On the morning radio show my husband listens to as he gets ready for work (and I listen to as I try to sleep instead of being awakened by his getting ready for work), the topic was parents leaving their young kids in a hot car, basically a death sentence if not caught in time.
Every summer, there are always cases of this happening (there have been several already this year), yet that example doesn’t seem to stop these cases from happening. So, my hubby and I were talking about what it would take for parents–if you believe reports that they were on “autopilot” and really truly forgot–to remember their child? Clearly telling people to pay attention and not leave their kids (what authorities do every year) is not 100 percent effective. My husband had a great idea on something that might help.
Put your must-have work stuff with your other must-have (your kid). Yes, if you need a badge to get into work, put it right next to the kid. If you have a purse, don’t keep it up front. Next to your kid. A cell phone? There’s no texting while driving anyway, so put it next to your kid. Give yourself a reason to look where your kid is everyday before you go to work. If you happen to be on autopilot and forget your purse, guess what, you’ll notice that fairly quickly and go back to find your little one pulling out the cell phone to dial 911 himself, perhaps!
Just a thought. Sorry it’s so random and unconnected to other blog posts. But, I’m a writer–we have random, unconnected moments occasionally (OK, a lot, but keep that on the down low).
As an aside, the case that sparked the radio discussion this morning wasn’t even true! A viral video accused a woman of leaving her kids in the car to get her hair done, forcing a stranger break the window with a hammer and rescue the kids. I’ll-make-up-my-own-story-videogrpaher had it all wrong. Several witnesses came forward and said the mother had just gotten both kids buckled in and somehow locked her keys and the kids in the car. She was frantic. The service people she called said it would take two hours to get there and get the kids out. She pleaded to coax the toddler to flip the unlock switch, with no luck. At that point, the frantic mother begged passersby to smash her window so she could get her kids out (go, Mom!).
Anyway, that’s a feel good way to end this post. Have a happy Wednesday.