Child tragedy in hot car, parents rushing to buy 'Baby Alert'

CandCfam

New member
This story was posted on another board, and a parent posted THIS item, the Baby Alert replacement chest clip, as a safety device to help parents remember their child.

Now, how do you convince a parent who is freaked about about the possibility of leaving their child in the car, that it's not a good idea to replace the manufacturer's chest clip with this 'awesome' safety device, replacement chest clip? Especially with all the talk about how chest clips aren't even ON seats in other countries, and that they are a pre-crash positioner?

What do you think? Any advice on what to say to these parents? Leave it alone and don't tell them the potential hazard of an aftermarket product?
 
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Niea

New member
The idea is a good one, but the execution needs work. As you said, it's an aftermarket product and has not been crashtested.

What I would like to see is another product, that is safe to be used with carseats, be developed. Maybe something built into the seat that detects weight and knows if a child is sitting in it. . that kind of thing.
 

MagnificentMama

Senior Community Member
Where do people come up with this stuff? Seriously! I mean... I don't know... call my a horrible person but if you're going to leave your kid out in the sweltering heat and need a device that's a total PITA (not to mention totally unsafe) to make sure you don't forget about your child. I think you may need to reevaluate your common sense-o-meter.

*sigh* Stuff like this annoys me. I know accidents happen, no one is perfect and whatnot, but seriously- how could you forget about your kid and need a constant annoying alarm that's supposed to trigger a "hey... I think i left (insert childs name here) in the back seat. I should go check!" reaction in your brain!

There I said it. I'm a mean person. I should be able to sympathize with these situations, but I just can't. Forget something on a grocery list.. that's okay. Forget that your kid need 39487594387 million cupcakes by tomorrow... it happens. Forgetting about your kid in the car .... not cool!
 

MaryAnn

New member
Where do people come up with this stuff? Seriously! I mean... I don't know... call my a horrible person but if you're going to leave your kid out in the sweltering heat and need a device that's a total PITA (not to mention totally unsafe) to make sure you don't forget about your child. I think you may need to reevaluate your common sense-o-meter.

*sigh* Stuff like this annoys me. I know accidents happen, no one is perfect and whatnot, but seriously- how could you forget about your kid and need a constant annoying alarm that's supposed to trigger a "hey... I think i left (insert childs name here) in the back seat. I should go check!" reaction in your brain!

There I said it. I'm a mean person. I should be able to sympathize with these situations, but I just can't. Forget something on a grocery list.. that's okay. Forget that your kid need 39487594387 million cupcakes by tomorrow... it happens. Forgetting about your kid in the car .... not cool!

I couldn't agree more!
 

Morganthe

New member
"Experts said it was a classic recipe for disaster: multitasking parents breaking routine and losing track of who had the baby.
.........
Every case was different, but many shared a common thread, Fennell said: a busy or stressed parent who wasn't used to having the child in the car.

"You're on autopilot, you go to work, lock your car, you walk in," said Fennell."


from the mother:
I know that many people cannot understand how anyone could forget his/her child. Believe me, I was the same way. Not a month before all of this happened, I had heard about a father who had forgotten his baby. I told Ed that if he ever forgot Mackenzee, I would kill him. He looked at me and said, "What kind of an idiot forgets their child." My husband struggles with blame everyday. He and I both don't understand how he could have forgotten her, but he did. This kind of thing is happening way too often. Ed and I didn't think that it could happen to us. We thought we were immune.

That's how children are forgotten about. Seriously, in the right condition, I believe it could happen to any of us. It's not as if these caring parents were drunk or bad, they were extremely concientous of safety, otherwise their young children would be ff'd or loose in the seats.

I bet too having large vehicles such as an SUV or Minivan where the child seat is in the back and NO mirror showing a parent a baby's face also contributes to this unawareness.

That would be my suggestion as a solution. Heck with an electronic device. Simply have a good mirror that the driver could see if the baby's seat is occupied or not. Even now, I look in the aux mirror, I have the opposite reaction. There's a quick moment of worry when dd's not there, until I realize she's with her dad safe & sound.
 

teekadog

Active member
Perhaps there's a more DIY approach to remembering your kid is in the car. From now on when I buckle my kids in the car on a hot day I'm going to unhook my bra. That way, I'll have a constant reminder to stay focused, though my boobs might fly about a bit more in a crash. It's a risk I'm willing to take for my kids, but I'm not going to risk what might happen in a crash if I replace the manufacturer-approved chest clip.
 

