So sad - 3 month old dies in hot car

[georgina]

It has been so hot lately. Especially as a new grandparent this makes me so sad. I know new cars are mandated to have some sort of warning to check the rear seat. Reported 15 children have dies this year after being left in cars.

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/...hree-month-old baby,were unable to revive him.

 

[mjkacmom]

When and if I have grandkids, I will make sure to use a method to prevent this from happening. The situations are usually almost identical, the human brain is imperfect, those who say they’d never do it are, in my opinion, the most dangerous. I’ve never left a kid in the car, but I’ve driven to wrong places on autopilot, and once miscalculated a hectic schedule getting kids where they needed to be resulting in my 7 year old being dropped off with no one home (I’ve also had to go back to school to grab other kids from aftercare).

 

[PollyannaMom]

Oh, how sad

I remember being scared into super vigilance where the car was concerned by a news story when my own DS was a baby. (It was winter, so rather than a hot car, it was a mom who put her baby in while clearing snow, but didn't clear the tailpipe.) I was still all hormonal and just could not get that picture out of my head.

We all say we couldn't do it, but "autopilot" is a real thing, and I think it's good to remind people of the different tricks you can use to keep things like this from happening.

 

[AnnaS]

I have no words. So hard to read stories like this. So, so sad. Can't imagine

 

[mumto3girls]

These stories make me feel ill. When I was pregnant with my 3rd I had this recurring dream of it being frigid outside and taking my three out to load them in the car and setting the infant down in the driveway in her car seat while I buckled the other two in and then leaving her in the driveway and not noticing that she wasn’t in the car as I drove away. Not quite the same, but similar.

I feel terrible for the people who have done this. I absolutely know it could have happened to me.

 

[PollyannaMom]

These stories make me feel ill. When I was pregnant with my 3rd I had this recurring dream of it being frigid outside and taking my three out to load them in the car and setting the infant down in the driveway in her car seat while I buckled the other two in and then leaving her in the driveway and not noticing that she wasn’t in the car as I drove away. Not quite the same, but similar.

I feel terrible for the people who have done this. I absolutely know it could have happened to me.

 

[JaxDad]

These stories make me feel ill. When I was pregnant with my 3rd I had this recurring dream of it being frigid outside and taking my three out to load them in the car and setting the infant down in the driveway in her car seat while I buckled the other two in and then leaving her in the driveway and not noticing that she wasn’t in the car as I drove away. Not quite the same, but similar.

I feel terrible for the people who have done this. I absolutely know it could have happened to me.

I still clearly remember a news photo from a hot car incident that happened in my area when my children were still in car seats. The car was surrounded by police tape with emergency responders to one side. On the other side a man, presumably the father, was lying prostrate on the ground reaching toward the car, completely overwhelmed with grief. It really hit me. It made me more vigilant but also more scared that it could happen to anyone.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Horrific.

 

[GreatLakes]

We made sure we had a plan so neither my wife nor I ever did this. As much as everyone thinks "I could possibly never forget my kid" that isn't reality. For every drug addict that leaves their kid to die in a car there is another responsible adult that just flat out forgot they were there.

What we did was two fold. The first is the pretty standard practice of putting something you need in your back seat. Both of us need keycards to enter our office so that was what we used. The second is whichever one of us was dropping off or picking up texted the other when we were done so the other knew no one just went to work and forgot or went home without picking him up.

 

[otten]

When I had young kids I always put my purse in the back next to the car seat. Since it contained my wallet, phone, keys, office access card etc. I wouldn't get very far from the car before realizing I didn't have it.

 

[MrsPete]

I still clearly remember a news photo from a hot car incident that happened in my area when my children were still in car seats. The car was surrounded by police tape with emergency responders to one side. On the other side a man, presumably the father, was lying prostrate on the ground reaching toward the car, completely overwhelmed with grief. It really hit me. It made me more vigilant but also more scared that it could happen to anyone.

Yeah, I remember some time back a father committed suicide after leaving his child in the car /leading to his death. He couldn't deal with what he'd done. He was a veterinarian, so clearly not a stupid person.

When I had young kids I always put my purse in the back next to the car seat. Since it contained my wallet, phone, keys, office access card etc. I wouldn't get very far from the car before realizing I didn't have it.

My daughter does this. She puts her work bag in the back seat.

 

[CdnCarrie]

The only thing worse than losing a child is knowing that you caused their death. Unimaginable.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Heartbreaking

Should be some sort of bluetooth combo motion detector plus weight detector like there is in the front seat for those airbag warnings to prevent this. The ability already exists, how hard can it be to create an alarm pad to slide under a kids seat and to make a sticker motion detector & temp alarm for in front of a baby, maybe even a pet to gather more business - a setup that is activated when the engine is turned off? If I can be told when to take a breath by my phone or get coffee by my car, this can be created

 

[Stratman50th]

Our new car has a warning message where the speedometer is that comes on when you shut off the car. It says to check the back seat before exiting the vehicle. Good idea but it becomes easy to ignore with time.

 

[Dznypal]

I hate reading these stories however it’s also sad car manufacturers have to put in alarms so parents check the back seat for their kids.

 

[lowlight]

I hate reading these stories however it’s also sad car manufacturers have to put in alarms so parents check the back seat for their kids.

I used to say to myself "how could someone forget their kid" until I had 3 myself and then one morning I put the OJ container in the cupboard with the glasses and put a kettle on the stove and didn't notice the pilot didn't ignite and walked away only to freak out a few minutes later when I noticed. Go a few weeks with a few hours of intermittently broken up sleep and your brain is gone, you're basically down to muscle memory and that only works when your routine is unchanged. Any change in your daily pattern when you're that tired can go unnoticed. It's a horrible, horrible thing and outside of the few cases of serious neglect, these people deserve all the sympathy in the world and no judgment.

 

[AppleDumpling]

It makes me terribly sad to hear these stories that happen way too frequently.

I know it’s not the same, but also a common occurrence with dogs.

 

[Moliphino]

It makes me terribly sad to hear these stories that happen way too frequently.

I know it’s not the same, but also a common occurrence with dogs.

Just recently the police let a dog in their care die in a hot car. The driver was arrested and the cop on site waiting for animal control to come pick it up left the dog in the car and didn't notice it turned off.

 

[Travel60]

Another safeguard is to have the daycare/preschool/baby sitter call you if you have not dropped off the kids by a certain time.