On the topic of cars, heat, kids, and pets

[TrickyBob]

This has been going around FB. 

www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/19/kids-left-in-cars-psa_n_3623597.html


The video is heartbreaking but it is a PSA put out there to show the dangers of leaving a kid alone in a car in the heat. 

And it does state to essentially break the window if you see a kid left alone in a car. Since that was a debate about whether or not you should or shouldn't. 

I'm glad it is going around FB, of the all the stupid stuff that does, this one is worth it. 


Don't care if it's a heath.

[vamoose]

That was horrifying.

[TrickyBob]

I know. I cried too.

And even though I know it is a PSA with actors, it irks the shit out of me that they left 2 or 3 people walk by the car, SEE THE KID, wave and walk off.

Teach people to call 911 from the get go, even if the child is alert. Break the window, while the kid is alert. I'd absolutely break someone's window 5 minutes after they walk off, even if they come out 2 minutes later. Kids aren't dolls.

[TheSeaward]

Yeah that part bothered me too. I would be yelling for help

[snickers]

Holy hell, the tears.
I am irrationally annoyed at the actors that saw him in there and kept going!
It also reminds me to peer into the back seats of vehicles when I walk by them, no kid should ever be in that situation.
Thanks for posting, I hadn't seen this before and I will be putting it on my facebook.

[polka]

Omg :-(

I knew what was coming and tried to brace myself. But as soon as I heard his scared, little cry, I lost it.

[TrickyBob]

I'm glad the article touched on the fact that not all parent's do it because they don't care, but that some forget their child is with them. And I like that they give tips on remembering your child is back there.

I guess after that video is another video where they did a test to see how many people would stop and a lot of people just walked by the car with the child in it. That breaks my heart. There is nothing so important in your life, in a parking lot, that you need to not help a child who is stuck in a hot car.

[chickadee77]

I'm not a crier, and I never ever say this, but I honestly couldn't finish watching because I'm crying so hard.

I don't even have kids, and OMG.

My H still blames himself (well, "blame" is maybe too strong a word) because a kid died on his college campus years ago, and had he not cut class that day, he would have walked right past the car at the same time the child would have been crying his little head off. To this day, he peers into cars where he sees carseats, just to make sure.

[sherbanator]

[TrickyBob]

Well yah and the 2nd video explains it. But it still irks me seeing it happen because you just want to yell at them "DO SOMETHING." Even though most people wouldn't do something.

[tricia23]

That was really tough to watch. It absolutely horrifies me that children die like that....like, I can't even think about it.

[tricia23]

Jul 21, 2013 19:25:11 GMT -5 Que? said:

Jul 21, 2013 19:20:21 GMT -5 tricia23 said:

That was really tough to watch. It absolutely horrifies me that children die like that....like, I can't even think about it.

I made the mistake of reading a detailed account of what a child will do to him/herself or their surroundings in this situation and it was horrifying. I feel like it's a good thing to have seared into my brain though.

I remember reading that once, too. That haunted me forever. 

[juliagoulia]

Jul 21, 2013 18:18:19 GMT -5 incogneato said:

Not watching, not watching, not watching. I am seriously traumatized from the Washington Post Article. I read it years ago and can't even think about it without major anxiety. I get light headed and nauseated even thinking about just clicking on the link to the article. I'm pretty sure I'd need therapy (not joking) if I watched this video.

I read that article and the one detail specifically mentioned in it actually made me throw up.

I have always been so terrified of accidentally doing this. I am not going to watch the video linked because I feel like reading that article sufficiently haunts me. But I do hope it's helping open people's eyes and making them more aware.

[cookie510]

I couldn't even watch the whole thing, I started to feel nauseated. I also would not be able to live with myself if that happened to my child.

[cleo29]

A year ago, my sister locked C in the car by accident. As in, she was getting her in, had dropped the keys on the front seat and when she went to get in the car realized it was now locked. She was right there, but it freaked her out. C remained calm and was telling my sister to hit the button because she couldn't reach the door.

[eddy]

newp, saw the chubby cheeked boy and I couldn't go any further.

nope nope nope

[eddy]

Jul 21, 2013 18:18:19 GMT -5 incogneato said:

Not watching, not watching, not watching. I am seriously traumatized from the Washington Post Article. I read it years ago and can't even think about it without major anxiety. I get light headed and nauseated even thinking about just clicking on the link to the article. I'm pretty sure I'd need therapy (not joking) if I watched this video.

That article probably had the most impact on me more than any other parenting related topic.

I still feel major anxiety each day I get into my car and it is hot. I instantly look in the back and then have to play through my head how I dropped Leo off and everything is fine. Everyday I think of a poor child stuck in a hot car.

[shostakovich]

Jul 22, 2013 13:11:38 GMT -5 eddy said:

newp, saw the chubby cheeked boy and I couldn't go any further.

nope nope nope

Same. 

[Deleted]

Jul 22, 2013 13:11:38 GMT -5 eddy said:

newp, saw the chubby cheeked boy and I couldn't go any further.

nope nope nope

Yeah, I should have stopped right there

[TrickyBob]

Is the Washington article the 11 pager about the various people who have left their kids in the car and the outcome of their trials? It is from 2009. It gives a lot of good detail on how someone could forget (as in, how the parents honestly believe they dropped their child off at daycare/the babysitter) and makes you feel terrible for everyone involved, the child, the person who did it, their spouses.

