Hoorah for the Drive Thru

Long before I had a baby, I was once consoling a friend that had just had a run in with the police. She’d been given a warning for leaving her four kids in the car while she ran into the bakery. I’d understand if perhaps she’d been gone 10 minutes, or moved more than 50m away from the car, or if the kids were younger and prone to testing handbrakes for their staying power. And yet, she’d parked directly outside the bakery, been gone less than three minutes, stayed within site at all times... and the oldest child was a responsible 13 year old. She swears the police would have seen her pull over, observed the kids and waited for her to come back before swooping down to admonish her. Community Service calls where threatened, and her mothering esteem left in tatters.
Now, regardless of whether the story is true – perhaps she failed to tell me that she’d also got her nails done just next door, or infact the park was right in front of the 500m wide carpark that was right in front of the bakery – but none the less. I’m left with an indelible sense that leaving kids in the car is an absolute no no. As well it should be. We’re all familiar with the dangers (and risk of tabloid headlines) when kids are left in cars outside casinos.

As my friend confided in me, I was both shocked at the severity with which the police took the matter, and simultaneously a little bemused by my friend thinking that she should be able to get away with it. It’s another one of those things that we survived growing up, but society now deems too dangerous. Surely, I mused, it can’t be that much of a problem to shop with children.

Enter my own child. I’ll now do anything to avoid waking a sleeping baby in the back seat, avoiding the fuss of extracting said baby from the car seat only to re-insert two minutes later for a quick errand. I would never leave him in the car in the street, but I’ve discovered a whole new dimension of “convenience” in Service Stations where the pump forecourt serves as a mini daycare. I should be worried about leaving my child unattended in the car next to 40,000 litres of flammable fuel. Instead, I find myself more concerned about my mothering image. I’ll even drive to the pump area if I’m not filling up as it seems more acceptable to leave my child there than parking in the designated non-fuel purchase bays. I’m curious as to whether this is legal or not, but frankly too scared to google it just in case it’s not.

My understanding of in-car convenience took on a new face earlier this week in my quest for a takeaway cup of tea. I’m shocked to say I bordered on ecstasy when I saw a McDonalds Drive Thru. Everyone knows that hot beverages are NOT the Drive Thru’s forte. And yet there I was, salivating at the lights. I had a two hour drive home in front of me, and the blessed babe had fallen asleep as soon as the car had started. The drive thru woman tried three times to give me fries with my order, but all I wanted was the tea. Give me a polystyrene cup of hot water and self serve tea bag to dunk anyday if it means I can stay in my car, and quench my thirst.

It made me think, is there a market for me to make my millions in an expanded drive thru offer? Not at McDonalds (although a good Earl Grey tea would be nice), but across all sorts of categories? There are drive thru donuts, ATMs, dry cleaners and bottle shops. There are drive-in movies, drive thru marriages (and divorces too). What else, I wondererd, would we love to see available from the comfort of our own car? What about a decent coffee? A drive thru massage? A drive thru hair cut? Drive thru sleep school or library book return? Queuing could be an issue, but would be worth it.

Then, I thought, I’ve got it! How about drive thru daycare, where the child is entertained (and restrained!) in the back seat while you can sit quietly in the front seat for an adult conversation or simply to focus on the road and your thoughts... Oh, that’s right. We already have that – it’s called the portable DVD player. My millions will have to wait. Right now, we're almost home and we need more milk. Caltex, here we come.