Your Stress and Distraction Can Cause Your Child’s Death August 9, 2010

Every year, loving, smart, well meaning parents unintentionally cause their child’s death by forgetting them in the car. It happens more often than you would think – once every ten days, and it happens to good, smart parents – a scientist, professor, paralegal, assistant principal and even a clergy member.

On an 80 degree day, your car interior temperature can shoot to 99 degrees in 10 minutes even with your windows cracked. In 30 minutes, it can rise to 114 degrees. Ominously, children have died of heat stroke in cars on a 66 degree day. Even with the windows partially rolled down on a hot day, car temperatures can increase to 125 degrees in minutes. A child’s core temperature rises 3 to 5 times more rapidly than an adult’s. It is almost never safe to leave a child in a car.

In the ten years from 1998 to 2008, more than 445 children or infants died from heat stroke in cars. About 30 percent involved unsupervised children playing around cars and getting locked in. Most of the remaining 70% died after their parents or caregivers unintentionally left them in the car. Heat related vehicular child deaths increased by a factor of 10 after safety guidelines moved child safety seats to the back seat. That combined with rear facing seats make it easier for parents to forget their children.

In addition to back seat safety seats, these tragic deaths are also the result of the lifestyle we lead today. Chronic rushing about, multi-tasking, overworking, and under-sleeping render our ability to concentrate, focus and remember ineffective.

What can you do to prevent a heat-related vehicular death?

• You will be doing yourself, your spouse, your child and your career a favor by getting the proper amount of sleep. You will be able to focus and concentrate longer and more effectively.

• Never leave a child in a car under any circumstances period – not if the air conditioning is on, not if the windows are cracked, not ever.

• Never leave your car unlocked for children to get into. About 30 percent of heat stroke death’s involving cars and children occur because an unsupervised child entered a car, got locked in unintentionally and could not get out.

• Make it a habit to keep you purse, wallet, briefcase, cell phone, laptop or other item you take with you in the back seat so you will be forced to look there where the child is before going to work.

• Give yourself a reminder – some type of visual cue. Always keep something like a toy in the car seat when your child is not in it and always put the toy in the front passenger seat when your child is occupying the car seat. That way, you will have a visual reminder that may catch your eye as you are exiting your car to alert you that your child is in her car seat.

• Have the person or facility that cares for your child while you are at work call you if your child does not arrive at the usual time.

• Have you spouse call you after dropping your child off before work.

• If you see a child alone in a car, break the window furthest from her. Remember, you may have just minutes before the temperature gets too high.