A public service announcement about the dangers of leaving children in the car on a hot day.
File this under the obvious. Why you’d leave your child in the car unattended at all is a mystery to us. But over past decade, an estimated 36 children die every year from being left in a hot car, according to a study by the National Weather Service. Most hyperthermia deaths are accidental and many parents are unaware of how dangerous it is to leave children in cars unattended – even for a short period of time. For example, when the outside temperature is 75 degrees, a vehicle’s interior can reach more than 100 degrees in a half hour.
This was produced and distributed by General Motors. We post it in part because it’s good marketing.
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1 response so far ↓
1 Mickki // Jun 6, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Hey Max,
Thanks for your warning about leaving children in hot cars. However, I feel compelled to comment about the statement, “Why you’d leave your child in the car unattended at all is a mystery to us.”
My other brother and I are 15 months apart, and he has had cerebral palsy since birth. I don’t know if the person who made this statement has children or has ever been the primary caregiver of children, but surely I’m not the only one who understands WHY you would leave the kids in the car for a few minutes to run an errand. Caring for kids is tough, and trying to buy groceries while hauling around kids is even harder.
I’m not condoning irresponsible parenting or putting children in danger. But I spent lots of time in the car with my brother as a child while my mother did the things necessary to keep us going. You imagine having to carry a growing kid who can’t walk while managing another spunky kid, all while buying groceries and unable to afford a babysitter.
I think there are deeper social problems that we need to address, specifically the pressures on parents to single-handedly raise children while doing everything else there is in life. If we could once again rely upon other responsible caregivers like grandparents, siblings and neighbors to care for kids while parents are otherwise occupied, perhaps we wouldn’t have 36 children dead every year from staying in the car. When we spread out something like child care over dozens of trusted people, the burden on one or two caregivers is significantly reduced.
It will take reknitting our social fabric to provide what people need. It’s up to us to do this, and requires both thinking in new ways of getting what we need and doing the work of building the kinds of relationships required…where we know who people are and what they can be trusted for.
Babysitting/childcare cooperatives have sprung up in communities trying to address the need for affordable, quality child care. Just search “babysitting coop” to find all sorts of resources. Here’s one: http://www.nncc.org/Choose.Quality.Care/qual.sitter.coop.html
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