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Community Corner

Moms Talk: Death by Heat

Keep kids and pets safe on these hot summer days.

The other day, I was loading groceries into the trunk of my car when I noticed a woman pull up, hop out, and lock her car as she went toward the store. Then I glanced back over and saw that she had left two children and a dog inside.

With all of the attention this issue has received in recent years, I was surprised and, obviously, concerned. I watched her, saw that she was going to the ATM outside the store, and then headed back to her car. All told, the kids and dog were probably locked in the car for two or three minutes. But, it was around 3 p.m. on a June Atlanta day, and no windows were left open. How much is too much? How hot is too hot?

According to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, even one minute is too long to leave children unattended in the car. 

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Did you know?
1. A child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s.
2. It takes only ten minutes for a car to heat up by 19 degrees, and it continues to heat up quickly because of all the windows in a car. Dark dashboards and upholstery heat up even faster.
3. Leaving a window slightly open has no effect on the temperature in the vehicle.

Jan Null, Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University, offers the following information and tips. So far this year, 10 children have died from hyperthermia as the result of being left in a hot car. In 2010, the total was 49. 

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Over a thirteen-year period (1998-2010), a total of 494 children lost their lives in parked vehicles. Here is the breakdown of those 494: 51% were "forgotten" by the caregiver, 30% were playing in an unattended vehicle, and 17% were intentionally left there by an adult. Those 51% of forgotten children were often sleeping babies or the result of a childcare drop-off change in plans.

When dropping off children on your way to work, especially if it's not the normal routine, consider putting your purse or briefcase in the backseat to force yourself to look back before exiting the car. Also, make a "look before you leave" policy for the car. Much like checking to make sure the coffee pot is turned off and the garage door is down when you leave the house, get into the habit of checking to make sure everyone who got into the car gets out of the car. It seems silly, but I'm sure the parents and caregivers of those 253 "forgotten" kids wish they had double-checked.

Make sure, too, that at home, vehicles and trunks are kept locked, and teach children that cars are not playgrounds. If your child goes missing, check the pool first, then immediately check the car. And, if you do see kids sitting in a parked car unattended, call 911. EMS responders are trained to know if a child is in danger. You run the risk of irritating the parent, but that risk is far less significant than the danger of not making the call.

 

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