Life moves fast these days, and chances are you’re just as busy as the next person. Between work, family, and other commitments, we all have a lot on our plate. And to expect ourselves to remember everything all the time would simply be unrealistic.
That’s why most of us can say that we’ve forgotten something in our car before. Maybe it was a bottle of sunscreen or a laptop. Perhaps it was a pair of sunglasses or a container of medications. In many cases, even children or pets have been left in a car, leading to tragic consequences.
The stresses of everyday life can cause memory lapses in the most diligent and responsible of us. And with the hottest days of the year approaching, we must all be extra conscious when we leave our vehicles.
Mount Airy Toyota has different strategies for remembering who and what is in our cars, general car seat safety tips for the summer, and much more.
Leaving Your Child in a Hot Car
Most parents cannot imagine that they would ever leave their child in a hot car. Nonetheless, since 1998, almost 900 children have died of Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke (PVH). And in more than half of these incidents, the caregivers had unknowingly left the children behind.
While many would assume that only negligent or unfit parents would forget their child in a vehicle, the truth is it can happen to anyone. According to neuroscientist and UCF Tampa psychology professor David Diamond, Ph.D., forgetting a child in such a circumstance isn’t a negligence problem; it’s a memory problem.
If you think about how much our routines change during summer, this makes sense. Whether it’s because of vacations, children being out of school, or any number of other reasons, many families drastically alter their regular routines. And in each of these tragic occurrences above, such disruptions were a common contributor.
The first step of ensuring that your child stays safe this summer is to reject the mindset that it can’t happen to you. PVH has claimed the lives of children from five days old to 14 years old, and the caregivers involved have come from varying backgrounds: law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses, teachers, military officers, social workers, clergymen, and the list goes on.
From an objective review of the data, it’s clear that education and socioeconomic status have had quite little to do with these tragedies.
Prospective and Semantic Memories
Prospective and semantic memories are parts of an individual’s working memory. In short, prospective memory enables us to prepare our minds for something in the future, and semantic memory allows us to fulfill tasks on autopilot, such as driving home from work without being able to remember details of the trip.
In order to alter our routines, prospective and semantic memories must work in tandem. Take, for instance, a father who’s tasked with dropping his child off at daycare on the way to work when the mother usually does it. Or, imagine a mother who realizes that she needs to add an errand to her to-do list.
Heightened stress or distraction can cause our working memories to fail. And this can lead to disastrous consequences, such as failing to take essential safety steps that would normally be a habit. Our brains multitask, and our brains are not perfect. This means that awareness of our surroundings can easily be lost, even if we are loving and attentive parents.
Simple Strategies to Prevent PVH
Finding ways to manage your stress, getting the sleep your mind and body need, and being aware of how a change in routine affects your brain is critical to avoiding tragic hot-car incidents. Here are some other strategies that you can implement:
- Use the front seat. While driving, keep an item of your child’s in the front passenger seat (e.g., hat, diaper bag, backpack, etc.) to remind you that your child is in the car.
- Make a habit of looking in the backseat. Every day, keep something in the backseat that you need for work, such as your briefcase or phone so that you will have to retrieve it every time.
- Use phone reminders. Set a reminder on your phone to confirm with your spouse or partner that they dropped off your child at daycare or school.
- Work with your childcare provider. Promise that you will always notify the childcare provider if your child is going to be absent or tardy, and have the childcare provider pledge to let you know if your child ever fails to arrive at their normal drop-off time.
Other Summer Car Safety Tips
Children are particularly susceptible to heatstroke. Not only can the inside of cars reach deadly temperatures within 30 minutes on a 72-degree day, but children’s bodies will heat up three to five times quicker than adults. Along with following the tips above, here are some other precautions you can take to ensure your child stays safe and healthy this summer:
Buy a Car Seat Alarm
There is no substitute for taking common-sense precautions, such as never leaving your child in a hot car or and always checking the backseat before leaving a vehicle. But as we’ve seen, even the most well-intentioned parents can have forgetful moments. For an extra layer of protection, consider investing in a car seat alarm or monitor.
There are car seats that come with built-in sensors and notify caregivers when temperatures become alarming or when a child is left alone. For instance, the Cybex Eternis S SensorSafe Convertible Car Seat features a sensor clip that connects to your smartphone. If your child unbuckles their harness while the vehicle is moving, your child is left alone, or the ambient temperature in the vehicle gets too high or too low, then you will get an alert on your phone.
