Mom Said She Had to Leave Kids Alone in Car When Boss Called Her to Work Late Thanksgiving Night

A 25-year-old West Des Moines woman who was called into her retail job late Thanksgiving night to enter Black Friday deals in the store computer was reported to police for leaving her young children in the car.

The children, ages 2 and 6, were buckled in their back-seat safety seats, both had blankets and clothes on, and the vehicle was running and warm, according to Officer Kraig Kincaid’s report. He said the 2-year-old was eating a cookie and neither child looked distressed nor concerned.

The woman reportedly agreed with Kinkaid that leaving the children in the locked car, which was parked in front of the entry to the store where she and another employee could see it, “was not a good idea.”

But as the store's general manager, she said her boss gave her no other option when he called her Thanksgiving night and told her she needed to report to work.

“Her boss had called her and told her she needed to go in and change prices for Black Friday,” Kinkaid reported. “She said she advised him she had children, but he told her it would not take very long, and she stated that she got them out of bed to drive to work.”

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The price-changing process took about half an hour and the woman was about to leave the store when police arrived.

Kinkaid did not file charges, but said he had no choice but to report her to the Department of Human Services. According to the report, a DHS official said she would follow up, but was non-committal about whether child endangerment charges would be filed.