It’ll never happen to you, right? How could anyone forget their baby in the car? The reality is, it happens every summer and not just once or twice. On average, 38 children die in hot cars each year nationwide. Here’s what you need to know to make sure you and your family never become part of that scary statistic. It’ll only be a minute Let’s face it, sometimes it takes longer to get your kid out of the car seat than it would to pop into the store by yourself. That doesn’t matter. It’s never ok to leave your child alone in the car. Not even for a minute. Not even with the windows rolled down, or the air conditioning left on. Children’s bodies make more heat than adults, and they aren’t able to cool themselves down as well as we can[1]. 
Friendly Reminders Have you ever gotten to work and realized you don’t remember driving there? We all go on auto pilot at some point, and in many cases that’s how children get left in cars. Maybe mom usually takes Billy to daycare but Dad was in charge today, and Dad drove straight to work, forgetting his son was in the back seat. So what can you do? Kids and Cars, an organization dedicated to raising public awareness and preventing these deaths, gives these 10 tips 2 to keep kids safe.
- Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute
- Look before you lock – get in the habit of always opening the back door to check the back seat before leaving your vehicle. Make sure no child has been left behind.
- Create a reminder to check the back seat.
- Put something you’ll need like your phone, purse, even your left shoe in the back seat. That way you’ll have to open the back door to get it before you leave your vehicle.
- Keep a large stuffed animal in the front passenger seat. It’s a visual reminder that the child is in the back seat.
- Make sure you have a strict policy with your daycare about drop-offs. Everyone involved in taking care of your child needs to know where they are. If your little one won’t be in daycare, it’s your job to call and let them know. If your child doesn’t show up, your daycare provider promises to call you right away to make sure they’re safe.
- Keep vehicles locked at all times, even in driveways or garages.
- Keep car keys and remote openers out of reach of children.
- If a child goes missing, immediately check inside every vehicle and trunk in the area, even if they’re locked. A child may lock the doors after entering on their own, but might not be able to unlock them.
- If you see a child alone in a vehicle, get involved. Call 911 right away. If the child seems hot or sick, get them out of the vehicle as quickly as possible.
- Be extra careful during busy times, schedule changes and stressful times or holidays. That’s when many tragedies happen.
- Use drive-thru services when you can and pay for gas at the pump.
[1] http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/hot-cars-and-child-death-prevention 2 http://www.kidsandcars.org/userfiles/dangers/heat-stroke-fact-sheet.pdf
