FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Fort Collins police are investigating a possible case of child abuse after the toddler's mother said she placed her child in the car as punishment and the child wound up in the hospital.

Police said the mom disciplined her child during a shopping trip. The mother and her child were at a local bookstore when the child would not stop running around.

The woman placed the toddler in her car to keep the child still and to get the child to behave, police said. When they got home, the child became sick. The toddler was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital and was later transported to Children's Hospital.

Police are not releasing the mother's name nor the gender and age of the child. They said no charges have been filed but the case is under investigation.

Health officials said it's never a good idea to leave a child in the car alone, especially in warm temperatures.

"It's really like putting your child in an oven at home and why would we want to do this?" said Jane Viste with the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment.

On Friday, the outside temperature was 80 degrees, but inside a vehicle it climbed to 118 degrees. That kind of heat can affect a child in a matter of minutes, health experts said.

"The child's internal temperature will rise until they stop perspiring. That's how our bodies regulate heat. If that happens then the body undergoes heat stroke," said Viste.

Parents and grandparents in the area said they understand the frustration the mother experienced, but they said there are better ways of disciplining a child.

"When he was a baby and he would cry. I'd go like this, 'Wah, wah, wah, wah,' on his mouth and get him laughing," said Fort Collins mother Jane Ayres.

"Another thing would be just leave and go home. You know, pick another day that you can come shopping," said resident John Barnes.