Safe Kids Cobb County urges caregivers to take steps to eliminate “forgotten child” deaths

Safe Kids Cobb County urges caregivers to take steps to eliminate “forgotten child” deaths

As Spring approaches, bringing with it warmer temperatures, Safe Kids Cobb County is working to increase awareness and urge caregivers to never leave children alone in a vehicle. Unfortunately, even though it is only April and temperatures have been relatively mild, heat stroke fatalities have already occurred.

Safety experts and child advocates want to remind parents and caregivers to always check for sleeping children before leaving a vehicle. “The overall goal of the campaign is to make sure no more children die in 2010 because they were unattended in a vehicle. We want parents and caregivers to take precautions so that this tragedy does not happen to them,” said Amanda Walpole, Safe Kids Cobb County coordinator.

Between 1998 and 2009, 445 children throughout the U.S. died from heat stroke because they were unattended in vehicles that became too hot for them to survive. “A child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s and unattended children have no way of protecting themselves in a hot vehicle,” said Walpole.

More than 50 percent of the children who died from heat stroke were forgotten by a caring adult who became distracted when they left the vehicle. When left unattended by an adult, 30 percent of affected kids gained entry into an unlocked vehicle, became trapped and were overcome by heat. It takes only minutes for a child to be at risk of death and serious, permanent injury in a hot car. Drivers must keep car doors locked and keys out of reach from young children.

Safe Kids Cobb County urges all adults who transport children to take the following steps:

• Call 911 if they see a child unattended in a vehicle.
• Never leave children alone in a car - even for one minute.
• Set your cell phone or personal digital assistant (PDA) reminder to be sure you drop your child off at daycare.
• Set your computer calendar program to ask you, “Did you drop off at daycare today?”
• Place a cell phone, PDA, purse, briefcase, gym bag or whatever is to be carried from the car on the floor in front of the child in a back seat. This forces the adult to open the back door and observe the child.
• Have a plan with your child care provider to call if your child does not arrive when expected.
• Keep keys and remote entry key devices out of children’s reach.
• Lock all vehicles at all times.
• Check cars and trunks first if a child goes missing.

For more information on preventing hyperthermia deaths, please call Safe Kids Cobb County at 770-852-3285 or visit Safe Kids Cobb County, www.ggwweather.com/heat and www.safekids.org/nlyca. Be sure to NEVER LEAVE YOUR CHILD ALONE in a car.