It takes only a few minutes for a child to overheat, suffocate, and die in a hot car. Hot car deaths are more likely when days are hotter, so this is particularly concerning given the current heat wave impacting the U.S. and countries worldwide. Although more than 20 states in the U.S. have laws with penalties for leaving children alone in the car, children continue to be found dead in hot cars, with the most recent known death in the U.S. occurring on June 13, 2024.
According to the kids and car safety database, the three most common reasons for hot car deaths include the child being unknowingly left in the car (55%), the child gaining access to the car on their own (25%), and the child knowingly being left in the car (15%). These parents and guardians are typically devastated and never thought that this could happen to them. “Forgotten child syndrome” can happen to the most loving and responsible parents regardless of race/ethnicity and income level. While this is often a concern in first-time parents, it can also happen to more experienced parents. These deaths are preventable, so I will provide some of the reasons this may occur and ways to avoid it.
Babies and young children should never be left alone in the car. Even if you are just “running a quick errand,” it is best to take the child with you. Remember that while you are away from the car, you could become distracted and forget about your child in the car. Not to mention, you could have an emergency that makes you unable to return to the car, leaving the child alone for an extended time period. Sometimes, a young child may find their way into the car without you knowing, and that child may have difficulty getting out or the child may even fall asleep in the car.
Children Are Not Little Adults
One adage I learned from my pediatrics rotation in medical school was that “children are not little adults.” The child’s physiology is different, making the child more vulnerable to extremes of temperature than an adult. Children do not regulate their body temperature as well as adults so a child’s body heats up three to five times faster. When the temperature gets too hot for our bodies, a part of our brain called the hypothalamus send messages to our sweat glands to increase sweat production. Heat energy from our bodies will then convert the water in the sweat to water vapor, lowering our body temperature and allowing us to cool off. Additionally, the hypothalamus will cause our blood vessels near the skin’s surface to dilate, which allows more blood to get to the skin’s surface and remove more heat from the body.
The process that allows heat to escape the body to lower our body temperature does not work as well in children, which means children will get dehydrated much more quickly than adults. They will also suffer from heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and death more quickly. Once the child’s temperature hits 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the child’s major organs begin to shut down, which can lead to death.
Tips To Prevent Hot Car Deaths
For starters, you should never knowingly leave the child alone in the car, not even to run a “quick errand.” It is also important to lock the car once you are home and keep the keys out of the child’s reach.
As a vigilant first-time parent, after I read stories about “forgotten baby syndrome,” referring to parents forgetting their children in cars, leading to the child’s demise, I started considering what I could do to make sure this never happens to our family. These tips are not all-inclusive, so you should consider what aspects of your life might make you more prone to forgetting a child in a car and take preventive measures.
Whether your children are in the car or not, you should always check the back seat to ensure no children are in the car after you exit. This may seem ridiculous initially, but once you make it part of your routine, it is hard to stop doing it. I even did this when away on business trips, when I knew my children were not with me. Also, when you get home at the end of the day, check for the child in the backseat before you enter the home. The child is likely tired after a long day, just like you are, so the child may be sleeping, making it easier to forget the child.
You should speak to your child throughout the trip if the child can talk. If they cannot talk, you can periodically check on them throughout your trip. You can keep your work bag or other item in the backseat with the child which will force you to check the back seat when you reach your destination. You can also keep your child’s belongings in the front seat. Some schools/daycares have programs in which they will call you if your child is absent. This can be very helpful since if you thought you dropped the child off and you get a call that they are not there, this should prompt you to check the car for your child. If the school/daycare has an app that you can use to check on the child, you should login and check on the child at least once soon after you arrive at work. If there are two parents/guardians, both can habitually check the app. Because the morning routine can be mundane, you may have a false memory of dropping the child off at their school or daycare.
Attention to your wellness can also help make sure you remember your child in the car. You should get a good night’s sleep so you are not overly tired when managing your children in the morning. Leave early so that you are not rushed or stressed out as you do your morning routine because being rushed or stressed out in the morning can increase the likelihood of making an error. Limit or avoid distractions. The more distracted you are, the more likely you will forget a child in the car.
Lastly, try to live in the moment. Thinking about the various tasks you must do for the day may lead you to skip the drop-off and forgetting your child in the car. Enjoy the drive to the drop-off with your child, and after the drop-off you can start thinking about your day. When a different parent is doing the drop-off, that parent may go on auto-pilot and forget they were doing the drop-off today and drive straight to their workplace or to complete errands. Deviations from the regular schedule may increase the likelihood of forgetting about the child. This is why I encourage parents and guardians to be more vigilant when there is any deviation from the morning routine.
There is technology available to help parents remember their children in the rear seat and some automakers have indicated they will start making some features standard in the near future. This includes an alarm that goes off when the driver’s door opens or when the car is turned off to alert the driver that there is someone in the back seat. Some countries have already mandated such technology.
This summer, and year round, we should take all measures we can to avoid having our babies and children suffer from heat-related illnesses, especially hot car deaths. Forgotten baby syndrome can happen to even the best parents, so it is essential for anyone handling small children to be vigilant. It is important to note that this guidance also applies to people with significant disabilities, particularly those who are nonverbal or have limited mobility. Taking these essential steps will help prevent harm to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and allow us to collectively start driving down the number of hot car deaths.
