A mother who left her two young children alone in the house to go to the Post Office said they could have stood on a chair to unlock the back door in an emergency.
The youngsters, both aged under 10, were abandoned for over an hour until the eldest daughter dialled 999 by mistake.
Their mother, who had a previous conviction for leaving them alone, insisted that she did everything she could to be a good parent.
Kirklees magistrates were told that it would have been impossible for them to unlock the back door in an emergency but she claimed that they could have stood on a kitchen chair to remove the bolt and knew where the spare key was kept.
She pleaded guilty to two charges of wilful assault, ill-treatment, neglect, abandonment or exposure of a child in a manner likely to cause them suffering or injury to health.
The children were left alone in their Lowerhouses home on April 10 when their mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, went to pick up a parcel at the Post Office.
She left the house at 8am and when the older girl woke at 8.30am she searched the house for her missing mother, prosecutor Alex Bozman said.
He told magistrates: “She spoke to her by telephone and the defendant told her to go back to bed and that she’d gone to collect a parcel.
“The daughter had trouble with the phone and, as a consequence, she accidentally dialled 999 and hung up.
“That caused police to register it as a dropped 999 call and a police caller rang back the landline several times.”
The little girl answered one of the calls and told the operator that she’d called by mistake.
But police felt it was appropriate to attend at the house and officers arrived just after 9am.
The girl answered the door and her mother arrived back at 9.15am.
Mr Bozman said: “There was a large empty drum blocking the back door and there was a large bolt which would have been inaccessible to the children.
“The defendant said she thought her children would be safer in the house than taking them out with her.
“She said she taught her daughter how to dial 999 in an emergency and felt that she was responsible enough to be left in charge of her brother.
“The defendant said they knew there was a spare key on the coat hook and they would have been able to unlock the back door by standing on the kitchen chair to remove the bolt.”
The mother claimed that she didn’t regularly leave the children unattended.
Magistrates were told that she had a previous similar conviction on her record.
She told them that on that occasion she needed to get to work and the babysitter was running late so she left the children alone for a short time.
Social Services had investigated the matter but been content to release the siblings back to her care, the court heard.
The mum, who was not represented, told magistrates: “I am very sorry, I made an error of judgement.
“It was raining that day and I thought they’d be better in the house where it was warm than out in the rain.
“I just try my best to be a good mother to them.”
Magistrates gave her a conditional discharge for two years, meaning that she will not be punished if she stays out of trouble for this period.
She will still have to pay £85 court costs and £20 victim surcharge.
