Child in car alarms

We live in Spain where it gets extremely hot in the summer, just as it does in the U.S. and elsewhere. We do not have a car here yet, but we will be getting one and I have a 1 year old and a 6 year old. A lot of children have died already this summer by being left in hot cars. There are a lot of products on the market. I'd like to know if anyone has tried one yet. It would be something I'd invest in once we get a car and another hot summer rolls around. I'd like to think I'd be too paranoid to ever forget my child (my six year old wouldn't let me!), but I also wouldn't want to take the chance.

Thanks

Most of those products interfere with the car seat so as to make it potentially unsafe and I would not recommend them.


At 1 year old, your child should be in a rear facing convertible, and it's rear facing children who are most at risk for being accidentally left in cars.

For parents that are concerned, I recommend getting a large doll or stuffed animal and buckling it into the child seat when the child is not in it. When you buckle the child into the child seat, remove the doll and buckle it into the front passenger seat. That way, you'll have a visual reminder as you get out of the car that your child is still in the car.

The other caution I would make to you is that these accidents usually happen when the parent is under a great deal of strain AND a significant change in routine has happened. Say one parent usually drops the child off at daycare, but that morning the parent is sick and staying home, so the other parent is responsible. She gets in the car, goes into 'automatic' mode on her route to work, and forgets the baby is in the car with her. She goes right to work without ever dropping off the baby, and forgets about the baby until she stops at day care that night to pick him up, because THAT'S the usual part of her routine.

A big thing is asking the day care provider/school to call if you're late to drop off. Some people put their purses/bags in the back seat when they have their child. Others put a sticky note or some kind of reminder in the front seat when they have the child. Any small change in your activity that you can make, that will make you look in the back seat before leaving the car, would help.

My dh has talked of some kind of proximity alarm. Something small that would clip to the baby's clothes and the parent's clothes. If the two sensors get a certain distance from each other, they sound a loud alarm. Then a parent would realize that they are too far. Also, would serve well for older children who might wander.

How about a proximity alarm? My neighbour use one of those for her toddler at the park. Its like a keychain thing you can attach to your child and will sound when you are like 6ft or more away.

This is not the exact model she use. just an example.
e.g. Child Guard Wandering Safety Alarm

rochelle said:

How about a proximity alarm? My neighbour use one of those for her toddler at the park. Its like a keychain thing you can attach to your child and will sound when you are like 6ft or more away.

This is not the exact model she use. just an example.
e.g. Child Guard Wandering Safety Alarm

Click to expand...

I could get behind this because it doesn't in any way interfere with the child restraint :thumbsup:

But I also think parents should not depend on gadgets. What if you forget to clip on the alarm or forget to activate it? In the scenario where child left in car is most likely to happen, it's due to a change in routine. If the routine is changed, it's likely the child alarm is forgotten as well.

Joyofbirth said:

My dh has talked of some kind of proximity alarm. Something small that would clip to the baby's clothes and the parent's clothes. If the two sensors get a certain distance from each other, they sound a loud alarm. Then a parent would realize that they are too far. Also, would serve well for older children who might wander.

Click to expand...

That is an excellent idea. My friend used this one http://www.specialtyalarms.com/site/1313932/product/00-1000 for her son when he started preschool. Even with all the security systems in place he kept leaving the building to look for her! She clipped it to his shoe or the back of his pants and worked wonderfully. As soon as he left the classroom (or back yard, he could scale the fence in 10 seconds at 2 years) it went off and he was retrieved.