Forgetting Kids In Cars

It's gone on long enough. I keep reading stories of parents who forget their kid in the car. Leaving them to die of hyperthermia. This should never happen. Yet the average number of kids to die each year in a hot car is 37.

Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2016:  6

Total number of U.S. heatstroke deaths of children left in cars, 2015:  24

Total number of U.S. heatstroke  deaths of children left in cars, 1998-present:  667

Average number of U.S. child heatstroke fatalities per year since 1998: 37

http://noheatstroke.org/

Seriously? 37 preventable deaths a year? Years ago I read a story in Parenting Magazine about one mother who did this to her adoptive son. The family was sick and busier then usual. She didn't normally take him to school but she was supposed to that day. Instead, he was quietly sleeping in the back seat and she drove to work.

The article painted this as an innocent mistake. People get forgetful when overwhelmed and off routine. At the time, I was happy to hear she went unpunished in court. The article pointed out ways to not forget your kid is there. The only one I remember being to leave something like a stuffed animal on the front seat when the kid is back there.

Zach was a baby then. My thought:

I always check his seat when getting into and out of the car anyway. Why do you need a stuffed animal reminder? The habit should be to check the car seat.

I'm tired of reading articles about kids dying in car seats. We are all busy and get forgetful sometimes. But that is involuntary manslaughter.

involuntary manslaughter :  manslaughter resulting from the failure to perform a legal duty expressly required to safeguard human life, from the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony, or from the commission of a lawful act involving a risk of injury or death that is done in an unlawful, reckless, or grossly negligent manner — see also reckless homicide at homicide

Editor's note: The exact formulation of the elements of involuntary manslaughter vary from state to state esp. with regard to the level of negligence required. In states that grade manslaughter by degrees, involuntary manslaughter is usu. graded as a second- or third-degree offense.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manslaughter#legalDictionary

Parents aren't doing it on purpose. It's time to stop saying "that will never happen to me" and start taking steps to actively prevent it from happening.

1. Don't leave kids alone in the car

2. Check the back seats when you enter or leaving the car even at times your kids aren't normally with you. Those are the times they are more likely to be forgotten and end up dead. If checking is a reflex, it could save their lives.

I don't know if adults should be punished when nothing happens to their kid in a hot car. Some states have laws about that but not New Jersey. For me, it depends on the punishment. No, they should not have their kids taken away. But, yes, they should get a ticket. Some people would be more careful simply because it's no longer legal. I do think it should be treated as murder or involuntary manslaughter when a child dies. Their negligence has led to a fatality in that case. A preventable fatality. That can't be treated lightly.

This isn't really about punishing the negligence. It's about awareness. This shouldn't be happening. Yes, there are some things you can try. New reflexes to develop that will help. But what we really need is awareness. Most people do learn things from events that happen repeatedly.

That awareness leads to people saying:

"I want to start ____________ because I don't want to end up like ______________".

I hope this post as well as others on this topic get the busy parent racing out of their car in a hurry to say:

"Oops, let me check the back! I love my kids too much to let them die in the car!!!"