A Careless Mistake
You know those moments that you have nightmares about as a mom and pray that they never come true? For the most part, many of us are fortunate that they never become a reality. I, however, was not one of the fortunate ones last Friday {yes Mother’s Day weekend} when a careless mistake I made had the possibility of putting Harlan in danger.
Last weekend the family and I traveled to Boston for my first ever blog conference, Bloggy Bootcamp {more on the conference in a later post.} We decided to rent a car instead of taking the train so that we were able to make our own schedule and drive around exploring the city. Friday afternoon I rushed to get our things ready and down by the car so that I could make it to Boston in time for the cocktail hour that evening. We had everything down but Harlan’s car seat so I sent MacKay back up to the apartment while Harlan and I stayed by the car to get everything organized.
While I was putting things in the car Harlan made several attempts to run into the street instead of sitting nicely on the sidewalk. To keep her occupied I gave her the car keys to play with and sat her inside the car. After I was finished putting everything in the car and still waiting for MacKay I figured I would sit the front seat and wait. I went over to Harlan to shut her door and then went to open mine when my heart completely sank. The doors to the car were locked and Harlan was stuck inside with the keys.
Trying not to panic, I quickly tried to get Harlan to unlock or open the door. She did pull the handle correctly but the child lock was enabled so the door would not open. I called MacKay who told me to call the rental car company for the extra keys. Instead of calling the rental car company I dialed 911 and with an extremely ashamed voice told them that I locked my 20 month old in the car.
As the police were on their way, both MacKay and I attempted to get Harlan to unlock the door. We tried to tell her to pull up the lock but she just wasn’t understanding it. At this point there is a crowd of onlookers surrounding us asking how in the world I could have done this and also giving me their two cents on how I could avoid something like this next time {don’t you love how New Yorkers always have to be involved?}
Meanwhile, Harlan has found the bag of M&M’s in her diaper bag and managed to open them and spill them all over the seat so she could eat them. Instead of her panicking, she is laughing at me in the window while she eats handfuls and handfuls of chocolate.
At this point the police pull up and see that Harlan is in no way panicking (she’s in Heaven at this point because she can eat all the chocolate she wants without me getting to her.} One of the police men attempt to get Harlan to press the buttons on the keys and she does, except she presses every button but the unlock button. The other officer found a tow truck driver across the street who said he was able to get the doors unlocked.
After about 5 minutes the man was able to get the doors unlocked and Harlan was out of the car with no knowledge that she was ever in any danger {she was in chocolate paradise, remember?} The police were extremely nice and I didn’t even get hauled off to jail {although the thought crossed my mind several times as this fiasco was going on.}
From start to finish my careless mistake only cost us about 30 minutes from our scheduled departure, but has cost me a weekend of embarrassment and shame. Even though everything turned out ok and Harlan was fine the entire time, I feel awful that I even put her in that situation. I should have never given her the keys in the first place and let her play in the car alone. I’ve learned a big lesson out of all of this!
I wasn’t going to share this story because of my embarrassment and the fact that it makes me look like a horrible mother. But, the truth is, I want to be honest and tell you my mistakes {because we all make them.} It is so easy to tell of all of the wonderful stories that I share with Harlan, but that isn’t reality. This is.
Have you ever felt like the worst mother in the world?
Categorized in: City Life, Motherhood
This post was written by Lauren
{ 67 Comments }
Oh my goodness! Don’t feel badly at all. If it makes you feel any better, last year in Boston I locked Peanut in my apartment (we lived in a walk-up, so no doorman!) I had to have the police kick the door down. Every mom has done something like this. And you know I feel like most NY’ers should just keep their mouths shut
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I have to tell you, the visual of her laughing and stuffing her face with chocolate made me giggle.
Seriously, though. You are an awesome mom in every way. You have absolutely no reason to be embarrassed or feel badly. *Hugs*!
It makes me laugh now that I think about it, but not at the time. So glad to know I’m not alone! Thanks for sharing your post! It made me feel so much better!
Plenty of times…You are not alone and seriously, people should mind their own business! Good to hear Harlan kept a clear mind and went straight for comfort…her M&Ms!
Vida @mommylok recently posted..BABY- See you in 40 weeks!
Thank you! Yes, the M&M’s kept her happy!
