In this record breaking hot summer, a number of children have been dying due to adults “forgetting” about them in the car. As we are parents of older children (the youngest being 9) we had to think back to those early days of waking every two hours to feed the baby…”Try to nap when your baby does” is what everyone says, but it rarely works (at least for us it didn’t)…and being so physically, emotionally and mentally tired that you can barely see straight.
Never Say Never
We remember those days. You are so tired you have to ask yourself: Did I shower today? Did I take my vitamin? Pill? When we think back to being that exhausted and we (Cherie and I) have to think that for a parent to “forget” their child – the most precious thing in the world …you must be tired beyond belief! We are asking ourselves could we have ever left our child in the car? Could that have happened to us? Ask yourself – could you do that? We would like to think NO – that could never happen, but, if you have been a parent long enough you have learned to say to yourself…..never say NEVER.
So our take on this is: Forget about “could you do it.” Let’s discuss prevention strategies to help you NEVER do it!
Strategy #1
Leave your pocketbook or wallet and cell phone in the backseat next to your child in the car seat. By doing this you are not only ensuring that you won’t forget your child, but you can also now sign up for Oprah’s no phone zone because if your cell is in the backseat you are not talking or texting.
Strategy #2
Put a stuffed animal in the car seat when your child is not in it – when you go to put your child in the seat – you take the animal out and put it next to you as a reminder your child is in the car seat.
Strategy #3
Write yourself a brightly-colored sticky note on the dashboard of your car – baby in back!
Strategy #4
Buy yourself the child safety mirror that attaches to your rearview mirror so that you can see your child at all times.
Easily Preventable
This tragedy is so easily preventable – just by using the above strategies, you could save a life. Please relay this information to friends, family and coworkers so no more families have to suffer from this awful tragedy.
