New way to prevent death in hot car

[michelyn8]

Jul 14, 2014 14:59:29 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Jul 14, 2014 14:45:55 GMT -5 michelyn8 said:

I hate seeing the "excuses" being made for someone leaving a child in a car.  I'm sorry but I don't find any reason for leaving a child in a hot car acceptable.  If you're that distracted with a child in the car I can only imagine how distracted you let yourself get at home and then it will only be a matter of time before the child gets seriouly hurt there.

And before anyone asks, yes I zone out when driving, yes I forget things but when I had my children with me way back when (and have DGD with me now) I never once forgot I had a child in my car. 

So to those who allow themselves to get distracted, my response is get your head out of your ass and keep your focus on what's important.  That means when your child is in the car, no phone calls, no mentally reviewing your to-do list, etc.  And hey, here's a novel idea - talk to the child or sing to them or anything else that requires a response of some kind from them.  If you're spending the drive interacting with them instead of chatting with everyone but them, you're less likely to forget they are there.  And yea, I know the next response - what if they are asleep.  Well, I guess no one but me cares if their child/grandchild has shifted in a way to get a bad crick in their neck, has their sippy upside down leaving them in a puddle or anything else that is going to make a mess or them uncomfortable. 

Stepping down now.

How are you dealing with all that stuff when driving with a kid in a rear facing seat behind you?  I ask because a woman just recently drove head on into a tractor near our place when trying to pick up a nuk. 

DGD's car seat was beside the rear passenger door until the door handle broke (she'd lock the door causing whoever was getting her out to pull the outside handle to hard and now its broken and the child lock is on so it can't be opened ) and is now back in the center of the backseat.  So I'm always glancing back at her at every stoplight using the rear view mirror to check on her.  If I see something that needs to be "handled", I pull over and take care of it.  Stuff she drops in the floor or beside her on the seat stays there until I'm where we're going, its safe to stop, etc.  I avoid the interstate when I'm not commuting unless its really the best/quickest route so finding places to stop isn't a big deal.  I had to stop 3 times driving home one evening last week because of issues and while aggravating, its much safer than being distracted by a tantrum or trying to fix what needed fixing while driving a winding backroad (even if I can pretty much drive that particular blindfolded).

[hoops902]

::Instead of always thinking about why something won't work, why not try to consider all the times it will work? No. Your child's safety seat is probably not going to save him/her if an alien drops a one million ton meteorite on top of your car. But for the other 9, 999,999,999,999 times, it will save your child. What's the harm in putting your shoe back there? ::

It's not that there is harm in it, but if people were capable of remembering to do things every time, wouldn't we just tell them to remember to check the back seat every time?  Solving a memory problem by asking people to remember something different seems problematic towards solving the real issue.

So you remember to put your shoe back there sometimes, and those times that you do you remember your kid.  But if you're in a rush, and forget to put your shoe back there, those are also the times you'll be most likely to forget to check.  Or potentially worse, are you setting up a system where you only remember to check your kid when you need your shoe...and when you're hurrying do you forget the shoe thing and therefore forget the kid even more than you otherwise would.  This is a gimmick, and like most gimmicks it doesn't really solve the problem when you really think about it. 

Since I don't like poo-pooing other ideas without having my own:

A wireless device in 2 parts, 1 part on your keychain, another part on your child's carseat.  When the 2 devices become separated by X feet the keychain piece beeps until you hit the baby button (then turns off until you're back within X feet again when it resets).

You don't have to remember anything, you just have to take your keys with you.

[Sam_2.0]

Jul 14, 2014 16:31:52 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

::Instead of always thinking about why something won't work, why not try to consider all the times it will work? No. Your child's safety seat is probably not going to save him/her if an alien drops a one million ton meteorite on top of your car. But for the other 9, 999,999,999,999 times, it will save your child. What's the harm in putting your shoe back there? ::

It's not that there is harm in it, but if people were capable of remembering to do things every time, wouldn't we just tell them to remember to check the back seat every time?  Solving a memory problem by asking people to remember something different seems problematic towards solving the real issue.