Synchro246

New member
Well, since the clip is a pre-crash positioning device I would tend to think that an aftermarket replacement that happens to sing wouldn't be too much of a big deal as long as it keeps the straps roughly in place.

That being said: Something about that story screamed FAKE to me. Sorry for anyone's anguish, and I can't exactly finger it, but. . .I don't know. It didn't seem that real, though I do believe it can and does happen.
 

ZephyrBlue

New member
My heart aches for any parent who looses a child. No matter the circumstances.

But. If you cannot remember that your infant is in the car....I think that you need to re-evaluate your priorities, not run out and buy a don't-leave-the-baby-in-the-car alarm. And I don't have a lot of sympathy for the "we're both working parents and we both thought the other had taken the baby to daycare" excuse, either. This is one of my SAHM soapbox moments. SOMEONE needs to have the kids be their foremost priority- if both parents are so distracted by their jobs/other responsibilites that they can't remmber where the kid is, something is wrong.
 

UlrikeDG

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus
Well, since the clip is a pre-crash positioning device I would tend to think that an aftermarket replacement that happens to sing wouldn't be too much of a big deal as long as it keeps the straps roughly in place.

Harness retainer clip
A plastic or fabric device that holds the shoulder straps of a harness in place on the child’s chest to achieve good pre-crash positioning. During a crash, the clip often is designed to either slide down the straps or separate if it has two parts. The harness clip should be placed at the level of the child’s armpits. For small babies, if there is not enough room above the buckle to position the clip at the armpits, a different CR should be used. The purpose of the clip is not to hold the child in the restraint, but to keep the shoulder straps in position, which is especially important if the harness is not adjusted snugly. Harness retainer clips are provided with most CR models in the US, but they are not permitted in Europe because of concerns about removing the child from the harness in an emergency.

A common problem at checkups is a missing retainer clip. Some CR manufacturers have stated that parts made by other companies should not be used with their products. However, instructions also state that the harness clip must be used. Technicians should keep a supply of clips from different manufacturers for use at checkups, to be used temporarily until parents can order the correct replacement clip from the CR manufacturer. (3/07)

There's no way of knowing how this after market replacement clip will react in an actual crash. Will it move down? Will it break open? Or will it crush the baby's windpipe?
 

MagnificentMama

Senior Community Member
And I don't have a lot of sympathy for the "we're both working parents and we both thought the other had taken the baby to daycare" excuse, either.

Umm... I have the single parent, work 2 jobs at night so we can actually eat, go to school full time, and still manage to pack in a TON of parent time and I can't honestly say i've ever forgotten where my kiddo was and if she was/wasn't in the car. It doesn't matter how overloaded I am, I always know where she is at all times.

Well, since the clip is a pre-crash positioning device I would tend to think that an aftermarket replacement that happens to sing wouldn't be too much of a big deal as long as it keeps the straps roughly in place.

I see where you'd think along those lines, but i'm thinking more in terms of crash dynamics. The clip is meant to hold the straps in place and "break" upon impact. I can see that clip not breaking and actually breaking a rib or two if you hit it in the right place KWIM? Most chest clips are "plastic" and they're "flimsy" for a reason. This doesn't look like flimsy plastic. This looks like "it can break your kids rib, but that's okay, you'll know they're in the back seat when this alarm goes off!"
 

crunchierthanthou

New member
I'm not talented enough to rehook my bra in public, but I do have a little trick. I put my wallet and cell phone on the seat next to ds's carseat. He rides rf outboard on the passenger side and I put them on the side by the door. I might be forgetful enough to leave my kid in the car someday, but I'll never make it 5 steps without missing my cell phone. :whistle:
 

EzzieMom

New member
"Experts said it was a classic recipe for disaster: multitasking parents breaking routine and losing track of who had the baby.
.........
Every case was different, but many shared a common thread, Fennell said: a busy or stressed parent who wasn't used to having the child in the car.

