Yep, it’s that time of year again! My favorite time of year! Summer! Yippee! Jump for joy! The hot weather is here, or at least where I live it is. We’re in the 90s already, the air conditioning has been on for a couple of weeks and I’m predicting a HOT summer this year compared to last year’s mild one. Oh well, I’d rather have a hot summer than a brrrrrrr freezing winter. But that’s why I live in the desert, right?
With the mild weather comes hot kids in hot cars. We warn about this every year and every year someone leaves a kid to bake in the car like a chicken in an oven. We’ve had 2 deaths so far this year in the U.S.
It’s not always on purpose; in fact, most of the time it’s because a child is forgotten. And I feel so bad for the parents who have forgotten their children in their cars because they have to live with that for the rest of their lives. It’s the break in routine, the one day they have to take Sophie to daycare instead of their dh or the one day they’re tasked to bring the donuts to work for the going-away party. So let’s brainstorm and come up with some ideas so we don’t forget our little ones in the backseat when they fall asleep and quiet their non-stop chattering for a bit. We also don’t want to forget about elderly folks either. Sometimes grandma or grandpa want to run errands with us, but want to sit in the car and wait while we’re in the store. Heatstroke is insidious and sneaks up, even when the windows are rolled down.
So for the young-uns, I suggest tossing the cellphone in the backseat next to the carseat. You know you won’t go very far without the cellphone ;). And how about demanding that the daycare call the parents of absent kids? It wouldn’t take long for them to make a quick call each morning and could catch a forgetful parent before it’s too late. What other ideas do you have?
NOTE: Less than 15 minutes after I wrote this blog, I turned on the 10pm news and saw that a woman had left her 5 and 6 year old children in the SUV with rolled up windows on an 86° day while she went into a casino. The girls were OK, but very hot; however, mom was arrested on the spot. Wow. Just wow.
Good idea with the cell phone! I leave my purse in the back seat when I strap a kiddo in, but I’m assuming most men don’t have that option.