Have you ever left your child asleep in your car, because it breaks your heart to wake them up? Whether it’s done by Design or by Accident, the act of leaving a child unattended in a car, is one of the most reckless things a parent could do! If you’re living in a tropical climate where the temperatures are generally scorching, the chances of danger are manifold. In this article, you will learn why Leaving Kids in the Car, is something that must be avoided at all costs. Learning about Child Car Seat Safety, you will understand how to adhere to those Child Car Seat Safety Rules, so as to ‘check’ that ‘Child Protection’ Box with a flourish!
Ready to get started, on the journey of Child Car Safety? Let’s strap on our seatbelts, and enjoy the virtual journey into Child Protection Basics!
Child Car Safety: The Perils of Leaving your Child Unattended in a Car
We spend a good deal of money to buy cars that are ‘safe’, but just ‘how’ safe are they? Presenting the perils of leaving your child unattended in a car.
- Heat Stroke
- Being Kidnapped
- Trapped in the Trunk
- Disengaging the Handbrake
- Getting their Neck caught
- Dehydration
This is by far the biggest threat to your child, when they find themselves left alone in a car for a protracted period of time. Did you know that a child’s body is prone to its temperature rising three times as fast, as compared to the average adult? What’s more, the temperature inside a locked car can border on the ‘dangerous’, in as less as ten minutes! Even if those windows are left open up to 2 inches, there will be absolutely no effect on the car’s internal temperature.
Note: While statistics indicate that most children that have died of heatstroke are 3 and under, it has even been known to occur with fourteen year olds!
It might be too frightening to think about, but you simply cannot rule out the terrifying possibility. Leaving them unattended in a car, is an open invitation to kidnappers to come and get your child!
Leaving kids alone in the car might lead to them getting the better of their curiosity, and crawling into that car trunk. That is, if they manage to get it open. And yes, we all know what might happen, if that trunk ‘shuts’!
For little children, every small thing seems to be some kind of toy. As is the case with that handbrake, that they might just disengage by accident. Depending on the position your car is in, it might hurtle backwards or even forwards, leading to disastrous consequences!
Playing with Sliding Windows in a car, makes for the top attraction for all kids. The last thing you want is for them to accidentally get their hand caught as that window slides back up, or worse still, their ‘neck’!
Coupled with the very-real danger of that heatstroke, is the twin danger of dehydration! Dehydration in little children is especially harsh, and leaving them unattended in a car for long periods of time, leaves them highly susceptible to just that!
Child Car Safety Rules
Time to play ‘Car Policeman’, and establish a set of Car Safety Rules that will ensure your child is protected at all times, from the dangers that lurk nearby.
- Don’t leave your child Alone in the Car!
- Educate your little one about Car Safety
- Setting a Reminder
- Keeping Car Keys well out of reach of your child
- Use Warning Systems
- Don’t overload yourself with errands
This might be the most elementary bit of advice. Indeed, the message is loud and clear in the title of this blog itself. However, we cannot stress this enough, which is why you must hear it again!
>Tip: You also want to keep your car ‘locked’ when you’re not using it, so as to prevent your little one from climbing inside and falling prey to danger!
Of course you cannot teach a little ‘baby’ Car Safety Rules, but when your child gets a bit older, it’s imperative that you do. Explain to them how heatstroke is a real danger to avoid at all costs, and also to never trust a stranger that might be on the prowl nearby.
Let’s face it – none of us can do without our cell phones! It’s probably the first item you look for, when you have parked your car. It might be a good idea to place it near your child’s seat, like on the floor nearby. That way, when you’re retrieving it, you won’t be able to ‘miss’ your child!
Bonus: Keeping your cell phone away from you is great for other reasons, too. You don’t want to further endanger baby by picking up a call, when you’re driving!
You might be thinking, what’s the harm in letting them play with those keys? The truth is, you couldn’t be more mistaken. Handing them access to your car keys, is like giving them the passport to your car!
If you are the kind of person that is extremely forgetful by nature, you don’t want to take any chances here. It would be a good idea to install a warning system, such as a device that will inform you to ‘check that backseat’ before you lock the car.
Cool Fact: There are even some car-seats that come equipped with alarms, that remind parents to ‘not forget their children’!
There are good chances that you will ‘forget about baby’, when you are busy running more errands than you can handle. That’s why, you must make it a point to limit those errands to ‘two’ at the most. Needless to say, if you’re at the grocery, you want to go there with your ‘child in tow’!
At EuroKids, we strongly believe that Child Safety is something all parents need to keep at the top of their minds. We encourage all parents to check their cars not once, but twice, to ensure their child is not inside, before locking it.
