Babies forgotten in the car: a solution?

CarSeatPoncho

New member
According to the New York Times, a team of NASA employees have developed a keychain alarm that sounds if a child is left in the car. Other companies are considering options like body-temperature monitors. Personally, I have concerns about the use of technology and gizmos to off-load plain old parental/caretaker responsibility. Thoughts?
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4boysmom

New member
This is such a sticky situation. My dh has his drivers license. I do not. I am a SAHM and have my kids most of the time especially the babies so usually when I am in the car the baby/ies are too and when I am not the baby/ies are not. There have been a few times where we have "diverted from our norm" and I am hyperaware to remind dh that he has a rearfacer or a sleeping baby in the car if he drops me off somewhere and still has the kids. The first time was a few summers ago. DH dropped me off at REI while he was to go to Target (about a mile away in another shopping mall area) to pick up camping food while I looked for a lantern. At first it was just going to be me running in while he took the others but as he stopped to let me out my olders wanted to come, one by one until only 1 kiddo was left n the car, a sleeping rfing 1.5/2yo. It was a warm day but even if it had not been a kid can die of overheating in as little as like 20 or 30 min. My dh is a good dad, a present parent yada yada but he was presented with a situation that could have been tragic if he had "remembered" me getting all the kids out since he usually is either by himself when shopping or we are all together getting out of the van. I can empathize with families that accidently forget their kids because of lack of sleep plus change of routine. We don't routinely carry "diaper bags", my kids don't have loveys to leave on the front passengers seat to help trigger a reminder of a rear and/or sleeping passenger. I don't think relying on technology is a good thing but in the same breath I don't think it is simply a lack of "plain old parental/caretaker responsibility" that is to blame in most cases.
 

Shaunam

New member
I think an extra piece of mind can't hurt. I don't think parents safety conscious enough to buy something extra like that are going to purposely be negligent just because they can rely on a device to remind them. In most cases I see, it really is just a parent who goes on auto-pilot, isn't used to being to one to drop off the child and then tragedy hits. It's really a shame.

My stepdad talked about wanting to design something to alert parents if the child was left in the car, but when I explained all about after-market products, I think he gave up that idea. :p Now if a car seat company would test their seats WITH a device like that and market it as a safety feature, I'd be all over it.
 

jeminijad

New member
I don't know whether the gizmo will be effective, but I would not choose to term it as offloading responsibility.

This unbelievable horror has occured with perfectly mindful, responsible parents when their longtime routine changes suddenly... and unlike the drop sided crib thing, this is an invention of the free market that won't cost several million dollars in taxes to bring to fruition.

Maybe it'll save one kid a year from actually being locked in the car. Of those kids, maybe one would have died. Either way, I can't possibly oppose it.
 

safeinthecar

Moderator - CPS Technician
I think a multi-function item like matching bracelets that parent and child can put on that sound a beep if taken a certain distance apart would be good on a lot of levels. It would work if a parent left a child in a car, but it would also work to 1. alert a parent and 2. locate the child when a child runs off suddenly when you look away for just a second.

ETA: I also spent a bit of time staring at the car seat. The base looks like a Century Smartmove or Ovation, but the seat itself looks wrong. Like it is upside down or something. The back portion looks shorter than the leg portion.
 

Crystal.

CPS Technician
I think a multi-function item like matching bracelets that parent and child can put on that sound a beep if taken a certain distance apart would be good on a lot of levels. It would work if a parent left a child in a car, but it would also work to 1. alert a parent and 2. locate the child when a child runs off suddenly when you look away for just a second.

ETA: I also spent a bit of time staring at the car seat. The base looks like a Century Smartmove or Ovation, but the seat itself looks wrong. Like it is upside down or something. The back portion looks shorter than the leg portion.

I think the bracelet idea is fabulous! I'm also in agreement with you about the car seat looking upside down. It's strange.
Here's a bigger picture of it.
HEAT-popup.jpg
 

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