Parents and friends of parents with infants please read

This tragic news item makes me so sad. New parents are often sleep-deprived and distracted, and this guy simply forgot to drop his 4-month old son off at daycare, instead leaving him sleeping in his carrier in the back seat. The baby died. I'm just passing this along as a reminder to my friends that are new parents (and I know three couples with brand-new ones!), please, always, always put your purse or briefcase or laptop or cell phone in the back seat with your child so you will be reminded to look back there as you exit. And make sure your daycare has instructions to call you if your child unexpectedly fails to show up.

Some might say you could "never" forget your child for a moment, but I'm sure this guy felt the same way last week. Although it's tempting to think "how could he forget ALL DAY LONG?" he obviously did, just simply not realizing he hadn't stopped to drop his baby off that morning, and assuming his child was safe at daycare.

Sorry to be such a downer, but if spreading this around saves even one child even five minutes of panic and discomfort in a hot car - much less the loss of life - then it's worth it.

i just finished researching and writing a class outline and powerpoint on heat emergencies. While I have always known the risks of leaving children and pets in hot cars, I did not realize how fast it can heat up in a car. Per the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, “When the outside temperature is 83 degrees Fahrenheit, and your window is down 2 inches, the temperature inside your car can reach 109 degrees Fahrenheit in 15 minutes". That is scary!! Keep cool and keep safe out there!!

The website where I found this item posted had a comments section attached, and a man recounted the story of how he used to drive himself and his sister to high school every day. One day she was particularly sleepy when they got there, and with a few minutes to spare she told him she was going to nap in the car until just before classes began. It was even cold that morning! He said the windows were down slightly, too. But she didn't awaken at the bell and continued to sleep in the car throughout the day as it heated up, and she died in her sleep. At 14! Heat emergencies like this are dangerous for everyone, not just infants and pets. No sleeping in parked cars for anyone, ever.

[quote="b] please, always, always put your purse or briefcase or laptop or cell phone in the back seat with your child so you will be reminded to look back there as you exit[/b][/quote]

It's a very sad state we live in to think anyone wouldn't forget a cell phone, laptop or purse, but would forget a child.

Well, that's true, and I thought of it as I passed the advice along, but I still stand by it as good advice. When I was a teenager, I used to lose my purse/keys/whatever necessities all the time, but as I got older it became automatic to pat pockets for a cell phone or reach for my wallet or purse as I got out of the car.

And like I said, if it keeps just one person from making an irreversible mistake, then I'm okay with the counter-intuitiveness of it.