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Killing our kids
Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies
I honestly cannot understand how someone a) can leave their child in a car long enough for them to die (accidentally or intentionally) and b) why we (government, the public) think that a slap on the wrist warning is punishment enough for parents who do it. I've written about this every Summer when I see the stories start rolling in about kids dying from hyperthermia in their parents' car. In many cases the perpetrator is young and stupid and does some jail time (the young woman who left her kids in the car while she stopped to buy drugs comes to mind). But in many others, the parent should have known better, the child dies, and the parent gets off with a warning because the whole thing was a tragic accident. An accident! Why is it an accident when a parent leaves a child to die in a car while he goes into a store to buy groceries?Did you know that we have a law in California called Kaitlyn's Law (formally the Unattended Child in Motor Vehicle Act) that makes it an infraction (that's less than a felony) to leave a child alone in a car? The fine is $100. That's a $100 fine for a dangerous activity that kills dozens of children every year. But copying one song from a CD can land you up to 10 years in jail and $250,000 in fines. What's wrong with this picture?
And it really bothers me to read tips from experts to help parents remember their children. Tips like: leave your cellphone in the back seat so that when you get it you see your child. Which is a great tip if you think your cellphone is more important than your baby. We got a tip yesterday about forgetmenotusa.com which sells a window sticker with a visual reminder. I know they mean well, but stickers?
Some places have sensible law enforcement that will charge people with felony child endangerment, neglect, or abuse depending on the circumstances. Please, please, please: call the police if you see a child unattended in a car. Do something. You could be saving a life.
Hyperthermia Deaths of Children in Vehicles (San Francisco State University)
Heat related deaths to young children in parked cars: an analysis of 171 fatalities in the United States, 1995–2002 (PDF)
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
6-13-2006 @ 11:14PM
KG said...You know I have no problem with parents who DELIBERATELY leave their children in the car and something tragic happens being punished. None at all. They should be punished to the fullest extent of the law because to me that is child abuse. And while I can't imagine EVER forgetting my child, I do know someone who did to a tragic outcome. She didn't do it deliberately. And as soon as she realized she rushed out to the car, but unfortunately it was too late. I don't know why or how or what exactly made her forget she had that child in the car, but you know what? There but for the grace of God go I. Or you. Or anyone. When we have infants we as parents are oftentimes working on next to no sleep and sleep deprivation can do horrible things to our minds. I am lucky because I'm a stay-at-home mom so I didn't have to go to work when I was exhausted from staying up most of the night with a crying baby. But not everyone is that lucky. The parents who make these horrible mistakes and have to live with the fact that they caused their child's death will be punished for the rest of their lives by their own guilt. I don't think any other punishment is really necessary.
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6-14-2006 @ 8:49AM
Jen said...I used to think there was no way any normal person could "accidentally" leave their child in the car. Now that I have one, I'm not so sure. My husband and I both take our daughter to day care, but most days he does it. One morning when I was taking her, I got off at the highway exit for my office and not the one for her day care. After I drove a couple of blocks I realized I had her in the back seat, but it was also a surprising revelation to me that I came pretty close to leaving her in the car myself. I'm just saying that even though I didn't actually leave her in the car, I can see how it happens, especially when parents are doing something outside of their normal routine.
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6-14-2006 @ 10:40AM
wookie said...I agree... I think there is a very big difference between accidental and deliberate.
I too could never imagine the accidental, before having children, and both of us being on 24/7 support call (sometimes overlapping). I'm grateful that it's never happened to me, and I know a co-worker who deliberately leaves his laptop bag in the backseat so that he has to go in after it... and confirm that no one is there who shouldn't be at work.
The "I'm just running in for groceries/coffee/pizza/atm" people should be jailed. Period.
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8-15-2006 @ 12:52PM
Vox said...54% of these fatalities are due to the child being forgotten, while only 27% are intentional. I do think that making it a crime will help to deter people from intentionally leaving an unattened child in a car even for a moment. But that will do nothing for the people that truely forget. And i do not beleive that laws that only punish people if the child is injured help. The law should be that you can not leave a child unsupervised in a car, period. With a harsher punishment if someone is injured due to that negligence.
But the stories that tend to make the news are those parents that simply forget to drop off their baby at daycare. the loss of the child alone would seem enough . In cases like this a mechanical reminder would help. People forget things. This will never change. And haveing had children i can tell you that you are very apt to forget after sleepless nights and days of endless coddling.
But forgetting this one thing can distroy lives in just minutes. why leave it up to a human mind? why not reinforce it with a fail safe. And i think it is a good idea to make it a law to include this fail safe in cars. we have seatbelts for protection, and it is a law that a car be equiped with them.
Stats from: Heat related deaths to young children in parked cars: an analysis of 171 fatalities in the United States, 1995–2002
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