6 tips to avoid accidental child deaths in hot cars

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/momaha/tips-to-avoid-accidental-child-deaths-in-hot-cars/article_f40d6da8-0796-11e4-bacf-001a4bcf6878.html

POSTED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014 1:29 PM
Associated Press |

More than three dozen children die of hyperthermia in cars annually in the United States, and since 1998 more than 500 children have died in hot cars.
Heatstroke can happen when the temperature is as low as 57 degrees, and car interiors can reach well over 110 degrees even when the outside temperature is in the 60s.

Here are some tips from safety advocates on avoiding accidental deaths in hot cars:

1. Never leave children alone in a vehicle to run even a short errand. Use drive-thru windows at banks, dry cleaners and restaurants whenever possible. Use a debit or credit card to pay for gas at the pump.

2. Put a purse, cellphone or other item you will need in the back seat of your car. This will ensure that you check the back seat before leaving the vehicle.

FULL story at link.

[kysrsoze]

1. Don't you really just need tip #1?

Our country is filled with idiots (and at least one child car murderer). Honestly, if you give a shit at all about your kids, you NEVER leave them alone in the car.

[unblock]

3. wrong. being an idiot or uncaring has *zero* to do with it. it can happen to anyone.

there have been several articles posted on this topic, and the studies show that it happens to people in all classes, jobs, etc.

common denominators are things like a normally talkative/noisy child who this time takes a nap in the seat and is quiet, too little sleep, too much stress, and just enough of a distraction to disrupt the normal routine.

have you never gotten into your car and started driving in to work or whatever your most typical route is, before realizing that you missed your turn because you meant to be going somewhere else or stop off somewhere along the way?

if you've ever lost *anything* you cared about then this could happen to you.


smart and caring people would be wise to recognize that smart and caring doesn't prevent mistakes and it could happen to them just as easily, and take steps to reduce the likelihood of such a disaster.

[snooper2]

5. Since it happens .000008% of the time some of us are going to always wonder

How in the FUCK did you forget you have a kid?

[kysrsoze]

10. I agree. I'd say unblock is "wrong."

I'll be in nearly all of these repeated circumstances, that is just a bullshit excuse they used to stay out of trouble, when in fact, they were too lazy to tKe the kids with them or they didn't think it was a big deal. Never, EVER would I leave my kids in the car and go elsewhere.

[snooper2]

11. I was at the store last weekend, parked my truck and the car in front of me had a kid in it

Windows were half down, kid was probably about 6 or 7-

I walked in the front door, grabbed the first worker who grabbed the nearest manager and she went outside to check it out-

She said the kid got scared asking who this stranger was (to the manager lady). I grabbed the two things I needed and was checked out in about five minutes and the manager was still at the door, apparently the woman had just left with her kid.

It was about 90-93 outside and the windows were all half down but fucking still-

DON'T BE A LAZY ASSHOLE TAKE YOUR KID!

[unblock]

13. most of the lethal cases actually are *not* leaving the kid in the car for a short errand.

think about it, if you leave you kid in the car for a short errand, you're very likely to return to the car. you're not likely to spend long enough at the gas station convenience store before you return to your car even if you completely forgot about the kid in the back. not the i recommend this, as temperatures can rise quite quickly and this can cause discomfort and more serious problem, though usually short of death.

the lethal cases usually involve leaving the kid in the car at a place where you normally would not return to the car for quite a long time, e.g., work or home or client site.

[kysrsoze]

16. Yeah... more like a casino, shopping mall or a bar. It's B.S.

Every news story, with the exception of the guy who just murdered his kid by this method, has take place at a store, mall, casino or bar. You simply do not forget the kid is there. These people knew what they did - might not have been smart enough to anticipate the outcome, but they didn't forget the kid in the car.

[unblock]

19. "don't ever think that this can't happen to you" "even to the most loving and conscientious parents"

http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/even-the-most-loving-parents-can-forget-children-in-cars-experts-say-1.1353474

When tragic stories make headlines of children forgotten in sun-baked cars, the immediate reaction from many is: how could a loving parent ever forget their own child? But it’s not lazy or “bad” parents who are typically responsible for these tragedies, experts say; they can happen to anyone.

Amber Rollins, the director of KidsAndCars.org says any caregiver have moments of forgetfulness.

