Whether charges are filed depends on the facts of the incident and on any prior arrests or convictions. Most first-time matters — a car seat ticket, briefly leaving a child in a car — are charged as misdemeanors if they are charged at all.
If a ticket requires a mandatory court appearance, that is a signal the charge is serious enough that it cannot simply be paid by mail.
Use an experienced criminal defense attorney. A conviction here can also feed directly into a DCFS finding or a custody dispute.