The other day after swim lessons I was getting in my car. It was probably 100 degrees and around 4:30 in the afternoon. My butt immediately stuck to my leather seats, I could barely breathe in the stifling heat, and I looked back at Lincoln who had a look on his face of “What the hell turn the AC on NOW, MOM!!” All of this happened so quickly and my thoughts immediately went to those children I’ve heard about in the news that died in vehicles in the dead of summer. Can you believe this year alone we have had 23 hyperthermia (heat stroke) deaths in the US? And since 1998 there have been 550 tragedies!

Anytime I hear about a child that was left in a car I think to myself, how can you possibly forget about your baby? Lincoln is like a pair of shoes for me… in the sense that I never forget to put my shoes on and would therefore, never forget about my child… Anywhere let alone in a car. Then I hear more about the story and more often than not, it’s the husband who accidentally left the child behind. It is one of those one off times that daddy is responsible for dropping baby off at daycare and baby was either being quiet or fell asleep in the backseat. Daddy drives to work, listens to his morning radio show, arrives to work, and goes into the office as usual. Basically, it’s not in their daily routine so it’s a simple, but unfortunately, deadly mistake.

Fortunately, our son has never been in daycare so I haven’t had to worry about this. But in September he will be starting school 2 times a week. I’m sure I will be responsible for taking him to school 99.9% of the time, but there’s a chance that once in a blue moon my husband might drop him off on his way to work. I’ve had a plan in action since I was pregnant regarding this exact scenario. Wesley’s bag, phone, wallet, etc. is to be placed in the backseat with Lincoln and I will call within 20 minutes of my husband leaving the house to ensure our son was dropped off. I won’t forget to call, I won’t forget to make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be, it’s not in my DNA, and I’m slightly OCD about this.

Here are some statistics of Hyperthermia Deaths of Children in Vehicles:

  • 23- Total # of US deaths of children by being left in a vehicle in 2012
  • 33- Total # of US deaths of children by being left in a vehicle in 2011
  • 52%- The percentage of children being “forgotten”
  • 30%- The percentage of children playing unattended in a vehicle
  • 17%- The percentage of children being intentionally left in a vehicle—-SERIOUSLY???!!!!
  • 86%- The percentage of children that were under the age of 3 years old
  • 31- The number of states that currently have NO law in place protecting children from being left in a vehicle unattended.
  • 107 degrees- The internal temperature of your body that is considered lethal as cells are damaged and internal organs shut down.
  • 123 degrees- The temperature of the inside of your vehicle on an 80 degree day!
  • 10 minutes- The amount of time it takes for the inside of your vehicle’s temperature to rise as much as 19 degrees

My dad, a former Sergeant for the Texas Department of Public Safety has talked to me about some of the cases he worked in which children were left in cars and ultimately, died. It’s so sad to hear the horror of children senselessly dying. My dad did say that more often than not, it was a dog that was left in the vehicle and died rather than a child. It’s still horribly sad thinking about the pain and suffering.

Safety Recommendations

  • NEVER LEAVE A CHILD UNATTENDED IN A VEHICLE.  NOT EVEN FOR A MINUTE!
  • IF YOU SEE A CHILD UNATTENDED IN A HOT VEHICLE CALL 9-1-1.
  • Be sure that all occupants leave the vehicle when unloading. Don’t overlook sleeping babies.
  • Always lock your car and ensure children do not have access to keys or remote entry devices.  IF A CHILD IS MISSING, ALWAYS CHECK THE POOL FIRST, AND THEN THE CAR, INCLUDING THE TRUNK. Teach your children that vehicles are never to be used as a play area. 
  • Keep a stuffed animal in the carseat and when the child is put in the seat place the animal in the front with the driver.
  • Or place your purse or briefcase in the back seat as a reminder that you have your child in the car.
  • Make “look before you leave” a routine whenever you get out of the car.
  • Have a plan that your childcare provider will call you if your child does not show up for school.

Rarely do I get in my car on a hot day and NOT think about these children.

Thanks to ggweather.com for the statistics!

5 COMMENTS

  1. Right after Trent was born, there was a death like this in Austin – the dad (who normally didn’t take the child to work) forgot the son in the backseat. We put a policy in place that we always call the other after dropping Trent off. Even though Brent works from home and ONLY leaves the house to take Trent to school, he still calls me. And if he doesn’t call me, I call him. Our school says they have a process in place to call parents when a child isn’t there that they expect, but there are times where I’ve forgotten to tell them Trent wouldn’t be there and they didn’t call, so I definitely don’t put the responsibility on them!

    • Lisa I just posted that article on my Facebook– It had me bawling. Thank you so much for posting, and to Allison for blogging and bringing this up! I would never have thought about it being an issue! But that thoughtlessness is what gets us in trouble. Ugh, so devastating.

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