Hot-Car Tragedies

Whenever I hear about a child being left in a car, I can't help but think "Gosh, how irresponsible is that parent?! How could they forget their child??"  When you have a loud child like mine, who rarely falls asleep in the car, it seems impossible to leave a child in a car.  However, when I read the article Tragedy in the Backseat: Hot-Car Deaths, I couldn't help but sympathize with the mom, Mary Parks who accidentally left her son in the car one morning.  I will say that I still do not understand how a person could leave a child in the car, but I can completely relate to that overwhelmed, stressed out feeling - the busyness that comes from working, coordinating childcare, visiting sick family members, food shopping, cooking, cleaning...the list goes on.  Managing the day-to-day (especially for working moms) can be a lot to handle!  But at the same time, it is your primary responsibility as a mom to care for your child.  So, I am not justifying how people leave children in the car- I simply understand the distractions stress and exhaustion can cause. Regardless, I have to come back to the fact that you must do everything in your power to care for your child and certainly this means making sure your child is not left in a car ever!  

Since mistakes can happen even to the most attentive parent, here are some very practical suggestions (taken from the article above) to help prevent something like this from happening to you:
- Put your cell phone, purse or something else that you will need when you get out of the car on the backseat of your car.
- Place your quieter or younger child behind the passenger's seat in the car. You are more likely to notice them there.
- Keep a stuffed animal in your child's car seat and when your child is riding in his/her seat, move the stuffed animal to the front seat. - - - The stuffed animal will be a reminder that your child is in fact in the car.
- Ask your babysitter or daycare to call you immediately if your child isn't dropped off at the normal time.
- Make a habit of always looking in the back seat and even opening the back door just to make sure no one is back there.

Unless your child is a loudmouth like mine, then perhaps these are some practical precautions you might want to take.  This is another tragedy that can easily be prevented!