[isabel]

Ugh. That was truly awful. The baby screaming gave me chills.

I read the Washington Post article when we were discussing this topic a few weeks ago. I hate thinking about this stuff, but I want to be aware and knowledgable before I have kids. I think these kinds of articles and videos can help prevent this from happening and make parents more aware.

[WOT?*]

There is no such thing as a "Heath" when it comes to this subject.

My BFF and I were out with DD1 when she was an infant. She didn't know that I automatically lock doors and she shut the passenger door as I was buckling DD1 into her car seat after we had gone out to eat lunch. When I turned around to grab my keys off the front seat and saw the door closed I freaked. Thank God my car was a late-70s and had old-school locks someone was *eventually* able to unlock with a coat hanger.  I no longer automatically lock my car doors.

[TrickyBob]

Jul 22, 2013 13:40:17 GMT -5 @themommymonster said:

I think there needs to be some sort of sensor in back seats. Like when someone is in the front passenger/driver seat and doesn't click their seatbelt and alarm dings. Same thing in the back seats. If something is on the seat the car will ding when shut off until the weight is removed/the alarm is silenced manually.

The 2009 article touched on this. People have tried but they said that too many people think it would never happen to them so they wouldn't buy it. The other problem is, they cannot find someone to manufacture this product because it turns into a liability. If the sensor fails and the child dies, then people could sue the company that produced it. 

[Alyssa]

I don't understand how people can 'forget' their child is in the car.  I have two under 3.5, I know what it's like to be sleep-deprived, stress and all out scatter-brained.  But I also know where my kids are at all times.

[derp]

I've read that article and all it did was make me feel more anger towards those parents for causing their poor children to suffer and die in such a horrific and painful way. I don't understand it either, Alyssa.

I also don't understand, when I read the comments on here about the article a couple of weeks ago, why so much sympathy was expressed for the parents who did that to their children, and so little for the children themselves. It made my skin crawl.

[TrickyBob]

Jul 22, 2013 15:35:31 GMT -5 derp said:

I've read that article and all it did was make me feel more anger towards those parents for causing their poor children to suffer and die in such a horrific and painful way. I don't understand it either, Alyssa.

I also don't understand, when I read the comments on here about the article a couple of weeks ago, why so much sympathy was expressed for the parents who did that to their children, and so little for the children themselves. It made my skin crawl.

Well you, and your skin, can just crawl on out of this post. 

Did you not read any of the articles mentioned? Did you not read any of the comments? People feel for these kids, people feel sick and heartbroken for these children. But it doesn't mean every single parent should be burned at the stake for it because as many of the articles said, sometimes it just happens. I suggest you find and read that 11 page article. I suggest you realize that this can and does happen, even to the most well intentioned parent. In fact, that article DID state that this commonly happens to parents who are super careful. 

[derp]

Jul 22, 2013 15:52:04 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Jul 22, 2013 15:35:31 GMT -5 derp said:

I've read that article and all it did was make me feel more anger towards those parents for causing their poor children to suffer and die in such a horrific and painful way. I don't understand it either, Alyssa.

I also don't understand, when I read the comments on here about the article a couple of weeks ago, why so much sympathy was expressed for the parents who did that to their children, and so little for the children themselves. It made my skin crawl.

Well you, and your skin, can just crawl on out of this post. 

Did you not read any of the articles mentioned? 

Read the first four words of my post.

Also not sure why you'd tell me to leave and then ask me a question.

[TrickyBob]

Jul 22, 2013 15:54:43 GMT -5 derp said:

Jul 22, 2013 15:52:04 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Well you, and your skin, can just crawl on out of this post. 

Did you not read any of the articles mentioned? 

Read the first four words of my post.

Also not sure why you'd tell me to leave and then ask me a question.

Well you didn't read it very well. 

Because who actually leaves the post? No one. 

[RoxMonster]

OMG Just because you feel sympathy toward the children that died does not mean you can't also feel sympathy toward those parents.

I'm not a parent and don't even want kids. I read that Washington Post article when someone posted it a few weeks ago, and I cannot get it out of my head. I was crying reading it, as well as watching the video posted here. If you read the WP article, they talk to many different psychologists, etc. who explain exactly how and why this absolutely could happen to "good parents," even parents like you, Alyssa.

All I know is I cannot even physically fathom what those parents must be feeling now and what they felt when they realized their horrible mistake. Their anguish is absolutely incomprehensible to me. And I think the grief, pain, and remorse they are living with day in and day out is far worse than any legal ramifications they may face.

I feel absolutely HORRIBLE for those kids/babies, especially knowing physically what some of the symptoms are they most likely suffered while in those cars. But that doesn't mean my heart can't also ache for those parents who most likely thought it could never ever happen to them either and maybe even walked around with their nose stuck up in the air like yours....until it happened. And I just think anyone who would berate them even further for something they are berating themselves for every second of every minute of every day is a really shitty person.

[derp]

I've read it several times since it was first published. You didn't read my post very well, however.