A COURT case involving a mother charged with neglect after leaving her three children in the car for 10 minutes while she went shopping has raised questions over the issue: How long is too long to leave kids in the car?

The 39-year-old from Keperra - who can't be named to protect her children - pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Magistrates Court today to leaving them unattended for an unreasonable time without making reasonable provision for their supervision and care.

The children - aged 10, 5 and 3 were left in the vehicle in an undercover carpark at The Gap shopping centre with the motor and air conditioning running on April 1 this year.

Sergeant Paul Hodge told the court a passer-by watched the children for five minutes but did not approach the car because she did not want to scare them.

Instead, she reported the matter to police.

When the mother-of-four was called in to speak to police, she said she thought her children would be okay.

She told officers her 10-year-old son had locked the doors while she went into Coles until she returned about 10 minutes later.

Police said the woman was extremely polite and co-operative and did not appear to be deliberately neglectful.



Defence lawyer Andrew McGinness said his client was a caring and supportive mother who had stopped at the shops after watching one of her children play soccer.

He said she walked about 100m from the car to the shops to buy three items and was phoned by police as she left the centre.

"We're not talking about a carpark outside a casino," Mr McGinness said.

The mother cried as magistrate Liz Hall accepted her character references, which described her as an excellent parent who had suffered greatly at the thought of coming to court.

She said while the woman only left her children for a short time in the running car, her 10-year-old would have had a lot of responsibility should something go wrong.

Ms Hall released the woman without imposing a penalty after she was discharged absolutely.

KNOW THE LAW

* Under Queensland law, it is illegal to leave a child under 12 unattended for an unreasonable time without making reasonable provision for the supervision and care of the child.

* The maximum penalty for the offence is three years' jail, but whether the time is unreasonable depends on all the relevant circumstances.

* Legal Aid Queensland says there are no fixed rules about what qualifies as reasonable in an individual case.