Summer is almost here. And as people prepare for summer weekends and get ready to hit the pool or beach, there’s one thing we all need to consider; remembering to watch for children left in hot cars.
It’s hard to imagine. A parent mistakenly leaves their child in a vehicle when they go to work, or simply leaves them for only a minute to run into the grocery store. The thing is, it only takes a matter of minutes, but in that time the unthinkable could occur. And then, cuffs are placed on the already grieving parent as they are charged with a crime.
So far this year there have been eight children who have died as a result of being left in a hot car, according to noheatstroke.org. The first of which involved a 13-month-old child and occurred in January in Rossville, Georgia. The temperature that day is said to have been only 54 degrees.
The Associated Press reports that over the past 25 years more than 700 children died as a result of being left in a hot vehicle.
Of that number, less than half faced criminal charges. But even if the person responsible for leaving the child in the vehicle does not have to go to court, they will have to deal with the loss of their child.
So how do you avoid such a situation? First, never leave a child in a vehicle unattended, even for what may at first be only a minute. That’s because there is no such thing as going into a store for just a minute. With so many variables involved, it’s better to just bring the child inside. Second be sure to check the back seat before going into a store or work just in case a child was forgotten. It only takes a second to peek in the back seat.
Community members can do their part by reporting instances of children being left in a vehicle.