I understand where you're coming from here, but to parents who actually do have spines (and seek to grow such spines in their children), it is actually fairly e

I understand where you're coming from here, but to parents who actually do have spines (and seek to grow such spines in their children), it is actually fairly easy to see that the reason the 4-year-old was left in the car was due the fact that he was running both the conversation and the decision-making that occurred throughout the incident. Which is to say, I can see the GP making the general point that the mom didn't have a "temporary lapse in judgement" as much as a systemic failure to live up to her role as the adult in the parent->child relationship. Just to be clear, I'm not arguing the mother is negligent for either this or leaving the kid in the car. I'm just saying when you can recognize that your child will throw a tantrum and your only recourse is to begin making concessions to them, you're already at a point where they are raising you more than you are raising them.