It’s one of the saddest accidents I can imagine. Whenever I hear of another baby being left in the car by parents it makes my heart ache. How does it happen and what can we do to stop this phenomenon? The latest statistics show 82 percent of the time the death or harm to the child is unintentional.
Rich Aloy, pubic information officer for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office recently shared his thoughts as to why this happens to parents. He said the most common reason a baby can be forgotten in the car or harmed by a parent exiting the vehicle and locking the child inside the car is a failure of multiple events happening, causing the phenomenon to occur.
He said it’s like the Titanic disaster. A series of major changes or mistakes will happen and cause a tragedy. Aloy said breaking the morning routine can cause the discord. For example, typically mom doesn’t drop off the child to daycare, dad does. If dad’s day changes and mom has the responsibility but it doesn’t register in her mind the baby is back there asleep, that’s how the child is forgotten. If she doesn’t put the child in the car seat. If she is in a hurry and thinking about work. That’s how it happens.
Aloy said to keep this from happening, be aware of what’s going on with your child at all times. “It’s not happened in our county to this extreme but it’s possible. I’ve seen both children and pets locked inside hot cars. We have to slow down,” he said, and take a moment and double check yourself. Be observant of what’s going on around you. Do your best not to change morning routines. Make a checklist of important events every day.
Aloy said it just takes a few minutes for the temperature rise in the vehicle. A chart from the Department of Geosciences from San Francisco State University shows within an hour the temperature will climb from an 70 degrees (outside temp) to 115 degrees inside the locked car.
Practical tips to keep this from happening:
· Keep other items of importance needed for the day on the floor in the backseat, i.e. purse, cell, tablets.
· Install cellular application to send alerts and reminders.
· Ask child care worker or babysitter to call if the child doesn’t arrive at appointed time.
Aloy also said to call 911 if you ever see a child or pet in distress in a locked car. Stay with the child until help arrives. If the child seems in distress or unresponsive, or if there’s not enough time for EMS to arrive, break the window to save the child’s life.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Don't forget baby