There’s nothing quite like being a passenger princess to help you drift off to sleep.
From the white noise of the engine, to the gentle forward motion, it’s a tried and tested technique to grab some shut eye – and one that parents have been using on babies for generations.
But one mum was less than impressed after she fell asleep in the car – and upon arriving home, her husband left her there.
Sharing her story on Mumsnet, she wrote: ‘We went out for lunch today. Husband drove home and I fell asleep in the passenger seat.
‘We got home and him and the children all went inside, leaving me in the hot car parked in direct sunlight with all the windows up and doors closed.
‘I only woke up about 15mins when my son came to look for something. I was boiling hot when I woke up and was so angry he’d left me there.
‘We’d had an argument earlier and I almost think he did it on purpose. He says he didn’t know I was asleep and thought I was just sitting in the car for a while.
‘I’d been sleeping with my head drooping forward about 10 miles so I think it would have been obvious.
‘He says oh I told you “we’re home” and you ignored me. I was flippin’ asleep!’
The mum appears to be particularly concerned about being left in the car during such hot weather, saying the temperature was around 25C.
She added: ‘I’m upset what could have happened if I’d been there longer in that heat. There’s no way I would leave a child in a hot car with windows all up so I don’t see why he thinks it’s OK to do it to me. AIBU? [Am I being unreasonable].’
The post received nearly 400 replies and it’s safe to say that people were very divided.
Some fellow mums were outraged at her husbands behaviour, with one commenting: ‘Life-threatening or not, it was just a sh**ty, nasty thing to do!’
Another wrote: ‘That’s a really weird, contemptuous thing for him to do. It’s not normal to leave someone asleep in a car, he’s behaving like a child.’
One user pointed out that it still could have been dangerous for her health, writing: ‘Adults get heatstroke from falling asleep sunbathing so it’s not unreasonable to say the OP could have suffered the same.’
Another agreed: ‘If this is real, YANBU [You are not being unreasonable]. You could have died!’
But some mothers felt quite the opposite and claimed the original poster was being dramatic.
One user replied: ‘You’re an adult, more able to regulate your own temperature than a baby, I’m quite sure you wouldn’t have died. It does sound like he’s been a bit petty/spiteful after your row. I think you’re both being unreasonable.’
Another wrote: ‘What would have happened to you? Surely you would just have woken up too hot and then got out? Unless he locked you in?’
Someone else added: ‘The worst that would have happened was that you got a bit hot and woke up. Young children who are strapped in, and dogs are at risk of dying in a hot car if left because they can’t get out and can’t regulate their body temperatures very well. Not fully grown adults. You are being very dramatic.’
While anyone in a hot car for a prolonged period of time can get heatstroke – even healthy adults – those who are particularly vulnerable are children, pets and the elderly.
Young children, especially babies and toddlers, can’t regulate their temperature and their body temperature can rise up to three to five times faster than an adult.
As a result hyperthermia can occur in just two minutes and the heat can lead to a fatality in a child within two hours.
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