You can also buy an independent car seat alarm that syncs with your phone. The Elepho eClip Car Seat Alarm will attach to your child’s car seat or safety belt and senses your child’s presence by monitoring their motion or weight. The alarm can either sync with your phone or with an accompanying key fob through Bluetooth. If you leave your vehicle and walk more than 15 feet away, the sensor will detect the difference in proximity and alert you immediately. If you don’t respond to the alarm (i.e., you don’t notice it), then the eClip will notify a spouse, a friend, or another person you trust. Moreover, the sensor is designed with a thermometer that monitors the vehicle’s cabin temperature.
There’s one other type of product you can purchase that can help you prevent a nightmare scenario like PVH: a car tracker. While it’s typically used to stop car theft, the CarLock Advanced Real Time 3G Car Tracker & Alert System has a feature that will detect unusual vibrations in your vehicle. For example, if your child begins crying or thrashing around, the device will alert your phone. The system provides real-time tracking and updates every 30 seconds when your vehicle is parked.
Use Car Seats Correctly
This might sound obvious, but you should always ensure you’re using your child’s car seat the right way. Some parents may want to put a towel between their child’s swimsuit and the car seat, or underneath the car seat, after a day at the pool, for instance. But while that may help to keep your seats in good shape, it can hinder the car seat’s effectiveness during a crash. Instead, always bring along an extra set of dry clothes that you can put on your child.
Never Use Someone Else’s Car Seat
You never really know the condition of a car seat unless it’s yours. If you ever need to rent a car this summer, bring your own car seat with you. Even if the rental agency has the car seat or booster you need, you can’t be sure that the family that used it before you didn’t make any incorrect adjustments to the seat which would compromise its performance.
Prevent Heat Rash
Heat rashes are prevalent during summer. And if your child sweats while in their car seat, they can easily get a rash, especially if they’re more susceptible to heat rash in the first place due to excessive sweating or sensitive skin.
Regularly monitor your child for heat rash from their car seat. If heat rash occurs, use diaper rash cream before long car rides, contact the car seat company about sending you a car seat cover with a different fabric, and frequently wash the car seat cover.
Keep Items Secure
If you’re like most families, you drive around with lots of supplies in your vehicle, particularly when taking a long trip. Always make sure that every item in your car is secured, including toys, snacks, drink bottles, and anything else that could fly around and injure someone if you stop suddenly or crash.
Leaving Your Pet in a Hot Car
There’s a common misconception that as long as you crack the windows, it’s safe to leave your dog in the car. But thinking like that can lead to catastrophic consequences. On a 70-degree day, the inside of a car can reach 100 degrees in 20 minutes. In the peak of summer, a car can reach 140 degrees in less than an hour. A study by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) found that cracking a window does not significantly lower the temperatures inside a vehicle. In fact, such a vehicle will heat up at almost the same rate as if the windows were completely rolled up.
All dogs are prone to heatstroke by nature. Any time you drive with your dog in the car and you know that you will have to get out of the car along the way, bring another adult with you on the trip so that they can stay in the vehicle with the air conditioning running.
Items You Should Never Leave in a Hot Car
While not leaving children or pets in a hot car should definitely be at the top of your mind, there are also some inanimate objects that you should avoid leaving in your car during summer. Some products will melt, warp, or significantly change in composition in other ways. Not only can this lead to a major mess in your vehicle, but it can decrease the effectiveness of the product, if not destroy it altogether. Here are some things that you should never leave in a hot car:
· DVDs or CDs
· Electronic devices (e.g., laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.)
· Eyeglasses or Sunglasses
· Medications
· Sunscreen
· Hairspray
· Makeup
· Food
· Soda, wine, or beer
· Crayons or markers
· Ink pens or disposable lighters
Conclusion
The hottest season of the year is here, which means it’s time to take extra precautions. Along with finding ways to reduce stress and minimize distractions in your everyday life, remember the tips above for how you can remind yourself not to leave your children or pets in a hot car. And try to avoid leaving behind the other items mentioned as well.
Most importantly, remember that none of us are above experiencing a tragic incident. Do everything you can to practice summer safety in the months ahead!
