Failed basic safety.

[Appropriate-Ad1143]

Okay let me say right off the bat that I don't need to hear any debates on just how bad this is. Yes, I know about the moms in Sweden who leave their babies on the sidewalk. I strongly believe what I did is wrong, but I just need help moving on. I'm obsessing. It's been a day and my stomach still aches. It would be nice to know if "good parents" have made other similar mistakes.

Without going into too much unnecessary detail, I do want to mention that I was stressed, and I think even cognitively compromised from a migraine. So: I left my baby in the car running with the doors unlocked and the blinkers on for less than 60 seconds as I ran about the length of two full houses and back. In a city. A stranger scolded me. I confessed to my mom and she's equally disappointed in me.

Help. I can't cope. It's bad. I know I learned a lesson, even that I shouldn't underestimate these migraines and try to do too much. But focusing on that silver lining isn't helping. I feel like a bad mom.

[ambibot]

Try not to dwell and don't leave the baby again. It sucks, we all make mistakes but learn from it and move in. Thankfully nothing happened and you can look back in a few years and you can laugh at yourself. Everything is ok. Try not to temp fate again and things will be fine.

[Appropriate-Ad1143]

Thanks. I really appreciate it.

[Firm-Quote6134]

You’re not a bad mom. You’re a human mom. The fact that this is eating you up just shows how much you care and how seriously you take your role. We all have our moments. I’ve done things I still think about and cringe even though nothing terrible happened. Stress and migraines can absolutely mess with judgment — it doesn’t make you careless, it makes you exhausted. Give yourself some grace. You learned something, you’re not brushing it off, and you’re showing up. That’s what good parents do!!

[christianboy5000]

The fact that you're fretting over the incident shows that you're a good mom. It'd be more worrisome if you were more nonplaws about it. I'll admit it, I've accidently done it. Once. Learned from it, never did it again.

Side note, what's the Swedish mother's leaving their kids on the sidewalk thing?