Child Left In The Car

Curious as to what it feels like to be left in a hot car? One man finds out. Watch and see his experience.

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Originally published on: Detroit Free Press

Every summer, there are multiple reports of children who die accidentally because they were left in a smouldering hot car. In June of 2014, a 9-month-old girl in Florida died after being forgotten in the back seat of a pickup truck. And a 22 month old boy in Georgia died in the back seat of his Dads vehicle.

Tips to Remember your child is in the back seat

These kinds of tragedies are preventable. One tip is to leave something you need in the back seat. After you put your child in the back seat, leave your left shoe in the back.

Don't Leave Your Child In The CarWhy your left shoe? You can drive without it, but you will always realize it is missing when you get out of your car, and this will remind you that your child is in the back as well.

According to the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University, this year 13 children have died after being left in cars. Last year there was a total of 44 children that died after being left in hot cars. Together, we can prevent these kinds of deaths from occuring.

SafeKids.org website released the results of a survey stating that:

  • 14% of parents have left their children intentionally in a car that was parked.
  • 11% of parents have forgotten their child in a car.
  • Nearly 1 in 4 parents who have a child under the age of 3 have left them in a car.
  • Dads are almost three times as likely than Mothers to leave their child in a parked car.

Not all of these infant deaths were caused because the children were forgotten. Some parents believe cracking the window will make the car cool enough. Some of these infant left in car deaths are caused because the child is left in the car too long before someone can get to them.

Just over half of all child heat stroke deaths in cars were because a parent forgot that their child was in the car. The parent is distracted or preoccupied. The child falls asleep. The parent gets out of the car and leaves the baby behind. Often the death comes when a parent breaks a routine, safety experts say.

Tragic Stories of children forgotten in cars

For Reginald McKinnon of Cape Coral, Fla., he picked his daughter up from daycare for a doctors appointment. He intended to take her back to daycare, but forgot she was in the car. He went back to work an did not realize he had left his daughter in the car. When he opened his SUV to go home, his 17 month old daughter was dead. He was sentenced to 5 years probation and community service.

He is dedicated to honoring Payton’s memory by educating parents and friends about the risk of hyperthermia when children are left in cars. In Phoenix, Daniel Bryant Gray, 33, was sentenced June 20 to four years in prison followed with seven years probation after he left his 3-month-old son, Jamison, last year in a car parked outside a bar where Gray worked.

The day before in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Samantha Harper pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted aggravated child neglect in the hot-car deaths of her two 2-year-old, Savannah Marise, and 3-year-old, Daniel Marise. She was sentenced to 16 years in jail and will have to serve eight years before being eligible for probation.

Put Something In The Back Seat

Putting something on the back seat as a reminder isn’t a new idea. Safety groups have been pushing it for years telling people to put something you will need when you reach your destination. You may not always have your laptop, your purse, or your cellphone. But you do always have a shoe. So when you put your kid in the back, put your left shoe back there, too.

If you, or someone you know has lost a child, learn how to deal with the grieving process.

Source:
“Shoe Trick Will Prevent Child Deaths in Hot Cars.” Detroit Free Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 July 2014.