What would you do if you saw someone's kid locked in a hot car?

I would call the police, definitely. I've never had to do this yet, but I had a friend who called the police after seeing such a thing, and later it came out that there had been a lot of other abuse going on in that family, and the people lost custody of their children. Where I live it isn't hot that much of the year, but there are a few really hot days each year, and if I saw such a thing I would definitely act. However, I supposed since I don't go out much the likelihood of me seeing it is pretty low, now that I think about it.

I don't care whether it is cold, warm or hot, children should not be left alone in a car. What if someone decided to steal the car and the children with it? I wouldn't break the car window because someone might spot me and call the police and say I was vandalizing or trying to steal a car. The best thing to do is just call the police right away. They would be there in a heartbeat. It is up to them to break into the car, not a citizen with no authority.

It depends on where it was as to what i would do, call the police or security guards, go to the store manager...But I just couldnt leave the child there..

I would call the police, no questions asked. I can't understand people who do this knowing what might happen. I would also make sure that I had a witness and would take down the make and license number of the car and give the police that,too, in case the people came back and tried to take off. I can't believe that people would be that unfeeling to do things like this, but you hear the stories all the time.

if it happens to me? then of course, i sure would help the kid to get out of the car, to save him and keep him safe. If the situation calls for immediate attention, i'd probably call the police officer.

I would obviously try to find if the child is safe. Then i will check if the parents are near. if not i will check if anybody is available to help. As a last resort, I will call the police. I will never leave a kid when situations as such arises. Parents should understand the danger and act accordingly.

Call the police! No questions asked. We should break parents of this, it is way too dangerous!

if i saw a kid on that car and when i get to see the kid is not feeling well already or in big trouble.. i would not think twice to call for help, for the police,. which is the easiest way to seek help.

I guess it would depend where we were, and how hot it was. As soon as I saw the kid, I would look around and see if there was anyone around. Like someone else said, they could just have stepped out of their car for a second. I know I would never lock my child into the car while I stepped out, but some parents do, and just keep an eye on the car. If they can really get done in less than a minute, there probably won't be any harm done to the child. If I couldn't see anyone watching the car, I would call the police. I would let them be the ones to break into the car, unless it looked like the child needed help right away. I really don't understand why a parent would do that to their child, though. I get really mad when I see pets locked in a hot car, too. But that is a tiny bit more understandable, since they aren't allowed to go into the store with them. But they could still either leave the car running or the windows down and HURRY UP if they have to run in and pay for gas or whatever. But there is really never a time that you go in somewhere that your child can't go, so you need to leave them in the car.

This is a difficult one and I don't think it's as cut and dried as to say, break the window or call the police. The car is locked and no one can access the child if the windows are closed. The parent could be just feet away at a cash point machine or a chemist getting medicine for the child, we don't know and we shouldn't judge so easily, they could have left their child for a matter of moments and could be completely able to see their child from where they are. Imagine if you were about to smash a window and the mother (or father) is getting medicine from the chemist and sees you - they could be on the phone straight away to the police saying YOU were about to vandalise their car or kidnap their child. This is just a random scenario but the comments so far have all assumed that parents would be so stupid as to leave their kids in the car whilst they went of roaming around town for hours, which in probably 99% of cases would not be the case :)

I would call 911 immediately. On these hot summer days, time can be very important. There is nothing more important than a child's health and safety. I've never seen this happen, but I know that is what I would do.

Definitely whip out my cell phone and call 911 immediately. I couldn't ignore that fact, especially since it takes almost no time at all to cause severe damage for a child to be in that sort of heat.

I would call the police ASAP too! Then break into the car in anyway I could. It is sick some of the stuff parents do with and to their children.