Okay, I’ve been debating whether or not to blog about this, but I can’t put it off any longer, here it goes…
I want to talk about the babies that are dying every year due to being left in a hot car while the parent works. I’m not talking about the parents who go out partying or drinking. I’m talking about the parent who is on their way to work and gets sidetracked and forgets to drop off the baby at the sitter or day care facility. The parent that is exhausted and sleep deprived.
Just recently in Texas, another baby died after a teacher went to work and forgot to drop off the baby at the sitter. Here is the article and a link.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/Baby-Girl-Left-Inside-Parked-Car-Dies-55894247.html
KXAS A 7-month-old girl died Friday after her mother left her locked inside a parked vehicle outside Bowie School Elementary School, Corsicana police said.
Consuela Sanchez, 23, a teacher’s aide, arrived at work shortly after 8 a.m. and didn’t realize Addeleena Sanchez was in the car until about 1:20 p.m. when she called her baby sitter, Corsicana Police Chief Randy Bratton said.
The mother ran outside the classroom during the phonecall to the baby sitter, Bratton said told the Corsicana Daily Sun.
The first police officer who responded performed CPR on the baby until an ambulance arrived and took the baby to the hospital.
Police are investigating the baby’s death and an autopsy has been ordered.
“It is a tragic day for the CISD family,” Superintendent Don Denbow told the paper.
My question is why didn’t the sitter call to check on where the baby was? It’s not the sitters fault this happened, it’s definitely the parents fault. However most working parents go to work every day at the same time and I would hope they would call the sitter or day care facility to tell them if the baby/child was not coming today. There are too many of theses deaths and I wonder what would have happened if the sitter or day care had called these parents when the child did not show up?
What I’d like to do is to have all parents who use a sitter or facility to inquire if the sitter/facility would be willing to call them if the child is not dropped off by the “usual” time. Get together with the facility and figure out what time you usually drop off your child and have them call you if you do not show up say, 30 minutes later.
I’m hoping that by posting this and passing the information around, it will save a life.
( I don’t mean to cast any stones or lay blame, just trying to figure out a way to try and stop this from happening again)
How absolutely horrible! I cant imagine this….and good idea to have people call their childcare providers. Anything to help.
I cant believe that parents are so irresponsible! Maybe I am being to harsh but when I am in the car with my children we are singing or playing i spy or whatever to keep them entertained. What kids of parents forgets that their child is in the car with them? Maybe I am a bad parent for not giving all my attention to the road and paying a little attention to my children. But I dont think i am. I wish there was a way to prevent this from happening! Great post!
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such a difficult thing to write about, but so worth the effort. thanks for taking the time. Stopping by form MBC.
-Meredith
http://www.boycrazymom.com
Hi! I'm visiting from Follow Me Club. Great blog.
I can't even imagine this. My heart breaks for those babies…I remember seeing a similar story on Oprah last season. It's absolutely horrifying.
BTW, thanks so much for the follow! I am following you back! 🙂
I hadn't heard about this terrible incident. I live in Los Angeles where it gets really hot and this happens here. So sad. I've been a mom who worked very long hours and it is hard to coordinate with the sitter. But, what else is more important?
Christina
Such a tragic thing, and something I had an unfounded fear of forever. YES, anything that can be done to prevent these horrible instances is a wonderful idea.
Thanks for finding me on MBC- following you now, too! 🙂
Lauren/Mud Mama
I think your solution sounds great. It is such a tragedy. Anything we can do to prevent one death is worth it.
Saw your comment on MBC.
Oh I hate to hear these stories. Really devastating.
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These deaths are so tragic. It's awful. Nice post. Something really does need to be done like that. I would want my sitter/preschool/daycare/whatever to call me if my child didn't show up. Anything could happen.
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It's unbelievable that something like this is even imaginable let alone having it actually happen. It's easy to get wrapped up and forget things but NOT your child in your car!
Stories like this are so sad. These just occur far to often. There has to be something that can be done to minimize it. I personally make it a point to check my car every time I get out because of these stories.
Great post,Found you on MBC, I'm following you.
Ali@ onechicmommy.com
Such a horrible tragedy. Yes the parents are to blame but I think everyone needs help not making mistakes. I agree that maybe sitters and day care workers could call. Anything to help.
That's such a tragic situation. I've heard of it too many times as well and I do think the parents are to blame. But I do wonder if sometimes the sitters/daycare would get too busy to make phone calls to the parents to see where their children are. I used to run a preschool and there was no way I'd be able to keep track of that, nor have the time to call each parent whose child wasn't there at a certain time. Though it is a good idea…I'm just not sure it's realistic.
What may work is some type of sticker that can go on the steering wheel reminding the parent to drop off the child before heading to work. I dunno….like a sticky note or something. Any kind of reminder really.
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This is terribly sad… I hear about stories like this every once and a while.
I just can't see how a mother could let her guard down like that. If only they had read my book "The 21st Century Mother's Guide to Managing Your Time and Taking Control of Your Life!"
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That is horrible! I applaud you for writing about this! Maybe someone will read this and take the time tomorow on their way to work to stop, not rush and double check everything they do while on the way to work.
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I can't even imagine this tragedy. It would kill you as a parent to even think about this happening to you. Thanks for posting
I read a long article in Reader's Digest last year that talks about how this happens and the parts of the brain that are functioning at different times of the day and in different situations etc. The article was scary in that it basically said that any small change in your morning or afternoon routine could make your brain "forget" another part of your routine – like dropping off your child. It was terrifying. Any small thing could make your brain snap back into place. Many parents got to the car in time after seeing a picture of a child on a colleague's desk or overhearing a conversation about school or daycare etc. I thought it might be a good idea to design a sticker to put on the outside doors or windows of buildings (and you could put one on your car door or windshield) that said "ARE YOUR KIDS IN THE CAR?" with a picture of them in a carseat. That would trigger the brain to think of this when they got to the door.
I put an alert on my computer when I worked that popped up every morning and said "Did you drop Sophia off at Daycare?"
While I always had, I knew that psychologists DO NOT BELIEVE IT IS ONLY IRRESPONSIBLE PARENTS WHO DO THIS. I knew the worst could happen to me just like it had to other moms and dads. These are not all kids left in grocery store parking lots on purpose. There are parents like you and me who have to live with the terrible knowledge that something in their brains went haywire and they forgot a vital step in their routine. I will post something about this on my blog too. Let's get any ideas out there!
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How terribly sad. I think you have a great idea. I hope parents would be receptive to something like that as a back-up safety measure.
Brittany,
Your comment was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much.
I would like everyone to blog about this and just get parents thinking. And your comment about getting sidetracked is so true. Every time I hear another story, I'm almost afraid to look in my car. I know I dropped off my child, but it's so scary.
About the sticker, there is a website that has stickers and magnets –
http://www.forgetmenotusa.com/
I've spoken to Andrea from Forget Me Knot USA and she is working with others, as well to make people aware.
Again thank you.
Anne
I agree with all that has been said, am glad you are bringing this to our attention,
kim
That is a great idea! I think they should have a check in system like that 30 minutes after if they don't show up or call. There is no excuse for these parents leaving their children. I am so paranoid about it. When I drive alone to the store eventhough I am pretty sure I left them with dad, I check the back, alittle crazy I know…
You never know ugggh those poor babies.
What an awful story. I really feel for working Mums and the morning rush to get everything ready and out the door in time for work. Maybe more flexibility in work hours (without penalty to pay or job opportunities) to alleviate this stress would help?
Christie
http://childhood101.blogspot.com/
Could there be a more horrific tragedy?! How very sad for all involved, and so very preventable. Hi! I'm visiting from MBC.