Twitter: TruthfulMommy
says:
OMG, first off *HUGS* Secondly. you did nothing catastrophically wrong. sweet mama, I have locked the girls in the car..they have locked me out of the house, turned for a second while my 5 month old rolled off changing table, turned while my other 4 month old rolled off bed, and BOTH have put their little hands on the front glass of our fireplace and had to go to the hospital. I AM THE WORST MOTHER> You Made a mistake.That is all.XO
P.S. Just so you know, my list *(don’t be afraid) it was dispersed over 6 years and 2 children:)LOL
Truthful Mommy recently posted..Kids Grow Up
LOL. Glad to know it could happen to any of us! Thanks for the sweet words!
Twitter: naptimeismytime
says:
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard of this happening. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed.
Emily recently posted..Type A Twitter Monday – 050911
Thank you Emily! I am surprised too after reading all of the comments how many people it has happened to!
You are not a horrible mother at all. These things can happen. You are human. I can understand your fear and all that you are feeling because you are a great mom who loves her daughter to bits!! I must say I got a chuckle out of her just enjoying her free time in the car eating the M & M ‘s. I can visualize the whole thing. It’s good you shared. We are not perfect!! We try to be.. Glad everything turned out okay.
I know! I probably would have laughed at her too had there not been a crowd watching. Thank you for the kind words! I think as mother’s we put so much pressure on ourselves and forget that it’s ok to make mistakes.
My husband did something similar when our son was only a few months old. At the time, we had a car with faulty locks so you had to be sure to open the door to the backseat before closing the front one just in case the lock malfunctioned. Well, one day he was in a hurry and sure enough the lock was acting up. He called me and we decided he had to call 911. I was literally praying (while crying hysterically…post-baby hormones) he would not be hauled off to jail. Thankfully they were nice to us as well.
Thanks for sharing your mistakes. I have a really hard time sharing those embarrassing moments as well…especially on my blog. But I’ve realized we all make mistakes and it is from others’ mistakes we can all learn, while realizing we are all the same!
Oh no! I’m am glad to know that it can happen to the best of us. We do all make mistakes and it’s better that I confront them and confess to get much needed support from you guys rather than sulk and feel sorry for myself.
Though reading this, I feel for you and your embarrassment, and completely understand, you are not a horrible mother. You are just a mother.
These things happen. My daughter rolled off the couch at 2 weeks under my watch and I was hysterical, and needed her first stitches at 10 months and my husband will never forgive himself even though she is fine and it wasn’t his fault. There have been times where I’ve turned around and thought I lost her while I was shopping because I wasn’t paying attention. There are things to fall off of and get locked into and hurt themselves on and we can only do our best. You did your best. You got her out as soon as you could, and she is perfectly safe! Good mom. “Bad” moms actually don’t care about the welfare of their children.
Thank you for the kind words. I guess it really can happen to anyone. I’m just glad this situation and yours turned out okay!
Okay, I am sending you BIG hugs because we all know what that sinking feeling in the stomach is like! But please don’t beat yourself up, no one was hurt- I LOVE that she was having a blast eating the chocolate- and if anything it will just make you more careful
You are a fabulous mom, never forget that!! We all have our moments. I am not sure there is enough room here to write mine- LOL! In the end we are all human and make mistakes. Have a fabulous day, xoxo
Sandra Guirguis recently posted..Now share Google Docs and Google Calendars
She was having a blast! I don’t think she even wanted us to open the door! Thank you for the sweet words! It makes me feel better about this whole situation!
Oh, girl- we all do this at one point or another. LOL @ her eating the chocolates!
If it makes you feel better, I locked one of mine out of the house. And didn’t realize it.
Twitter: nycpatty
says:
OMG! I just want to hug you right now. Seriously…lots & lots of hugs!
First off I am so glad that Harlan is okay and was oblivious to what was going on around her. I can’t inagine what was going through your head during that time. But thank goodness all was fine. This doesn’t make you a bad mother in anyway. In fact this small incident just makes you both better parents. I’m sure nothing like this will ever happen again. I’m sure plenty of parents have these types of incidents with their kids. You learn from these things. Parents aren’t born knowing everything, never in your mind did you think she’d end up locked in the car. Just grateful she’s okay and you both are too! 
I know my parents had an incident that ended with me in stitches when I was less than a year old. You just gave me a post idea for later this week. I have to ask my mom to retell me the story so I get the details right.
Patty recently posted..NYC’s Taxi of Tomorrow
Thank you Patty! She’s already had stitches too! Can’t wait to hear the story!
