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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,527
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......

[ Edited ]

A child will die in a hot car much sooner than in a cold car. It’s the heat. That’s why it happens in hot weather. 

 

I’m in favor of whatever prevents it. However, IMO all that is needed is mindfulness, paying attention. That...and put your cell phone or bag or briefcase where the baby is and/or put the diaper bag or one of the child’s toys in the front seat as a reminder. 

 

I really don’t think ALL of them are unfortunate accidents. I think for some parents it’s a solution to something. 

 

I don’t know what the charge is, but IMO it’s close to murder and needs a severe punishment. 

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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,709
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......


@Nancy Drew wrote:

If you are FORGETTING your baby or small child in a car you have totally failed as a parent. People really need to simplify their lives if this is increasing. I never heard about this crime until a couple of years ago.


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The eyes through which you see others may be the same as how they see you.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,460
Registered: ‎05-12-2012

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......

you can't fix stupid........

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,922
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......


@liliblu wrote:

@CrazyKittyLvr2 wrote:

I know this has been discussed before, but already with warmer/hot temps, a baby died after being left in a car in Indianapolis.

 

I have one question,  why do people seem to remember they have a child with them in cold weather?  I don't remember hearing case after case of a children dying in a car in the winter.

 

I've got to stop reading all of these stories, it is too upsetting. I've forgotten my grocery list, my sunglasses and even my checkbook once, never ever my kids.


Children are left in cars in cold weather as well but if they are clothed they may be less likey to die.  But it does happen.

 

People who leave their children in the car are usually not the person that normally drives the child to day care or school.  Or there is a big deviation from their normal routine.  

 

We've become a country that loves to blame and punish.  More awareness should be pushed.  I used to work for the U.S. Department of Transportation under a different administration.  The agency pushed awareness programs to help prevent this frn happening.  Placing a purse, back pack, briefcase, or one of your shoes on the back seat is a good idea.  


You’d Never Forget Your Child in the Car, Right?

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,353
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......

[ Edited ]

How many of you have driven and don't remember how you got home or to work? I know I've done that a few times. Having too many things to think about could make you forget. I'm NOT forgiving those who've forgotten their kids. Put your cell phone back there with your kids. Put your purse back there. Put ANYTHING back there to help you remember them.

Super Contributor
Posts: 494
Registered: ‎06-10-2015

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......

My parents use to leave us in the car when we were growing up for an hour or so while they did shopping. We were old enough to get the doors and windows open though. Either it wasn't that hot or cold back then or they only did it in mild weather.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,598
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......

I refuse to be judgemental about people who forget their children in their cars.  When my children were babies (now in their 30s & early 40s) the child seat was in the front passenger side.  Easy to tend to the baby and impossible to forget that the baby was with you.  I've only been reading about these tragedies since the baby seats were moved to the back of the car.  Yes, I know that it's been determined to be safer in an accident, but also easier to forget the child if you're not the usual transporter of said child.  We didn't have to deal with the baby in the back seat set up in the late 70s early 80s so I won't judge.  My heart goes out to each of these families.

"Breathe in, breathe out, move on." Jimmy Buffett
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,739
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......

[ Edited ]

I don't know. I can't imagine having to live with that on my conscience. I don't know if I could..I don't know how they do . It is just too sad to even think about

Honored Contributor
Posts: 30,238
Registered: ‎03-12-2010

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......

@CrazyKittyLvr2  Yes!  (About alarms for everything in cars).  My car is push button.  I don't need a key to get into it (it opens automatically, etc).

 

But like some of you, if I leave the thingy in the car, an alarm goes off to tell me the keys are STILL left in the car (not to get locked out).

 

This car has lights to tell me if someone is coming up on me (no blind sights) and bla bla safety bells and whistles.

 

I totally agree why don't the manufacturers have a bell or something to notify people when a kid is left in the car!

 

I guess there are still people who might need one.

 

I remember when I had my first baby.  I used to worry I'd drive off and leave her somewhere.

 

If you saw the baby carrier I carried her around in (and it fit in the car) you'd know how stupid I was!  Ha!  This thing was actually a kind of tub (with no handles like the new(er) one's).

 

Back then it was 'state of the art'.  It was so heavy it was crazy!

 

If I even THOUGHT I was deviating from my normal day to day activities (like taking baby to sitters on this ONE particular day) I'd make a big note and stick it in the front of my car so I'd remember to check for the baby, etc.

 

I do that now when I think I might get gas or go to Walmart, etc.

 

I make notes and put them in the middle part of the front inbetween seats.  

 

It's impossible NOT to see the note.  It only takes a second.  Why not do it the night before? 

 

I do things like that all of the time.  Sometimes I'll put the list of chores on top of my purse so I don't forget it.

 

We've all done things so automatically.   As I've gotten old(er) I've found that I do so many things automatically, I don't even remember doing them (i.e. shutting the garage door, etc).

 

I have Blink cameras all over inside and out of my house.  Now I can just use my iphone and check to make sure I've shut the garage door.

 

Back to anything that would remind you to check to see if the kid is in the car.  I can't imagine needing it, but if you are a person who's preoccupied....make one and keep it in your car!

 

Good grief!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,610
Registered: ‎10-25-2010

Re: So it begins, warm weather kids left in cars......


@shoesnbags wrote:

I refuse to be judgemental about people who forget their children in their cars.  When my children were babies (now in their 30s & early 40s) the child seat was in the front passenger side.  Easy to tend to the baby and impossible to forget that the baby was with you.  I've only been reading about these tragedies since the baby seats were moved to the back of the car.  Yes, I know that it's been determined to be safer in an accident, but also easier to forget the child if you're not the usual transporter of said child.  We didn't have to deal with the baby in the back seat set up in the late 70s early 80s so I won't judge.  My heart goes out to each of these families.


I had three children in car seats at once.  My daughter was born in 1974 and I purchased the first car seat for infants available.  It was called a GM Love seat and was only available from a GM car dealer.  I bought it from an Oldsmobile dealer in my town.  It was like a bucket seat..hard plastic.  

 

The carseat was buckled into the back seat facing backwards.  My next two kids were 14 months apart...close in age.  Never forgot any of them.

 

If you are a parent it is your #1 job to keep your children safe...period!  There is no one to blame except the person who forgot their child and left it to die a horrible death or suffer and thankfully live through a horrific experience.

 

If you can't remember or think you might forget, you need to do whatever you have to do to make sure this doesn't happen.  Set the alarm on the phone, or put the phone in the back with the child.

 

I don't refuse to judge.  The blame is 100% on the person who left the child.  These are not accidents.  They are 100% preventable. I stand up for the children and scream out loud.  There are no excuses for this.

 

A few weeks ago  a mother left three small kids in a car to get her nails done.  The three year old  ( oldest) left the car and was found wandering on a city street. Two of the younger children didn't even belong to the driver of the car.  She will find herself in front of a judge and I hope she gets time and loses her child.  If she were babysitting my kids and left them in the car alone...I don't know what I would do, but it wouldn't be kind.