So you remember to put your shoe back there sometimes, and those times that you do you remember your kid.  But if you're in a rush, and forget to put your shoe back there, those are also the times you'll be most likely to forget to check.  Or potentially worse, are you setting up a system where you only remember to check your kid when you need your shoe...and when you're hurrying do you forget the shoe thing and therefore forget the kid even more than you otherwise would.  This is a gimmick, and like most gimmicks it doesn't really solve the problem when you really think about it. 

Since I don't like poo-pooing other ideas without having my own:

A wireless device in 2 parts, 1 part on your keychain, another part on your child's carseat.  When the 2 devices become separated by X feet the keychain piece beeps until you hit the baby button (then turns off until you're back within X feet again when it resets).

You don't have to remember anything, you just have to take your keys with you.

I posted some links to that product on page 1. It's not that expensive either.

[hoops902]

Dangit, no going on Shark Tank for me

[The Home 6]

Jul 12, 2014 1:18:55 GMT -5 Mardi Gras Audrey said:

Maybe we just need to encourage people to have more kids (or give them extra kids if they physically can't have more than 1). A herd of children won't be forgotten! These deaths seem to be all single children in the car. Make it illegal to have 1 kid. You must have none or 2 or more (we will let you get some from foster care if yours is small). Between the fighting, screaming, and picking on each other, no one would be forgotten again...

Sorry, this wouldn't work either! A lady on our "Mommy" page recently posted about seeing a set of 6 month old twins in a car in a Wal-mart parking lot and was ready to call the police when the mom came out. She had 2 other kids with her. So more kids wouldn't solve the problem.   Bonus-the car was UNLOCKED. 

Straight up-if I see a baby in a car, I am breaking the window farthest away from said baby, getting baby out of the car, calling 911, then breaking all the rest of the windows for good measure.   

[hoops902]

::Sorry, this wouldn't work either! A lady on our "Mommy" page recently posted about seeing a set of 6 month old twins in a car in a Wal-mart parking lot and was ready to call the police when the mom came out. She had 2 other kids with her. So more kids wouldn't solve the problem. Bonus-the car was UNLOCKED. ::

Sure it would work.  The problem to solve for is parents who FORGET their kids in the car.  Nothing is likely to solve the problem of parents who intentionally leave their kids in the car.

[The Home 6]

Silly me, hoops. Carry on then! I do like the keyfob device thingy. Mine are old enough to get out of the car on their own though. If I had an infant, it would be something I definitely would purchase. I've been known to be a trifle spacey. I highly doubt I would space out leaving my baby in a car, but better to be safe than sorry.

[Virgil Showlion]

This discussion has been going on for three pages and yet we haven't asked the most important question of all: Is it not in fact better that kids are left in hot cars?

Remember that "whatever doesn't kill you will only make you stronger", and note that for every (unfortunate, yes) child death, an unspecified and potentially very large number of near-deaths occur, strengthening a new generation of children like gold purified in the fire.

While some people argue that fatality rates correlate mainly with variables like external temperature, duration of exposure, age of the victim, etc., I contend that at least some negative correlation exists between the fatality rate and the inherent genetic fitness of the child. Ergo the benefit of the car heat strengthening process (which is appropriately called "child annealing") is complemented and reinforced by the culling of lesser fit specimens.

Before we become set in our conclusions, we ought to conduct a detailed survey of survivors of child annealing. We'll likely find that the annealing process has helped them become happier, wealthier, and (you'll forgive the pun) more tempered individuals than their non-annealed counterparts. If this is so, and the price is nothing more than a handful of genetically inferior casualties, would not our proper response as a society be to condone and encourage spontaneous acts of child annealing? I fear future generations will look back on us with awe and dismay, wondering why we so vehemently resisted its benefits.

I myself am a recipient of child annealing. Far from considering myself a victim, I consider myself a beneficiary of my parents' natural, spontaneous act of neglect. I reflect on my time spent annealing in the hot car, clinging to consciousness as I was purified by the heat of the sun, and embrace the experience with gratitude and pride. I am one of the survivors. I am one of the strong ones. And just look at the formidable man I've become since.