"You're on autopilot, you go to work, lock your car, you walk in," said Fennell."


from the mother:
I know that many people cannot understand how anyone could forget his/her child. Believe me, I was the same way. Not a month before all of this happened, I had heard about a father who had forgotten his baby. I told Ed that if he ever forgot Mackenzee, I would kill him. He looked at me and said, "What kind of an idiot forgets their child." My husband struggles with blame everyday. He and I both don't understand how he could have forgotten her, but he did. This kind of thing is happening way too often. Ed and I didn't think that it could happen to us. We thought we were immune.

That's how children are forgotten about. Seriously, in the right condition, I believe it could happen to any of us. It's not as if these caring parents were drunk or bad, they were extremely concientous of safety, otherwise their young children would be ff'd or loose in the seats.

ITA!!!:thumbsup:
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
There I said it. I'm a mean person. I should be able to sympathize with these situations, but I just can't. Forget something on a grocery list.. that's okay. Forget that your kid need 39487594387 million cupcakes by tomorrow... it happens. Forgetting about your kid in the car .... not cool!

I used to think only unsupervised kids strangled to death. Until my 3 year old son almost strangled to death in a cord blind in the very next room. I'd just checked on the kids ten minutes earlier; the blinds were down and the cord was out of their reach, as usual. I could hear them playing. But my son almost died.

It only takes seconds to make a fatal mistake, and no one's perfect 100% of the time. We look at something like this and think they forgot about their kid for hours, but they didn't. They only forgot for a few seconds, and after that when they thought about their child, they thought he was safe at daycare.
 

lovinwaves

New member
I used to think only unsupervised kids strangled to death. Until my 3 year old son almost strangled to death in a cord blind in the very next room. I'd just checked on the kids ten minutes earlier; the blinds were down and the cord was out of their reach, as usual. I could hear them playing. But my son almost died.

OMGsh!! You poor thing! How incredibly scary!! :eek:
 

CandCfam

New member
Thanks to everyone for their input.
I wonder if CSR manufacturer's would be willing to crash test their product with something like the 'Baby Alert'?

I have to say that I am also concerned about those who are putting potential dangers on seats, unsecured, as reminders.

The police officer/CPST, who installed our infant seat for Taylor, had a coworker who he installed their infant seat for. This coworker and his wife and child were in an accident, and while the child's seat protected her from the impact of the accident, the dad's loose cell phone hit her in the head and killed her.

I too just cannot imagine how forgetting a child in a car happens. I just have a hard time wrapping my brain around that. But then again, I am a SAHM, who has primary care for our girls, so we're not rushing around to drop off at daycare or otherwise.

There has to be a better way for (g)people to remember their kids are in the car with them than to put flying objects on the seats next to them. Maybe a window cling that they put on the driver's window that says 'Kid in car seat' or similar?

I'm just more concerned about the more real threat of what would happen in a car accident, than the minute possibility that someone might forget their child is in the car with them. Obviously the latter happens, but not as often as car accidents.
 

Synchro246

New member
Harness retainer clip

There's no way of knowing how this after market replacement clip will react in an actual crash. Will it move down? Will it break open? Or will it crush the baby's windpipe?

Umm... I have the single parent, work 2 jobs at night so we can actually eat, go to school full time, and still manage to pack in a TON of parent time and I can't honestly say i've ever forgotten where my kiddo was and if she was/wasn't in the car. It doesn't matter how overloaded I am, I always know where she is at all times.


I see where you'd think along those lines, but i'm thinking more in terms of crash dynamics. The clip is meant to hold the straps in place and "break" upon impact. I can see that clip not breaking and actually breaking a rib or two if you hit it in the right place KWIM? Most chest clips are "plastic" and they're "flimsy" for a reason. This doesn't look like flimsy plastic. This looks like "it can break your kids rib, but that's okay, you'll know they're in the back seat when this alarm goes off!"


good points :thumbsup:


I'm not talented enough to rehook my bra in public, but I do have a little trick. I put my wallet and cell phone on the seat next to ds's carseat. He rides rf outboard on the passenger side and I put them on the side by the door. I might be forgetful enough to leave my kid in the car someday, but I'll never make it 5 steps without missing my cell phone. :whistle:
awesome idea
 
The second half of the news story in the first link:

HOW COULD IT HAPPEN?

Safety experts say most parents have the same reaction: It could never happen to them.

"They tend to think it happens to people who are on drugs or drinking or uncaring parents," said Janett Fennell, president of Kids and Cars, a Kansas group that tracks noncrash auto deaths of children.

