ATL - Toddler Left in Car

As a fairly new parent this is probably my biggest fear.

I can't imagine what they would feel like to be the guilty parent.

I'm not especially sympathetic when this happens usually, but the guy's reaction here sounds like it was one of total desperation and guilt.

No way I am clicking on that.

I just don't see how this is possible

quote:

---

Forgetting a child in the back seat of a hot, parked car is a horrifying, inexcusable mistake. But is it a crime?

---

Yes, but it should be punished like any other crime of extreme negligence.

quote:

---

I'm not especially sympathetic when this happens usually, but the guy's reaction here sounds like it was one of total desperation and guilt.

---

These almost always happen because some little change occurs in the parent(s)' normal routine. Awful.

Damn, I almost puked just reading that quote.

I have nightmares about this as a new parent. I have started making a habit of looking in the backseat every single time I get out of a car. I was doing it all this week and I'm not even home.

My stomach is still in my throat.

quote:

---

These almost always happen because some little change occurs in the parent(s)' normal routine. Awful.

---

We don't have a kid yet, but we take our dog to "school" everyday (yuppie I know). He's loud so it's easy to remember, but we both usually check the backseat and talk to each other after getting to work to recap the dropoff.

I think that would probably be a decent system for stuff like this, because I'm pretty paranoid about it (I'm sure it'll go through the roof when I have kids).

It's a father's worst nightmare. Chills.

quote:

---

As a fairly new parent this is probably my biggest fear.

---

Ways to Help Prevent a Tragedy

Several products are available to remind a parent if a child remains in a car seat after the car is turned off. One of the more popular is Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor, which turns on upon sensing a child's weight and sounds a lullaby when the car has stopped; it retails for about $40 and is available online.

KidsAndCars.org, an advocacy group for child vehicle safety, urges some basic measures to prevent the tragedy of children being inadvertently left in vehicles:

Always put something you'll need for work -- cellphone, handbag, employee badge, etc. -- on the floor of the back seat, near the child.

Keep a large teddy bear in the child's car seat when it's not occupied. When the child is placed in the seat, put the teddy bear up front in the passenger seat. It's a visual reminder that anytime the teddy bear is in the passenger seat, the child is in the back.

Make arrangements with your child's day-care provider or babysitter that you will always call them if your child will not be there on a particular day as scheduled. Ask them to always phone you if your child does not show up when expected.