For interested parties, I'm selling special bumper stickers at a discounted price of $4.99. They come in any colour you want, and read:

I leave my child in the car
because I want a star.

Show your proud support for child annealing. Send me a PM if you're interested.

[Deleted]

Jul 14, 2014 16:31:52 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

::Instead of always thinking about why something won't work, why not try to consider all the times it will work? No. Your child's safety seat is probably not going to save him/her if an alien drops a one million ton meteorite on top of your car. But for the other 9, 999,999,999,999 times, it will save your child. What's the harm in putting your shoe back there? ::

It's not that there is harm in it, but if people were capable of remembering to do things every time, wouldn't we just tell them to remember to check the back seat every time?  Solving a memory problem by asking people to remember something different seems problematic towards solving the real issue.

So you remember to put your shoe back there sometimes, and those times that you do you remember your kid.  But if you're in a rush, and forget to put your shoe back there, those are also the times you'll be most likely to forget to check.  Or potentially worse, are you setting up a system where you only remember to check your kid when you need your shoe...and when you're hurrying do you forget the shoe thing and therefore forget the kid even more than you otherwise would.  This is a gimmick, and like most gimmicks it doesn't really solve the problem when you really think about it. 

Since I don't like poo-pooing other ideas without having my own:

A wireless device in 2 parts, 1 part on your keychain, another part on your child's carseat.  When the 2 devices become separated by X feet the keychain piece beeps until you hit the baby button (then turns off until you're back within X feet again when it resets).

You don't have to remember anything, you just have to take your keys with you.

Exactly.  If you get in the habit of only checking for you kid after noticing your shoe is off, then the first time you forget to put your shoe back there your kid cooks. 

[ArchietheDragon]

Jul 15, 2014 7:28:23 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Jul 14, 2014 16:31:52 GMT -5 hoops902 said:

::Instead of always thinking about why something won't work, why not try to consider all the times it will work? No. Your child's safety seat is probably not going to save him/her if an alien drops a one million ton meteorite on top of your car. But for the other 9, 999,999,999,999 times, it will save your child. What's the harm in putting your shoe back there? ::

It's not that there is harm in it, but if people were capable of remembering to do things every time, wouldn't we just tell them to remember to check the back seat every time?  Solving a memory problem by asking people to remember something different seems problematic towards solving the real issue.

So you remember to put your shoe back there sometimes, and those times that you do you remember your kid.  But if you're in a rush, and forget to put your shoe back there, those are also the times you'll be most likely to forget to check.  Or potentially worse, are you setting up a system where you only remember to check your kid when you need your shoe...and when you're hurrying do you forget the shoe thing and therefore forget the kid even more than you otherwise would.  This is a gimmick, and like most gimmicks it doesn't really solve the problem when you really think about it. 

Since I don't like poo-pooing other ideas without having my own:

A wireless device in 2 parts, 1 part on your keychain, another part on your child's carseat.  When the 2 devices become separated by X feet the keychain piece beeps until you hit the baby button (then turns off until you're back within X feet again when it resets).

You don't have to remember anything, you just have to take your keys with you.

Exactly.  If you get in the habit of only checking for you kid after noticing your shoe is off, then the first time you forget to put your shoe back there your kid cooks. 

How about putting a shoe and your coffee in the back seat.  that way if you forget to put your shoe back there at least your coffee would be back there.   And maybe you can put your tablet with it, in case you forget your coffee.   So you will remember your tablet if you forget your coffee, if you forget you shoe, if you forget your kid.

If you follow this to the natural conclusion, your kid will be crushed to death under the weigh of shit in the back of your car. 

[Angel!]

Jul 14, 2014 16:17:03 GMT -5 michelyn8 said:

Jul 14, 2014 14:59:29 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

How are you dealing with all that stuff when driving with a kid in a rear facing seat behind you?  I ask because a woman just recently drove head on into a tractor near our place when trying to pick up a nuk. 

