Every summer, children all over the world die after being forgotten in cars.  The two year old son of a close friend of ours almost died several years ago when a friend who was doing carpool for the parents that day forgot he was in the car.  She wasn’t used to having him with her and locked the door behind her when she went into a store to do her shopping.  That’s how easily a responsible and caring person can forget a little child and put their life in danger.   She found him unconscious when she opened the back door to put her shopping bags in the car and started screaming for help.  He was immediately taken to the hospital, and though his situation was very serious, thank God he survived with no lasting injuries – but even a couple of minutes more would have been fatal.

A car gets very hot, very fast on a sunny day.  A young child can die on a hot day in as little as fifteen minutes in a closed car.  Please be super careful with your children!  And be aware of other little children who may have been left behind.  If you see a young child in a closed car, don’t assume that they’ll be okay or their mother will be back in a minute.  Do something!  Get help immediately, break the window – every minute counts and can be a matter of life or death.

There are always those who can’t imagine how anyone could forget their child, but don’t think that it’s beyond you.  Things happen and people can become distracted.  Some tips to help you remember to make checking for your child a habit (I saw these on the comments below the film) include:

– put your purse next to or with the strap through the car seat  – for moms I think this is the very best idea

– strap in a stuffed animal in the front seat next to you every time you travel with a child, as a reminder to check for the child

– make it a habit after getting out of the car and taking a few steps, to turn around and check if your child is still there

Please watch the short clip above, and take this message to heart. There are too many horrible deaths in this way every summer and with the increased awareness of us all, we can prevent some of these tragedies.

Avivah