Twitter: sarahviz
says:
Someday you will look back on this with your daughter and laugh, I promise! Been there, done that.
(It was nice to meet you this weekend!)
Sarahviz recently posted..Why You Should Attend a Bloggy Boot Camp
So nice to meet you too Sarah!!! I hope I can laugh at this and not feel terrible anymore!!
My 1 1/2 year old locked me out of the house because I didn’t think to take the keys when I went to the mailbox, so you’re not alone here. She was also totally fine, but we had to remove a pane of glass to get in. She just sat there on the couch by the window the entire time chattering away. It was my first and last mistake, just as this will be yours.
blueviolet @ A Nut in a Nutshell recently posted..Sigh It&8217s Time To Get a Job
Yes! I have learned my lesson from all of this!!!
we ALL have our moments like this… and it’s totally embarrassing but it makes us better moms =)
It is embarrassing. I am even embarrassed to walk into my super’s office in fear that they will say something about the incident!
Twitter: momatthebarre
says:
Please don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed. That could have happened and will happen to any one of us. I am glad everything ended well, but I am also glad you shared your experience. When something like that happens it seems as if you are the worst mom ever and that no other mom has ever done anything like that. When nothing could be further from the truth. Motherhood is a steep learning curve with many bumps along the way! And I agree with Carissa, it just makes us better moms!
Sam @ Mom At The Barre recently posted..Personal Bests and Firsts- Japan Day Run and Mothers Day
Being a mom is such a learning curve. The good thing is that we can learn from these mistakes and know we wont make them again! Thank you for the encouragement!
I locked my 6 WEEK OLD in the car in JULY. Postpartum hormonal craziness + exhaustion = completely insane, HYSTERICAL mom. I called 911 screaming that she was going to die immediately of heat stroke if someone didn’t come in less than 10 seconds. (Hey, she could have! It was SO freaking HOT!). Fortunately a cop was there within 2 minutes and jimmied it open within 30 seconds, but I was traumatized. I swear I cried for a few hours afterward because I felt like such a terrible mother.
I’m not, though, and neither are you.
Oh no! I probably would have been hysterical too! So glad the situation turned out okay! And you are right, we are both great moms!
Oh gosh, yes. These mistakes have happened to me, too. You’re a terrific mom, anchovy know that we’ve all been there!! Glad everything ended up okay. So scary!
Thank you! I am glad to know that I am not alone!
YES. My girls have crazy food allergies. Totally my fault, but Rem bit into a chocolate peanut butter candy thing. Broke out in terrible hives, rushed to the ER, etc. Those paramedics/doctors talked to me like I was a deadbeat mom. I cried in the ER. Wishing us both fewer scary mommy moments!
Roo {NiceGirlNotes} recently posted..Get Your Eye Black On
Oh no! I hate that people can be so judgmental. That’s exactly how the people were acting as they were watching us!
Twitter: MommyDelicious
says:
Aww… Lauren! Things like this happens to the best of us! Aiden has rolled off the bed while sleeping with me one more than one occasion. It’s called Life and real Motherhood, as you said. But the image of Harlan munching on M&M’s while you all try to get her to press the button sounds like it could be on a TV episode of a sitcom or something. LOL.
We all have our moments, thanks for sharing yours.
Alicia @MommyDelicious recently posted..A Very Delicious Mothers Day
So true! It does need to be written into a Modern Family script or something! At least she was happy!
So happy this turned out ok, but must have been so scary for you! Love that she just sat there eating M&Ms. What a doll.
Sharing your story may help another mom from going through the same thing!!
The Mommyologist recently posted..Bloggy Boot Camp Kicked My Mom Sexy Ass
Thank you! I hope so! It’s so hard to be candid sometimes, but I think I need to be for myself and for others!
I love it. She was in chocolate heaven and u were totally freaked! Classic! And so not horrible mother… happens to all of us!
Yep! She didn’t even know she was in danger!
Twitter: CarrieWChildren
says:
Oh my goodness! I’m so glad she’s okay! You are not a bad mom, we’ve all done things like this before! *hugs*
Carrie with Children recently posted..Happy Mother’s Day to You!
Thank you Carrie!
Twitter: glamamom
says:
Shockingly I have not yet done this. Something to look forward to
Glad everything turned out ok and you guys had a fun weekend in Beantown to forget about it.