But an analysis of child hyperthermia deaths by The Associated Press, published last month, found that alcohol was a factor in only 7 percent.

The AP, using data from Fennell's group, found many accidents involved what might be called community pillars: dentists and nurses, ministers and college professors, a concert violinist and a NASA engineer.

Every case was different, but many shared a common thread, Fennell said: a busy or stressed parent who wasn't used to having the child in the car.

"You're on autopilot, you go to work, lock your car, you walk in," said Fennell.


The numbers of children who died trapped in hot cars has risen sharply since 1994, when six were killed.

Null, the meteorologist, said a key reason is that parents changed their habits after front-seat air-bag deaths hit a peak of 60 in 1995.

They put their kids in the back seat, where children, especially sleeping babies, can be out of sight and out of mind. Tots in modern car seats face backward, making them harder to see. And parents may be accustomed to leaving empty seats in their cars.

Air-bag deaths plummeted to zero by 2002 and have stayed there. But heat deaths averaged 36 a year from 1998-2006, and spiked at 43 in 2005.

Experts suggest that parents of young children keep a visual reminder in the front seat, such as a teddy bear, that a child is in back. Others urge parents to put a wallet or cell phone — anything whose absence would be quickly noticed — with the baby.

The death of the 7-month-old came the same day a 2-year-old was reported to have died the same way outside a school near Cincinnati, making them the 22nd and 23rd such deaths in the U.S. so far this year.

The Associated Press analysis of more than 310 fatal incidents in the past decade found that charges were filed in about half. About four in five of those cases resulted in convictions or guilty pleas, the wire service found. Half of those brought jail sentences, with the median sentence being two years.

A group called Kids In Cars, in Washington, Mo., has advocated for charges in such incidents.

Terrill Struttmann started the group after his son, 2, was killed by a van put in gear by another 2-year-old. He said charges send a message that leaving a child in a car is unacceptable.

"But I also feel, especially with tragic circumstances like this, that no charges are going to rectify the situation," he said. "It's too late. We need to look at why these are happening."

Six years ago, a 3-year-old boy was killed in Jasper, Mo., after his parents left him in the car for an hour while they were inside a church. Authorities said then that the couple was preoccupied and forgot about the baby.

The prosecutor in that case, Steve Kaderly, said Thursday that a coroner's jury in Barton County found the death accidental and that he declined to issue charges.

"There was a sense that these people lost a kid," he said. "How much more would they have to go through?"
(bold mine)

I'm always surprised by responses which claim they are somehow immune to these types of tragedies. :(

I'm a SAHM, love my children beyond measure, and am PARANOID about their safety and certainly their whereabouts, practically every moment of every day. But I've had a close call of my own a few years back when the sleeping toddler was forgotten in the car for a while as we carried in the baby, groceries, and other things. It wasn't until after I'd put the groceries away and started to serve a snack that I realized the toddler wasn't in the house. It wasn't a high-stress situation, we weren't in a hurry, it was just your average, everyday, busy-ness. Nobody here who stays home with their kids has days like that?
 

EzzieMom

New member
I'm always surprised by responses which claim they are somehow immune to these types of tragedies. :(

I'm a SAHM, love my children beyond measure, and am PARANOID about their safety and certainly their whereabouts, practically every moment of every day. But I've had a close call of my own a few years back when the sleeping toddler was forgotten in the car for a while as we carried in the baby, groceries, and other things. It wasn't until after I'd put the groceries away and started to serve a snack that I realized the toddler wasn't in the house. It wasn't a high-stress situation, we weren't in a hurry, it was just your average, everyday, busy-ness. Nobody here who stays home with their kids has days like that?

Yep! I've only got 2 kids and I've had days like that. Where I just am so busy in my head, or paying bills, thinking about whats for dinner, doing dishes etc.
Like I said on the other "hot cars" thread, I forgot my baby in the car for, maybe at the most, 30 sec. once. I was nursing, tired, up all night long, plus has a toddler that was a nightmare to deal with (she wasn't too happy after I brought home her baby sister:)) and saw the photographer in front of my house and got excited to see the pictures he had just taken of the girls. It was just for a few seconds but whose to say I wouldn't have gotten distrated and totally forgotten her? Mistakes happen.
 

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