Baby Talk: Here are things you can do to keep kids from dying in hot cars

It is a sad fact children die preventable deaths. Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of deaths for children and adolescents according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The leading cause of preventable death in Florida is drowning. Diligent and watchful eyes on every child near water, is the No. 1 way of preventing a drowning.

This time of year, another unintentional preventable death is leaving a child in the car.

It only takes 10 minutes for a car temperature to become deadly. On the average, 37 children die from heat strokes because they were left in a car. Yes we know it happens more in the summer because cars get hot quicker, but this can happen even when the temperature is 57 degrees.

From 1998–2017, 742 children died from heatstroke in a car. According to the Children’s Safety network, 54 percent of those children were simply forgotten by a caregiver. Twenty-eight percent were playing alone in a vehicle. Tragically, 17 percent were left in the vehicle by an adult on purpose and 1 percent died under unknown circumstances.

Heatstroke can happen even when it is cool outside. The lowest-known outside temperature at which heatstroke can occur is 57 degrees. That is a lovely winter day in Florida. Even cars parked in the shade, with windows open, can get hot fast.

We live in a society that welcomes and endorses multitasking. How many people do you know think they can safely drive a car and talk on a phone at the same time?

Talk to someone in law enforcement, fire departments or emergency medical services and ask them how safe it is to talk on the phone and drive. They will tell you how dangerous it is and how awful the scenes are when someone dies because they thought they could multitask.

The most common reason told when a tragedy of a child left in a car is the care giver was rushing, had too many thoughts going through their mind. There may have been a change in the schedule and they just simply forgot the child was in the car.

There is no safe amount of time to leave a child in the car, not even for “just a minute.”

If you are transporting a child, always check the back seat every time you leave the car. If you bring your child to a daycare, make sure the daycare knows to call you if your child is not in attendance.

You can set up a reminder system by leaving your phone in the back seat. That will also help you to not talk on the phone while driving.

Keep car doors and trunks locked. Keep the keys out of reach. Do not allow your children to play with your keys. They can be taught keys are not something to play with or feel comfortable handling. Children are clever and love to explore, especially toddlers. Cars should never be a play area and car keys are not toys.

If you see a child left alone in a vehicle, call 911. If the door is unlocked open the door.

Our children are a future. Let us do everything possible to keep them healthy and alive.

Katie Powers, R.N., is a board-certified lactation consultant and perinatal educator at Manatee Memorial Hospital’s Family BirthPlace. Her column appears every other week in Healthy Living. Contact her at katie.powers@mmhhs.com.