Hot car deaths are one of the most heartbreaking things I hear about as a Pediatrician. Every summer, we hear stories of children left in hot cars but the truth is it doesn’t have to be scorching hot for children to suffer from heat stroke.
This can happen when temperatures are as low as 57 degrees outside.
Heat stroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle related deaths in children under 15. It happens when the body is not able to cool itself quickly enough and hot cars are a prime location for this.
CARS HEAT UP QUICKLY. In this reel, It is 85 degrees outside and after 10 minutes, the location of the car seat heated up to 110 degrees. After 30 minutes, it went up to 120 degrees.
I know many of you reading this say you won’t let this happen, but I want to share one of the most common ways I have seen heat stroke:
A sleep-deprived caregiver when there is a change of routine.
Here’s an example: Parent A usually does daycare drop offs, but one day Parent B has to do it. They are used to their routine (going to work everyday without drop off) and is now in charge of dropping off the child to daycare. They are sleep-deprived (like most parents are), has a lot on their mind (like most parents do), and is on their cell phone on his way to work (like some are). They forget to drop off the child to daycare, goes to work, and it doesn’t realize until hours later. (This was an actual case that happened).
🚗Always check the back seat and make sure ALL children are accounted for before locking the car.
🚗Communicate a safe drop-off to childcare with any caregivers or the child’s childcare facility.
Another way this can happen is when a child finds car keys at home, decides to play hide-and-seek in the car, and locks themselves inside.
🚗If a child is missing, always check a swimming pool (if you have one) FIRST followed by the car, including the trunk.
🚗Teach kids that cars are not for playing.
Spread the word. Share this to your stories. Hot car deaths ARE preventable.
Even loving, caring parents have made huge mistakes and I think we need a little recognition of this when it comes to safety-shaming parents who suffer an unthinkable loss.
