Why Are People Forgetting Their Children In Hot Cars?

They are not forgetting.

tv,

it is due in part to daycare and 2 parents working.

when children stay home, stressed-out distracted parents are not toting them around in cars every day.

but needing to drop off a child before work creates that space where people do forget -

especially if there is a change in routine.



Other than that, I don't know. Never heard of it much decades ago.

now all too common.

I wish I had an answer...I honestly cannot see any reason a parent/guardian can say "I forgot"...How can you forget you put a child in the back seat...You had to feed...dress the child before going out the door...You had to secure the child in the car seat/booster seat...But when get to the store you SUDDENLY forget you had one!...Sorry...But NO!...This is an act of cruelty...And selfishness!

They never used to report it on the news as it was seen as an awful accident, whereas today we have a facist state and sensationalist media that now chooses to report it as neglect, and hype up the untold cruelty involved, to emphasize the need to control the stupid masses who can't look after themselves and are inherently evil and twisted and incapable

in this day and age of child care, most parents only have thier children with them for very limited periods of time.

therefore it is very easy to forget something that you are not used to having around...

a sad statement ofon the american public

however, there are times and under certain circumstances that a parent might do this, but only very carefully...

I am a parent of a very active child(who is now grown and is in the military and married last march at 19) and the only time he would sleep during the day was in his car seat...there were many times, after picking up his siblings from school, that I let him sleep in his car seat...however, the car was parked under a tree in the yard(yes, I drove over the lawn), the windows were open AND I was sitting in a lawn chair near the car(relaxing for a well deserved moment!) I would get about 30 minutes of extra sleep out him by doing this...was worth it because he was a wreck with out the sleep.

I am saddened for parents like this...not just becuase of this loss, but because of the 'disconnect' in families today...

the child care provider is more a parent than the parent.

sincerely,

C

of MURDER

I suppose that could be, but it sure seems you'd remember at some point - their minds seem very compartmentalized not to.

Sometimes I can't remember if the cat is in or out, but usually only on those days they go in and out so much, not really the same though.

you are so right.

Daycare kids orient to the pack, not to the family. Their allegiance is to the group.

nice way to get that nap!!

I think the ones who intentionally leave their children in hot cars are few and far between. I think with all the craziness and rushing around and stress, and perhaps sleepiness in the morning, people can lose track of what's going on and sometimes a horrible accident can happen. I shudder to think I would ever make a mistake like that. That would be the saddest thing, I couldn't go on living.

in part, blame multitasking, the extreme stress of many jobs, in other cases, it may be drug use.

The poster who pointed out that working parents spend so little time with their children is right.

Back in the 70s we were on vacation with our cousins and had six or seven kids in the station wagon. We stopped at a gas station and left, leaving my brother (who was still in the bathroom), the adults realized in less than a mile though and my brother came out of the bathroom not even realizing we had left him.

This makes very sad sense.

I believe this is happening.

All you kids probably had a good laugh at that.

because they are to concerned with texting and taking selfies.

Yes, we did

Nowadays he would have been there for hours and I guess all us kids would have been focused on our smart phones, and the parents wouldn't have realized until we checked into a motel, if then :(

Wonder if the man in Atlanta who forgot his 22 month old logged into Facebook during that tragic day.

Was talking to a friend about this very subject
yesterday.
A sad commentary on our society that children
are "forget-able".

I hope we all wake up in time to save ourselves from this society.

Kids used to sit in the front seat.

Remember that?

Since airbags were invented and backward facing car seats, etc, kids are now required to be seated in the back seat.

Back in the day cars were cars, there were no mini vans or 4 wheel drive vehicles, you either had a car, pick up truck, full size van or a station wagon.

Add to that tinted windows and you have the recipe for forgetting a sleeping shild in the back seat of a vehicle you can't see into when you get out.

Some are just ignorant, stoned (on legal or illegal drugs) or functional alcoholics that didn't get a good night's sleep...then mix in some stress, then add in it's out-of-routine, as prior posted stated, in a hurry, plus cell phone distraction, and well, yeah, there goes the kid.

I can understand if you have a BIG family like in the old days, like what other poster said, and forgetting one, ha!
Didn't get a good count, but you'd think ONE of the kids would say, hey Mom and Dad you're forgetting Susie.

Wasn't there a kid left late at day care the other day? And haven't we seen so many kids found at the bus garage after the drivers forgot them.

Someone on the CDC thread was suggesting checks and balances. Perhaps that's what is needed here. If mom takes baby to day care, dad has to call her to make sure she dropped baby off and vice versa. If day care expects you and you don't show you have to call them and say you aren't bringing baby or they will call you right away when they realize you aren't coming.

Nah, he'd have texted asking "hey I don't see you guys, where are you?"

Car seats are in the back seat. Cant see the kids. If you are tired and rushed you just go on auto pilot and if the routine changes...
But why is it men? Is it because kids arent as important to them? Should we be able to shut off air bags and put the kids in front? Were any of these kids left in there on purpose? Kids need to be in front where they can be seen. If sleeping they wont make any noise to remind the parent

he couldn't wait to check his GLP thread he posted!

long lasting effects of sleep aids:

[link to well.blogs.nytimes.com]

Even setting aside the controversial new study, the risks of popular sedative hypnotics can be significant. They can trigger severe allergic reactions in rare cases and may increase breathing problems; they can worsen depression, often a cause of sleeplessness.

They can contribute to confusion that affects judgment and behavior and have been implicated in falls that can be fatal for older adults. They may be involved in overdoses in combination with alcohol, and their use raises the risk of car accidents.

Patients who use hypnotics also have reported engaging in complex and bizarre behaviors while they are in a half-awake, half-asleep state, from raiding the fridge in the middle of the night to having sex, talking on the phone and even driving.

This is reported by investigators as the main reason children are being forgotten in their backseat carriers. Last summer they were recommending parents put a teddy bear or doll in the front seat to remind you that you have a baby or child in back.

Society doesn't give our thought process a moments rest...No excuse, but majority of people are auto piloted zombies...distractions, distractions, distractions ...Other things are more important right? Slip of the mind from an over crowded thought system.

In addition to other good answers. Air conditioning was still an OPTION on cars until the mid 1990s. Many people could not afford to run A.C. in their homes. Tons and tons of workplaces and public places did not run A.C.

people had instincts about breeze, fans and shade. car windows would only ever be closed if it was raining, and even with that mothers did not leave young kids confined at any time.

It happens occasionally because certain people, a very small minority of people, are absolutely retarded.

You only see this on the news because literally EVERY time it happens, it makes the evening news.

It's not a trend. It's not a long-term issue that needs to, or even CAN be dealt with.

Doom "off" on this one folks.