The child was left in a locked vehicle in a supermarket parking lot

Mar 25, 2013 15:47 GMT  ·  By

A New Zealand mom left her baby in her car after pulling in at a supermarket parking lot. A handwritten note was left on top of the sleeping baby, giving instructions on what to do in case of an emergency.

“My mum's in doing the shopping, call her if I need anything,” it reads.

The New Zealand Herald tells us that, at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 23, a family parking next to the mother's vehicle spotted the baby outside a Pak'nSave in Porirua.

The couple stopped to wait for the mother, and were joined by two other shoppers who used the phone number included in the note to call her outside.

The baby was not harmed and there was no indication about whether or not the incident was reported to local authorities.

However, experts warn about leaving children, especially newborns alone in cars, as they can suffer from dehydration and are not able to protect themselves.

[Update, March 27 2013]: A previous version of this article notes that a toddler has been left in a locked vehicle in a car park. As our readers mention, the child appears to be younger than one year old.