I am
heartbroken each time I watch the news and learn that another parent has
forgotten their baby in the car and returned to find that something horrible
has happened. I will be a parent soon and these are the things that keep me
awake at night. After careful thought, I would like to offer some free and
relatively easy solutions that may help new parents to overcome unexpected
diversions that too often direct your attention away from your baby.
Develop a new
routine to always check the back seat of a vehicle before you leave it, whether
it is yours or not. Another important thing to do when you approach a vehicle
is to look completely around it for hidden obstructions like children or toys.
When you reach your destination and exit the vehicle, immediately open the back
door and look into the back seat. Do this whether you know that you have your
baby in the car or not. It is imperative that this becomes a habit for both
parents and for anyone who will ever transport your child. If you are certain
that you dropped the child off at the daycare or if you know that today is not
your day to drive them, remember... making a careless mistake on the wrong day
has needlessly cost the lives of too many young children.
If you are an
employer, you have the ability and should make it a priority to watch after
employees who transport young children prior to coming to work. Designate
several rows of parking spaces for parents only. Have a few people routinely
walk through the parking lot each morning to check those cars for forgotten
children. This is a perfect job for security guards whose job is to patrol the
parking lot anyway. Offer them an incentive to perform these checks. Also, post
signs in the entrance of your building with a reminder about leaving small
children in vehicles unattended.
Become better
acquainted with your co-workers and develop a habit of asking other parents of
young children how their children were doing this morning and what color shirt
did their teacher have on this morning. Just that type of reminder may cause a
person to remember that they never actually dropped the child off. Pay
attention to small details. When you walk into the building from the parking
lot, keep an eye out for car seats and casually look into cars as you walk
past.
For the parents
of small children who take them to daycare daily, be sure that your daycare has
a list of emergency numbers, including several work numbers. Ask that they call
each number and let someone know if you have not dropped your child off with
them after a certain time. Check your cell phone each morning after arriving at
work to be sure nobody has left messages for you. If you use Microsoft Outlook,
set daily reminders asking whether you remembered your child. If you carry a
briefcase with you to work, always put it in the back seat in the floor beside
your child's car seat. That way, you will have to open the back door to
retrieve it and you may discover an important surprise when you least expect it.
Hopefully,
some of these tips will help parents to remember what is most important. If
work becomes too stressful and you have difficulty focusing on the things that
you are supposed to do, stop for a moment. Take a deep breath. Exhale slowly
and ask yourself, "Why am I at work?" Your most obvious response is
"to make money." Why do you need money? To take care of your family
because they are important to you. Do not forget this! Take an extra 10 seconds
out of your hectic morning commute to simply check the back seat of your car!
If
you are a parent and you are reading this article at work, stop what you are
doing and go check your car. Do it right now! Tell your boss that you need a
breath of fresh air. If this article helps save just one child, then it will be
the most important thing I've ever written for this website.
Tips & Warnings
- Your family should be your top priority!
- Protect them and think of them every minute of the day!
- If you carry any one particular item with you to work that you will need throughout the day, be sure to place it in the floorboard in the back seat, beside your child's car seat.
- If you are a parent and you think that this could never happen to you... you are WRONG!
- Be sure that your daycare has multiple emergency numbers and that they know what time to start calling them. Take a sick day sometime and put them to the test.
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