Remind me I left the kid in the car!

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
You sometimes see a report of a kid left on a school bus at the end of the day - usually no fatalities but reminds me of when I drove a school bus for one year.  More than once I had a small kid zonk out on me and slip down in the seat where you could not see them.  My last stop in the pm was a large yard so I took the time to do a complete walk back through the bus to check for nappers.  In my one year, I found at least six sleepers none of whom were visible from the drivers seat.  Parents have to learn to never divert their attention to their most important duty.

Bill
 
Bill, your story reminds me of some acquaintances in our younger days; Their son was always up to some mischief. One time, the Mom was on the service bus with him en route to school. The Mom liked to chat with other Moms, and she didn't notice that, when she exited the bus, her son had hid under the seat. That was one of the milder tricks he got up to, but a real example of where the Mom wasn't paying attention.
 
Arch Hoagland said:
There should be a mandatory Breathalyzer in every vehicle ESPECIALLY if you are transporting children.
Click to expand...
alcohol is only one thing,  prescription drugs don't show up on a breathalyzer.
 
Tom said:
Bill, your story reminds me of some acquaintances in our younger days; Their son was always up to some mischief. One time, the Mom was on the service bus with him en route to school. The Mom liked to chat with other Moms, and she didn't notice that, when she exited the bus, her son had hid under the seat. That was one of the milder tricks he got up to, but a real example of where the Mom wasn't paying attention.
Click to expand...

Some would say that whatever happens,  is the Darwin theory.
 
[quote author=TonyDtorch]Some would say that whatever happens, is the Darwin theory.[/quote]

Tony, anyone who knew the couple would not say that; They're some of the nicest people I've known, and I'd often say they didn't deserve to be stuck with this kid. One evening, I was driving past their house on the way home from work, and saw the fire department outside. The following day I learned that he'd set the baby's crib on fire (with the baby in it), and sat on his bed to watch.
 
Tom.
As a parent I can only imagine the pain that family endures.  The hardest part of life is understanding all the cruelty that happens in the world.

This reminds me of a time at the rim of the Grand Canyon when we saw this young 4-5 yr old boy from Iran climbing around on the guard rail.  My brother says to his parents, "Your son may fall, you better watch him !",  and the father replies,  "he will fall only if that is Allah's will".

Do we have an obligation to overrule these parents and protect the child ?
 
I am sure it wasn't the intention of the parents to kill their child, we all have babies wanting the best for them. I have a co worker that got all the way to work and parked and realized that his baby was in the back seat only because the diaper bag was in the front seat. He never usually took the child to daycare but his wife happened to be sick that day so he did it and totally forgot on his way to work because he was thinking about work. He is a great parent and after he told me that I never tried to judged the people you see on the news that this happens to.
But he did make it a point to put the diaper bag up in the front seat from then on to make sure that he would never do that again.
 
I have never and will never have children, so why the hell should I have to pay for a device in a car that is nothing but an excuse for sorry parenting?
 
pnkdmnd said:
he was thinking about work. He is a great parent and after he told me that I never tried to judged the people you see on the news that this happens to.
Click to expand...

He was thinking about work, HUH? I will judge him for putting his work before his child. To me there are no excuses for forgetting a child in the back seat. We all make mistakes  but this is the ultimate. I couldn't live with myself knowing I killed my child because of a stupid accident. All accidents are preventable.
 
In one of the cases in Phoenix, the child was left in the car by the grandparents. to me, that's even more surprising.
 
I will try this again... One factor is STRESS.. STRESS can cause all sorts of "Malfunctions"

True story: A college professor who did not yet have tenure was stressed about his class and the student review (Which would be a factor in if he received tenure or not) and other things.

Bills. LIke the easily obtained Sub Prime Adjustable rate mortgage on your house where the rate just skyrocketed.  (A program designed to let the bank take your house)

Stress caused by more and more work with fewer and fewer employees doing it (Been there myself, but did not forget my daughter.. Well by the time that hit me she was driving her own car)

Oh the professor.. He lost a child.

Stress, can seriously mess up your mind.. And with sad results.  And much of it could be prevented.  Though not necessarily by you,
 
gravesdiesel said:
I have never and will never have children, so why the hell should I have to pay for a device in a car that is nothing but an excuse for sorry parenting?
Click to expand...

Do you pay property taxes? If so, you are paying for others kids to go to school. You don't have kids so you don't know hectic it can get. Don't get me wrong. I think it is reprehensible that a child has to die because someone forgot them in a hot car. But, parents are human beings and we make mistakes, we do stupid stuff. When that stupid thing causes the death of another human being, whether it be a stranger due to drunk driving or a child due to lack of attention we have to pay for that action with not only prison time but with the lifelong guilt of taking that life. But, let's get back to your selfish stance on having to pay for something that may never benefit you. Do you have family or friends that have children or grandchildren? I would posit you know someone, someone is close to you with kids. What if this device saved one of those kids life? If it made you feel better you could brag that you helped save that kids life in spite his/her parents sorry parenting.
 
It seems like this is a warm weather problem.  Or does it happen in winter in the cold states?  Is this a relatively new phenomenon? I don't know what to think about it. 
 
It is primarily a warm weather problem. Most cars will retain enough heat to sustain life for a number of hours, even in sub-zero weather, increasing the chances that the child will be noticed in time. A car can heat up to unbearable temperatures in a much shorter time frame.
 
Talk to your children.......it can do all kinds of wonderful things.
 
My sister in law has five kids. Years ago when they were preteens she was going on a trip across the state and left one of them at a gas station. State police pulled her over after about a half hour and told her of the problem.

They told her she could be arrested for child abandonment.
 
I like chaser's idea - simple and effective.  Since it will be impossible to 'fix' all distracted parenting, finding a child-friendly solution seems reasonable and would benefit those with the most to lose - the kids. 

This thread also makes me wonder how many children have been saved by backup cameras in our cars/trucks.  Too many young kids have died this unnecessary death also.

Dream Chasers said:
My thought is the alarm should be built into the car seat, so that it would still work in older cars that don't have the alarm.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,112 (members: 14, guests: 1,098)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,972
Posts
1,388,445
Members
137,721
Latest member
Dmac3003
Back
Top Bottom