DGD's car seat was beside the rear passenger door until the door handle broke (she'd lock the door causing whoever was getting her out to pull the outside handle to hard and now its broken and the child lock is on so it can't be opened ) and is now back in the center of the backseat.  So I'm always glancing back at her at every stoplight using the rear view mirror to check on her.  If I see something that needs to be "handled", I pull over and take care of it.  Stuff she drops in the floor or beside her on the seat stays there until I'm where we're going, its safe to stop, etc.  I avoid the interstate when I'm not commuting unless its really the best/quickest route so finding places to stop isn't a big deal.  I had to stop 3 times driving home one evening last week because of issues and while aggravating, its much safer than being distracted by a tantrum or trying to fix what needed fixing while driving a winding backroad (even if I can pretty much drive that particular blindfolded).

Good lord! How do you get anywhere? Unless someone is hurt or vomiting I basically don't stop. You drop a toy or spill water all over yourself, you are just sol and maybe will be more careful next time.

I also think you are ignoring the fact that infants are rear-facing and don't talk back when you have a conversation.

[Sam_2.0]

Jul 15, 2014 7:45:17 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Jul 15, 2014 7:28:23 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Exactly.  If you get in the habit of only checking for you kid after noticing your shoe is off, then the first time you forget to put your shoe back there your kid cooks. 

How about putting a shoe and your coffee in the back seat.  that way if you forget to put your shoe back there at least your coffee would be back there.   And maybe you can put your tablet with it, in case you forget your coffee.   So you will remember your tablet if you forget your coffee, if you forget you shoe, if you forget your kid.

If you follow this to the natural conclusion, your kid will be crushed to death under the weigh of shit in the back of your car. 

Heck, figure out a way to drive from the backseat Or maybe we should outlaw cars with backseats.

[michelyn8]

Jul 15, 2014 12:53:53 GMT -5 Angel! said:

Jul 14, 2014 16:17:03 GMT -5 michelyn8 said:

DGD's car seat was beside the rear passenger door until the door handle broke (she'd lock the door causing whoever was getting her out to pull the outside handle to hard and now its broken and the child lock is on so it can't be opened ) and is now back in the center of the backseat.  So I'm always glancing back at her at every stoplight using the rear view mirror to check on her.  If I see something that needs to be "handled", I pull over and take care of it.  Stuff she drops in the floor or beside her on the seat stays there until I'm where we're going, its safe to stop, etc.  I avoid the interstate when I'm not commuting unless its really the best/quickest route so finding places to stop isn't a big deal.  I had to stop 3 times driving home one evening last week because of issues and while aggravating, its much safer than being distracted by a tantrum or trying to fix what needed fixing while driving a winding backroad (even if I can pretty much drive that particular blindfolded).

Good lord! How do you get anywhere? Unless someone is hurt or vomiting I basically don't stop. You drop a toy or spill water all over yourself, you are just sol and maybe will be more careful next time.

I also think you are ignoring the fact that infants are rear-facing and don't talk back when you have a conversation.

Because there if very little that actually "needs to be handled".  Short of getting sick, most things can wait until we get where we are going or I take a minute to reach back when I get to a stop sign or stop light.  I don't drive a mini-van or SUV, just a small sedan so everything is within my reach 90% of the time. 

And as for an infant that doesn't talk back - well my cat doesn't talk back either but I still hold conversations with her.  I have always talked to infants as if they were able to participating in the conversation. 

It makes no sense to me that a parent "forgets" they have a tiny human who is solely reliant on them in their vehicle.  I don't care how much a person has on their mind, what they need to do, etc. when you have a small child in your care that is what your mind should be on.  And if part of your distraction is a to-do list for the day, your child and what needs to be done for them should permanently be at the top of that list.  If you keep them as a priority when they are with you, then you don't need gimmicks like a shoe or something else in the backseat to remind you they are there.

[andreawick]

Jul 11, 2014 12:29:09 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

Jul 11, 2014 11:56:22 GMT -5 movingforward said:

I have been on auto pilot plenty of times while driving but what is sort of hard for me to understand in regards to forgetting you have a kid in the car is fact that getting that kid into the car is a task.  You have to get them in the car seat, buckle them in, etc so it's not like they get in the car all by themselves.  You know you put them there.

