Can We PLEASE Stop Leaving Children Alone In The Car?

So far this year, 22 children have died from being left in a hot car. The most recent were a one-year-old child in Cape Coral, Florida and a three-year-old boy near Houston, Texas. Parents all over the country have been arrested for leaving their children in the car while they shop, give plasma, drink and even gamble. There is absolutely no excuse for the deaths of these kids, and there have been even more close calls during this blisteringly hot summer. In one Eugene, Oregon Walmart parking lot, both a toddler and a puppy were found locked in cars. Thankfully, the paramedics reached the child in time. The puppy did not make it.

How many more examples do we need?

Listen, I have been there. It’s been a horribly long day, both my daughter and I are exhausted. All I need is one thing and my daughter is actually napping peacefully, but I still have to wake her up. My little one has actually gotten old enough to ask to stay in the car while I run errands, but I still take her inside. It doesn’t matter whether it would be ten minutes, two minutes or two seconds, I still take her.

Our job as parents is to protect our children. Leaving them in the car while we run errands literally puts their life in danger. Yet these stories have been popping up all over the country. 22 preventable deaths is 22 too many. This isn’t a tragic accident without any solution. All we have to do is stop leaving our children in the car alone. That’s it. We should be able to do this.

Lets start educating each other about the risks out there. In ten minutes, the average car temperature will raise 19 degrees above the temperature outside. That turns 90 degrees to 109 degrees. Ten more minutes, the temperature would become 119 degrees. Children’s bodies are too small to process heat like an adults. It takes less time and less severe temperatures for hyperthermia to affect them.

22 children have passed away in 2011 because they were left in a hot car by themselves. If July was any indication, August is going to be another hot month. Let’s make sure that we don’t add any more tragedies to this grim count.