Ha! I hope you don’t have this to look forward to! But keep some chocolate in your car just in case
Lauren -
Hunter accidentally locked the door to the bathroom once. I busted the door down to get him out! I also locked Kendyl in the car the same way you did with Harlan. By time the fire dept.(yes – 911) arrived, I’d coaxed her into unlocking the door herself. Everyone is still alive! You’re a great Mom! Don’t be too hard on yourself
Thanks Debbie! I think Harlan would eventually have done the same as Kendyl but she was having too much fun with her chocolate!
OMG my heart was pounding for you! Kids are so funny, they are so calm. My son would have loved to have M&M’s all to himself. Glad it worked out, but phew!
Thank you! The M&M’s were a lifesaver in this situation!
Twitter: emilysarah
says:
Harlan is one smart cookie! She knew where to find the food
Hope the rest of the weekend was less eventful and fun–can’t wait to hear about it.
Yes! She found the chocolate right away!!!
Twitter: dadarocks
says:
Really we’ll do much worst to our children before we’re done being parents. dont worry about it.
DaDa Rocks recently posted..Mother’s Day is here now what
I hope not!
Twitter: noshoppingliz
says:
Probably not the kind of excitement you expected before a fun weekend in Boston…but don’t feel embarrassed! You’re not a terrible parent AT ALL. Harlan had a fine time with the chocolate and she wasn’t hurt or upset.
I hope the rest of your time in Boston was wonderful. It was so great to meet you and I can’t wait to bump into you when I’m in New York!
Thanks Liz! It wasn’t quite the way I expected to start out our Boston trip, but it ended on a good note! Loved meeting you too!
It must be wonderful to be mom in NY!
So much to do!!!
Great blog!
It’s my first time here and I am enjoying reading you!
mominrome recently posted..Good mom- bad mom
Thank you! You are in Rome, Italy? My husband went to high school there!
First of all, I’m SO glad your daughter wasn’t harmed in anyway. Secondly, we us moms, and parents aren’t perfect and we will all make mistakes. I’m like you, I dred making any but I’m not perfect and know they will happen – and some mistakes I’ve already made. Thanks for sharing this story really, but you’re human and you did the best you could do to correct the situation. As a mom, that’s all we can do:)
Denise recently posted..Happy Mothers Day
Thank you Denise! I am learning that it is okay to make mistakes and that eventually we will all make them!
First of all, do not feel bad at all. Every mother makes a mistake. This same thing just happened to my bestie recently, in the rain. She had her three year old out and locked her 1 year old in. Glad everything worked out and now you have a good story. Love the fact that she found the M&M’s.
Melissa at Tall Blonde recently posted..Momma Mia
Thank you Melissa! I am happy to know I am not alone in this! Glad everything turned out ok for your friend!
Don’t feel bad! This will make a great story a year from now! Little Har just loving life being locked in the car with M&M’s!!! Lol
Thanks! I hope I can laugh about later! It will be a great story to tell her later in life!
Twitter: Mommymonologues
says:
This is NOT something you should feel bad about or beating yourself up over.
Everyone has a story like this one–my cousin? Locked both her girls in the car. They were 18 months & an infant. She called 911 too-she was sooo scared!
Oh wow! Glad they were okay! Thank you for the kind words, Kate!
Twitter: take2mommy
says:
I know how awful you must have felt when it first happened and you called 911. But like the other comments say, you will laugh about it some day.
Trying to picture a cute lil toddler going to town on a bag of M&Ms without a care in the world…and no one to stop her! That part is awesome!
Jennifer G. recently posted..Mothers Day
Thank you!
Twitter: dimsumdebutante
says:
Don’t feel bad!!!
My husband did exactly the same thing a few months ago in the Costco parking lot. I was putting the cart back while he organized the trunk. He put The Nut in her carseat and gave her the key to play with. When I came back he was literally panting next to her window. He went totally diva and was saying things like, “Oh God! What if she runs out of oxygen in there!?!?” His reaction was so hilarious to me that I didn’t have a chance to freak out about The Nut. We were able to talk her into pushing the correct button. If she had access to a bag of M&M’s, however, I think she would have hopped in the driver’s seat and left us in the dust!
Glad everyone escaped unscathed and that you had a great weekend in Boston!
Katy @ Dim Sum Debutante recently posted..The Nut and The Doll Factory move over Charlie!
Oh no! MacKay was more upset with me than he was worried about her in the car! Yeah, I think any kid would be fine with chocolate!