My first day in London started off with sprinting off the plane, accidentally leaving my abaya behind and flying through customs with complete ease. I arrived in my hometown less than two hours later and cheerfully volunteered to pop down to the local Tesco Express petrol station to pick up a few things.
Paying up I left the store and rounded the corner to my mum’s parked car. Pulling the door open I couldn’t help but notice a small child’s round face reflecting in my window. Turning around I looked into the car parked beside me and felt my mood instantly darkened, rage built up and I wanted to run back into Tesco and punch the parent responsible for such cruelty. Now what you read next is solely my opinion, if I was the law maker I would have people like these doing at least two years for such negligence. That way they would realize having children is not just for Christmas, although rewarding at times, it’s a lifetime commitment which disrupts lives and relationships. So, here I was faced with a three year old who was stuck in car with all the windows up and the doors unlocked, if that wasn’t bad enough I peered into the backseat and saw a two year old girl with huge forlorn eyes that were pleading with mine, she was secured into her car seat with a waist buckle, the should restraints sagging around her waist.Back in the passenger seat the little face was mouthing something, I struggled to understand. Looking around for the absent irresponsible parent I waited around to make sure the kids would be okay. After a few minutes my maternal instinct hit full force and I was ready for battle. A full five minutes later a harassed looking European Muslim lady walked up and popped the boot. She deposited her two full Tesco carrier bags into the boot and turned to look at my glaring face.“Excuse me, your son is trying to tell me something.” I said approaching the rear of the car.After a brief discussion with her son through the open boot, she turned to me and shrugged.Baffled at her nonchalance I geared up for war. “Do you think it’s a good idea to leave your children in an overheated car?” Before I could launch into a tirade, the woman interrupted by shrieking, “listen! I know my kids okay?” Then with the speed of lightening she into the driving seat and without checking her mirrors or taking the time to fasten her seatbelt she roared away.As I followed her out of the forecourt, I maintained eye contact with her beady little eyes, she refused to look at me in the rear view mirror, her driving clearly indicated her eagerness to get away from my deranged demeanour. As soon as I got to my mum’s house I made a beeline for the phone and rang the local police station. Citing her plate number I had a lengthy discussion with the officer regarding nonchalant parents. Not only did she leave her children in an unlocked overheated car that was parked out of her line of vision but the vehicle she was driving wasn’t even registered with the DVLA, making her an illegal driver with no address to trace her. With parents like these I feel sorry for children who are not looked after properly, it’s not about the material comforts a child has, it’s about showing them love, caring for their wellbeing and making sure they do not overheat in cars. Is it a wonder there are so many dysfunctional adults out there? How many terrible acts of cruelty do we need to hear before seriously punishing these parents? If you can’t look after children, then don’t have them in the first place!
