Finding a parking spot can be tough – especially during the holidays when one can loop around a shopping mall or grocery store for a significant amount of time before discovering an opening.  Even living in shared housing can get dicey, as family and friends come to visit neighbors and take up more space.  Finding an open spot, especially late at night, is as good as like receiving the perfect Christmas gift.  Just ask Elda Solis.47-year-old Solis of Florida left her 6-year-old child in a chair in the middle of a parking space to guard her spot at her housing complex.  She left the child alone in the spot while she went to Publix across the street to grab some groceries.  The incident occurred late at night, around 10 P.M. on December 7th, making the decision all that more ridiculous.  A neighbor evidently spotted the child alone, in a chair, in the dark.  Luckily, instead of something terrible happening to her, the neighbor phoned the police.The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office received a tip the following day and officers headed over to Solis’ residence.  They confronted the woman, who admitted the tipster was telling the truth.  They proceeded to interview the child and the youngster indicated it wasn’t the first time her mother had asked her to hold her parking spot so she could run errands.  In fact, it happened all the time.

Image Courtesy of Monroe County Sheriff's Office

Detectives had heard enough.  They obtained a warrant for Solis’ arrest and she was taken to jail, where, perhaps, she sat in a cell fretting over whether someone will steal her unguarded space.Unfortunately, turns out, Solis’ plan isn’t all that uncommon.  In fact, there have been many cases of child neglect stemming from mothers who choose to leave their children home alone unattended while they run errands.  Or, take a European vacation.In September of this year, 30-year-old Erin Lee Macke of Iowa, mom to two 12-year-olds, a 6-year-old and a 7-year-old, decided to take a trip to Germany – without her four kids.  She did not arrange plans to have them watched while was she away, either.  She just packed her bags and told them she would be back in a couple of weeks.Police were tipped off that the Macke crew was caring for themselves at the residence.  Upon further investigation, they learned their mother had left the country on September 20th and was not scheduled to return until October 1st.The Iowa Department of Human Services took custody of the kids.  Officers called Macke while she was in Germany and demanded she return home.  As soon as she arrived, Macke was arrested and her kids were released to the care of family members.According to WebMD, “Most experts say that by age 10 or 11, it's okay to leave a child alone for short periods of time (under an hour) during the day, provided they're not scared and you think they're mature enough to handle it.  But you may want to wait another year or two before leaving them alone at night.”  Probably not the best idea to take an extended vacation from one’s children, or leave them outside alone.

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Woman accused of making 6-year-old child guard parking spot as she shoppedCops: Mom placed 6-year-old in a chair in parking space to hold it while she shoppedMom arrested after leaving kids at home alone to go on trip to Germany