One of the articles I read said only half of the kids that died in cars were in car seats. The rest were either old enough to get in & out without one or they had been playing and got in the car on accident.

is it bad that I let my 4 year old pretend the drive and play in the car?? It's a convertible....so he shouldn't get too hot?

Did kids die in cars 30 years ago? I don't remember ever hearing about these deaths in the 80's??

[andreawick]

Everyone is an expert in child care/raising/birth before they have a kid.

Jul 12, 2014 7:53:46 GMT -5 swamp said:

Jul 11, 2014 19:38:15 GMT -5 chen35 said:

I think if I could be 100% sure to remember to put my shoe next to the car seat (and I'm not saying I could), I could be 100% sure to remember not to leave the kid in the car. 

And then your kid picks up the shoe and starts chewing on it. Or throws it at your head. Or throws it out the window. Or screams bloody murder when you take the shoe away when you've arrived.  

I think the person who came up with this idea doesn't have kids. 

[ArchietheDragon]

Jul 15, 2014 14:19:25 GMT -5 andreawick said:

Jul 11, 2014 12:29:09 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

One of the articles I read said only half of the kids that died in cars were in car seats. The rest were either old enough to get in & out without one or they had been playing and got in the car on accident.

is it bad that I let my 4 year old pretend the drive and play in the car?? It's a convertible....so he shouldn't get too hot?

Did kids die in cars 30 years ago? I don't remember ever hearing about these deaths in the 80's??

Back in the day (before airbags, especially), infants were put in the front seat in the passenger side, so it was much harder to forget them. 

[Wisconsin Beth]

Jul 15, 2014 14:26:07 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Jul 15, 2014 14:19:25 GMT -5 andreawick said:

is it bad that I let my 4 year old pretend the drive and play in the car?? It's a convertible....so he shouldn't get too hot?

Did kids die in cars 30 years ago? I don't remember ever hearing about these deaths in the 80's??

Back in the day (before airbags, especially), infants were put in the front seat in the passenger side, so it was much harder to forget them. 

Or on the floor of the car so they wouldn't roll off the seat. 

[Sam_2.0]

Or they didn't have cars with electronics, so the doors could be opened from the inside and windows could be rolled down even if the car was off They don't really have much on the stats before 1990 though: www.kidsandcars.org/statistics.html

[alabamagal]

Jul 15, 2014 14:34:43 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

Or they didn't have cars with electronics, so the doors could be opened from the inside and windows could be rolled down even if the car was off They don't really have much on the stats before 1990 though: www.kidsandcars.org/statistics.html

or they had cars without AC so the windows were down anyway.

[Tennesseer]

Here is a different example of being trapped in a hot car and the person who saved him.


Toddler saves elderly man trapped in hot car

The "hot car" and the "saving" parts are the same, but the roles have been reversed: An elderlyTennessee man who found himself trapped in his hot car in a church parking lot on Saturday was rescued—by a 3-year-old. As Bob King explains to WVLT, "we've had a little problem with the switch on this car," and while waiting for his wife to finish up at an event at Knoxville's Vestal Baptist Church, the 68-year-old found himself stuck after his car doors automatically locked. ABC News reports he didn't have a key, leaving him unable to turn on the AC or open the windows; it was 91 degrees outside, and King is in poor health.

King then noticed 3-year-old Keith Williams walking by, and started knocking on the windows. "I hollered at him and he just looked at me kind of funny and I said 'Get help, get help,'" King says. The toddler ran to his pastor, repeating the word "locked," then saying "hot, hot." He grabbed Pastor Jack Greene's hand and the man followed him outside. "When I saw Bob in the car, I said to myself: 'Oh my Lord,'" Greene says. Greene was able to open the door, at which point King literally fell out of the car, his "whole body ... raining sweat." He was brought into the church, and recovered there. WVLT notes King had been stuck in the car for about five minutes, but his wife wasn't expected for another 20 minutes.

Toddler saves elderly man trapped in hot car