly, unencumbered by a tantrumming 4-year-old, I would be, running into the store, grabbing a pair of child headphones. And then I did something I’d never done before. I left him. I told him I’d be right back. I cracked the windows and child-locked the doors and double-clicked my keys so that the car alarm was set. And then I left him in the car for about five minutes."

What do you think? Would you call the police in a situation like this? Would you say something to the parent? Do you think this was an acceptable course of action for this particular instance? (I think we can all agree that leaving a child or pet in a car that could be too hot or cold or for prolonged periods of time is dangerous and stupid, and that's a topic for another time.)

So, would you have taken it so far as to call the police?