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Yes, that's a good one. The links I posted upthread have other great suggestions. One of the simplest is to place all your belongings (purse, laptop, etc.) next to the child.
That's right, because when you're on auto-pilot, you will go for those things.
Some parents in the articles had stories of near-misses. I remember one woman who said she got out of her car at work and happened to notice a movement--it was her baby's hand in the back seat. She was dumbfounded because she "remembered" dropping her daughter off at daycare that morning.
I have sympathy for these people. They seem like decent people, under stress with too much to do. My daughter's early years were very stressful for me. She didn't sleep through the night until she was 3 years old. I was in a fog all the time because I never had enough sleep. My marriage was disintegrating, which added to the fog, and I had to drive 25 minutes in the morning to drop off my daughter at my parents' house before I began my hour-and-20-minute commute to the city. I was on auto-pilot much of the time. This so could have happened to me, except that there was no parking at the train station so I would bring the baby to my parents' and my dad would drive me to the train. If I'd left the baby in the car and walked into my parents' house without her, I would have been made aware of it very quickly.
It just takes one glitch, one moment of forgetfulness, to change life forever.
Congratulations, you both win the prize as the best parents evah! You both win a Who knew mompetition had now escalated into a blood-sport. Way to go to be supportive of other moms.
Here's the thing, if either of you had bothered to click on any of the links. Sanctimony is very unbecoming, particularly when used as some sort of one-upmanship against people who have faced unimaginable tragedy.
I did read the links. And I was waiting for a reply like this . Never said I was the best parent ever. All I'm saying is, people need to SLOW DOWN. I'd bet that those parents , if they were given a second chance, would change their lifestyle in a second. It's a horrible thing that happened to each child it happened to.
I did read the links. And I was waiting for a reply like this . Never said I was the best parent ever. All I'm saying is, people need to SLOW DOWN. I'd bet that those parents , if they were given a second chance, would change their lifestyle in a second. It's a horrible thing that happened to each child it happened to.
How fortunate for you to have not ever had a time in your life where you were overly busy, distracted or tired. Not everyone has that.
I did read the links. And I was waiting for a reply like this . Never said I was the best parent ever. All I'm saying is, people need to SLOW DOWN. I'd bet that those parents , if they were given a second chance, would change their lifestyle in a second. It's a horrible thing that happened to each child it happened to.
If you did read the links you wouldn't have posted:
Quote:
Originally Posted by njmom66
there was NO way I could forget they were in the car.
Because that's what all the parents said after the fact. The common denominator seems to be a change in routine, which can happen to any of us.
One of the most important life lessons I have learned since becoming a parent is to never say never.
When my kids were in car seats, I usually either talked to them on the ride, or played one of the thousand and one "kids" CDs or tapes that make parents crazy... there was NO way I could forget they were in the car.
.
Did your husband do all of this each and every time he had kids in the car? If he wasn't usually the one with kids in the car he might not -especialy if he was running an errand or going somewhere he typically went but without the kids. It is that change in routine that people are talking about. Even if the parent wasn't "trying to do too much". They were outside their typical routine.
Did your husband do all of this each and every time he had kids in the car? If he wasn't usually the one with kids in the car he might not -especialy if he was running an errand or going somewhere he typically went but without the kids. It is that change in routine that people are talking about. Even if the parent wasn't "trying to do too much". They were outside their typical routine.
Once again, in her story, it is very clear that part of why Lyn Balfour forgot her son was that they usually DID do exactly those things. Did some of you miss that part of the article? But he had a sore throat, and was up half the night,as was she, and he was sleeping in the car seat and not making any noise. If he was his usual self, she likely would have been talking/singing with him.
She couldn't see him, because she wasn't in her usual car where he was behind the passenger seat and she would see him. She didn't take her normal route to work because she had to give her husband a ride. The lawyer called it "the perfect storm". Easy--and comforting in a self-delusional way--to say something could NEVER happen to YOU...until it does.
Once again, in her story, it is very clear that part of why Lyn Balfour forgot her son was that they usually DID do exactly those things. Did some of you miss that part of the article? But he had a sore throat, and was up half the night,as was she, and he was sleeping in the car seat and not making any noise. If he was his usual self, she likely would have been talking/singing with him.
She couldn't see him, because she wasn't in her usual car where he was behind the passenger seat and she would see him. She didn't take her normal route to work because she had to give her husband a ride. The lawyer called it "the perfect storm". Easy--and comforting--to say something could NEVER happen to YOU...until it does.
I agree with you....I was just trying to point out to the poster who seemed quite self satisfied that it could NEVER happen to her, that it COULD happen to anyone...it isn't necessarily a result of "lifestyle choices" and needing to slow down and keep your kids in the forefront of your mind 100% of the time. Stuff happens that takes us out of our routine, or necessitates us being tired or distracted occasionally. I have yet to meet a parent who has never been distracted or forgetful or occasionally on autopilot. Thankfully for most of us our blunders aren't tragic. That doesn't make us better parents, mainly luckier.
Last edited by maciesmom; 07-07-2013 at 01:37 PM..
Did your husband do all of this each and every time he had kids in the car? If he wasn't usually the one with kids in the car he might not -especialy if he was running an errand or going somewhere he typically went but without the kids. It is that change in routine that people are talking about. Even if the parent wasn't "trying to do too much". They were outside their typical routine.
So right. My heart just breaks for all involved, including the parents, when I read about someone ACCIDENTLY leaving a child in a car.
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Who knew mompetition had now escalated into a blood-sport. Way to go to be supportive of other moms.