“People think that it is monsters or terrible parents, but this is happening to the most educated, responsible people,” Rollins told CTVToronto.ca earlier this week. “...The No. 1 thing that we tell people is: 'Don’t ever think that this can’t happen to you'.”


http://contemporarypediatrics.modernmedicine.com/contemporary-pediatrics/news/good-parents-denial-puts-kids-risk-heat-stroke?page=full

“Good parents” denial puts kids at risk for heat stroke

“The first thing to emphasize to doctors is this happens to all kinds of people. This does not seem to target irresponsible people. It targets people who, in fact, are aware of this phenomenon. There are quite a few parents who have learned of other parents leaving kids in cars, and they judge them very harshly. Those are the very same parents who then forget their kids and their kids die,” Diamond says. “So, no one is immune from making this memory error. I tell people, if you’re human and have ever forgotten anything (if you satisfy those 2 criteria), then you can forget a child in a car.”


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2113440/Forgotten-baby-syndrome-It-unthinkable--accidentally-leaving-baby-hours-lots-busy-parents-devastating-consequences.html

In 2010, a 40-year-old doctor was taking his son to nursery in Cyprus when he received an emergency call. He drove straight to the hospital, forgetting his five-year-old was in the car. It was only when his wife called him, eight hours later, that he realised what had happened, and his son was discovered dead in the back of the car.

...

‘Some people think: “I can see forgetting a child for two minutes, but not eight hours.” But what they don’t understand is that in his or her mind the parent has dropped off the baby at nursery and thinks the baby is well taken care of. ‘Once that’s in your brain, there is no reason to worry for the rest of the day.

[unblock]

12. you don't forget you *have* a kid. you forget the kid was in your car on this day.

it has to do with the limbic brain taking over, essentially you go on auto-pilot. if the kid is in your car every single time, then it's not likely to happen to you. if the kid making a noise is what reminds you that you have a kid in your car, then the one time the kid is quiet is a dangerous situation if something distracts you.

[COLGATE4]

4. My daughter is a Pediatric Anesthesiologist with 2 small boys.

She ALWAYS puts her purse in the back seat, so she will be forced to look back there, just in case. Being prudent isn't being an idiot - it's being intelligent.

[etherealtruth]

14. Really smart idea

My children are well past the age where I have to worry about that (the youngest is 18 ), but horrifically bad things can and do happen to good , caring, decent folk. Though we could never conceive it, MOST of the people that have done this could never conceive it either.

Your daughter is a wise woman!

[Marrah_G]

17. It really is a great idea

Especially with really young children when you are more likely to not be getting enough sleep.

[COLGATE4]

20. Tell me about it. Her youngest sleeps only in stretches

of about 1.5 hours at a time!

[arcane1]

6. It's similar to the "doorway effect," especially when a routine gets interrupted.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-walking-through-doorway-makes-you-forget/

[WillowTree]

2. DON'T use a debit card at the gas station pump.

It's too easy for scammers to put card readers on them and now your bank account is empty.

I use a credit card at the pump and then pay it online the same day 'cause I don't carry any "regular" purchases (gas, groceries etc) on the credit cards. But that way, I have at least some protection. Just too much risk with a debit card.

[JI7]

7. i think they just need to make car seats in a way where parents will be required

to go back .

maybe something like a beeping sound when you turn your car off and it only turns off when you remove the straps from the child.

because these are reasonable things but in most cases where parents will forget it's because they are just too busy to think about things so in those situations i can see them not even thinking to do things like leave their bag, phone etc in the back.

[B2G]

9. Need a weight sensor in the carseat

If the engine is off for more than 5 minutes, it triggers the car alarm.

[pipi_k]

15. Great suggestion, IMO n/t

[raptor_rider]

18. I've never left a baby in a car, ever

And I have three children.

Now that they are older, 7, 8, & 16, I trust them in the car, with it running and the ac on, and doors locked, and that's only running into a convince store for not even 5 minutes. They know not to unlock the doors unless they see me, and defenatley know better than to unlock the door for a stranger.

If you have a baby, damn it, take the baby in with you! It's not that hard. I can't imagine forgetting that you have a baby in the car!!! Unless you are drunk or drugged out of your mind!