411 Pain – Child Safety
411 Pain – Child Safety
It is a threat small children face every time they take a ride in their car seats in the back seat of a car.
The threat is forgetfulness. Car seats are designed to keep a parent’s most precious cargo, children, secure in their seats in the event of an accident. Sadly there is a fatal flaw built into the proper use of the safety device, and that is the legal requirement that demands the car seat be placed in the back seat of the vehicle. It is this aspect that leaves parent and child vulnerable to oversight.
Every year all over the country parents live the tragic consequence of losing a child simply because in a harried moment they forgot he or she was there, literally leaving them to die. Car temperatures can rise 20 degrees in ten minutes in warm climates windows open or not. And that drastic change in temperature works in reverse in the cold but brings with it the same lethal threat. The children victimized are usually small and have been lulled to sleep by the car ride. Their silent state fails to warn their mother or father they are still in the back seat. Compounding their grief of losing a child, some parents have even been charged with crimes after accidentally leaving their children to die in the back seat.
411 Pain recognizes this tragedy is completely avoidable and offers some crucial reminders…
–When travelling with small children in car seats, put a personal item in the back seat with them.
That personal item should be something you can’t get through the day without like your employee identification, wallet, or even a cellphone. The cellphone in the back seat works two fold, first as a reminder that a child is in the car, and second as a means of keeping you from using the phone while driving.
–You can also use a child’s toy as a gentle reminder of a little one’s presence. When the child isn’t riding
place the toy in the safety seat in the back seat. When the child is in the car seat, bring the toy to the front seat where you can see it and be reminded there’s a kiddie on board.
–If possible, try to make an arrangement with your little one’s daycare or babysitter to call when the child
doesn’t’ show up as scheduled. Or you can maintain the onus and notify your childcare provider you personally will call should your child ever be absent. That phone call may also serve as a personal reminder not to forget your child is with you.
MULTI-TASKING CASUALTIES
Remember children’s’ body temperatures can rise 3 to 5 times faster than that of an adult. As a result, they are at risk of organ failure, brain damage, and even death if left in a car long enough. So stop, take a breath, take a second, and take note of your most precious cargo sitting feet away in the same vehicle. Don’t multitask your brain into an overload that costs your child his or her life. That’s a price too high for any parent or any child to pay.
411 Pain reminds you to stay safe while driving !