The Mom Chronicles: Kids and Cars (7/15)

The Mom Chronicles: Kids and Cars


I was inspired for this week's column by an aritcle I recently read in a parenting magazine. It was hugely eye opening and I wanted to share it with you. The issue? Safety in and around cars and kids. There is a phenominal website on the topic of kids and vehicle safety and it is www.kidsand cars.com . Most of the content in this column comes from it and I urge you to visit it if you get a chance.

The fact is, when we think of kids and car safety we think of seat belts or car seats. We sometimes think of them being rolled or run over. Rarely do we think about the other risks.

Point taken from the website: A car is not a toy, a backyard, and certainly not a babysitter.

Some of the most common incidences with cars involve overheating by deadly temps in cars, accidentally knocking a car in to gear, being strangled by power windows, sunroofs or other power accessories, abducted from cars, getting locked in the trunk in an innocent game of hide and seak and carbon monoxide poisioning. Minnesota has had 15 deaths related to these things in children in the past decade, and that is on the low end. Some states have had over 50 deaths. Most are unintentional and accidents, and that doesn't make them any easier to swallow.

Backovers are the greatest cause of injuries and fatalities in kids when it comes to cars. In fact, 50 kids a week are backed over by a vehicle due to lack of visibility. One picture on the kids and cars website showed 62 kids sitting on the ground behind an SUV. Not one was visible to the driver because of the blind spots the SUV had. As parents, how many of us drive those large trucks or SUV's, even mini-vans? How often do the kids play in the driveway and how many times have you late to somewhere took off out of the driveway in a hurry with out knowing fully where your children are? It only takes one time, and unfortunately, 50 kids a week fall victim to this one time.

Additionally, my kids are two that love to "drive" aka play in the car. I have to drag them kicking and screaming sometimes away from the car reminding them it is not a toy, and yet the next time I get in and turn the key, my windshield wipers turn on, the music is blared and I have a CD in my player that wasn't there when I left it. That happens in minutes. While there are no keys in the ignition. What could happen in minutes if there were?

And how about those errands when we want to run in and pay for gas or grab something in the store while our kids wait for us in the parked car? The website's montra is "Not even for a minute". It takes seconds for a child to decide to get out of their car seat and come find mom or dad, or for mom to become distracted on a hot day in the cool comforts of a grocery store and forget her child sitting in the cooking car. Are you willing to take the risk? Now I know, it is a huge temptation. For me I think do I want to drag two kids in to the gas station where there are treats and distractions, etc? Or do I want to spare myself and run in and pay and get out in far less time and stress? I am sure I am not the only one who struggles with this. But who ultimately will pay the price if you leave them?

And finally, as it comes to overheating, the article which prompted me to do this column was about a distracted mom out of her daily habit who thought she dropped her sleeping baby in the back seat off at day care and instead left it in the car all day while she worked. The child died due to overheating. It was eye opening how easily we can become distracted and how getting out of our daily routines is an easy way for accidents to happen. Have a small child in a car seat? So this doesn't happen to you try these suggestions: keep a small stuffed animal in your child's car seat. When you put them in it move it to the front seat, when you take them out put it back. This way you will have a visual cue to check the back seat. Put your purse, bag, etc in the back as a matter of habit, even if the kids are not in the car. This will make you turn around to see the back seat. Make an agreement with your child care provider if you are late by twenty minutes on any given day that they call you. This way if you get to work and forget your child in the car, you are prompted.

While this information is so basic, and I don't mean to insult your intelligence by addressing it, things happen each day. Thousands of drivers are distracted at any given moment. And while you can't do anything about other people's inattentiveness, you can do a whole lot about yours. Cutting corners may save a minute or two, but in the long run, is the added risk to your child by not taking them in to the store with you, or allowing them to play in the car, or by not being aware of where they are before you back out of the driveway worth the risk?

Finally, do an experiment. Have your kids stand at different locations around your car while you are in it so you get a sense of your cars blind spots. This may not only be educational, but eye opening as you discover just how easy it would be for an accident to happen if your child is around your car.

I hope you all continue to have a safe and fabulous summer. Remember, not even for a minute. See you next week!