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Leaving Kids in a Car FOR A BIT Is Perfectly OK
I think, in case this hasn't been discussed before, there is a difference between leaving kids in the car for a BIT vs doing so for an extended period of time. I say this because stories like this I think get mixed in with antidotes and tales and oratories etc and people like to make out like EVER leaving your child in the car EVER is akin to murder, and I couldn't disagree more.
When they were younger (8 and 10) I left my kids in the car ON PURPOSE before, MANY times. I recall once when my son was 1 and I had to go to the PO Box to pickup a package, if I waited for my wife to relieve me that would have been when she was off of work and the PO Box was now closed. It was winter and maybe 50'F and drizzly and he was sleeping. I figured several things, (1) he's asleep and when they're at age they sleep a lot and if possible you don't want to disturb them (2) I was very sensitive to the noise of crying to where I'd get angry I never did anything criminal but I would become really angry just the same and I didn't want to "poke the bear" if you will (3) it's 50'F, it actually feels better in HERE and yet it won't turn into ice either (4) he's more likely to get hurt from us crossing the street (5) relating to #4 how are you supposed to carry a baby and a package, a large one at that, at the same time?
So I left him in there.
Was I worried about kidnapping? No, I've read articles that speak of FBI statistics and how kidnapping by strangers are in fact very rare and that most "kidnappings" you hear about are in fact "kidnappings" by the PARENTS, typically in custody disputes in divorce cases etc. If I was "worried" about anything, it was that some nosy busy-body would consider that negligence and call the police. People who do that should feel free to "upgrade" to a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and hold it up to their head for a very long time while it's charging.
Convenience Matters
As for "why should we need a new invention because idiots don't pay attention," well I make no apologies for making convenience A HUGE priority in my life, HUGE. Having things be easy for me is so important to me it's almost like a God I worship, even when it regards child care. Obviously safety is first but even so while making things easy for me is certainly not more important than a child being alive, it's very high on the list. I'm like that with ALL aspects of life. Heck when choosing my child's safety seats (both no longer need them) what was most important to me? No, not safety, but which one was easiest to buckle and unbuckle. I figure with all the government safety requirements even the most "dangerous" model was in fact very darned safe.
I have said for instance that I wish someone would invent, at low cost mind you, a device that turns off ALL of your lights with ONE BUTTON as you leave the house. No more going to EVERY ROOM and turning off EVERY light manually. It's a little thing, but little things like that drive me nuts. I hate such "menial" work as that, absolutely hate it.
As for people being "spacy" or having a hard time figuring things out, I tell people GPS was invented for people like me because I CANNOT figure out "manual" directions and now I REFUSE to even try because GPS has made it unnecessary. I often say I all but need GPS to go to the bathroom in my own house. Yet I still encounter people who want to inflict upon you the headaches of "GPS doesn't work for our house it doesn't recognize the address" and try and explain where they are and they SWEAR "you can't miss it," meanwhile 90 minutes away I'm STILL trying to find their house.
Well there is always "share my location" which sends a link to someone's phone and all they have to do is tap it and go, even if the spot being shared is remote. They use coordinates instead of an address and coordinates NEVER fail (although the GPS may not give the best directions possible on how to get there). To me it's not my responsibility to figure out what "turn by the 3rd house by the barn" means, it's on THEM to figure out how to do a "share my location" (you can even plug the coordinates into a Garmn Nuvi if your phone won't receive a signal) and then people no longer have to deal with that.
That is not to say that it's OK to be out & out lazy or to neglect a child, and we sure as heck don't want any dying and in fact we're to do whatever is needed within reason to make sure they don't die, but anything to make life easier, I say bring it on. Besides, why argue about how "well we wouldn't need the darned things if people would pay attention?" If it saves life and doesn't impose a huge undue hardship, I say stop arguing about it and bring it on.
But how do you forget to take a child, who's in your car, to daycare? She didn't forget to go at the end of the day to pick the child up. How do you put a child in your car, then forget where you're going with the child?
I can see it happening if it is not part of a person's usual routine to drop off a child to school/daycare. I can't imagine being so negligent, myself. Car/car seat manufacturers need to come up with a sensor/alarm of some kind that addresses this issue.
No they don't. Why should I, a childless person, pay more to protect stupid/neglectful/distracted people?
Children are your most precious possession. There are a lot of ways to protect that, if you really wanted to. I don't have kids, and I know that if you put your left shoe in the car seat you'll never forget your child. Simple, cheap and effective.
No they don't. Why should I, a childless person, pay more to protect stupid/neglectful/distracted people?
Children are your most precious possession. There are a lot of ways to protect that, if you really wanted to. I don't have kids, and I know that if you put your left shoe in the car seat you'll never forget your child. Simple, cheap and effective.
Why should I have to pay taxes for the road if I never use them? Why should I have to pay taxes for our local school if I have no children in school? Why should I have to pay 911 fees on my phone bill if I've never called 911? Why should I pay extra for a heater in a car if I live in Florida and never use it?
Your idea might not be bad, but I think the people advocating for alert systems aren't exactly off-base either. Also, you admitted you admitted you don't have children, so you therefore don't have a CLUE what that life is about and how a person who DOES love their children could nonetheless be distracted and unintentionally forget them despite their considerable efforts to do no such thing.
No they don't. Why should I, a childless person, pay more to protect stupid/neglectful/distracted people?
Children are your most precious possession. There are a lot of ways to protect that, if you really wanted to. I don't have kids, and I know that if you put your left shoe in the car seat you'll never forget your child. Simple, cheap and effective.
Well first children are not possessions.
But why should I, a pacifist, pay to fund a military?
To put it to cars...I never drive over 70, why should I pay for the capability to do so?
Genera life...I don't use a wheel chair, businesses that have to become ADA compliant should just charge w/c users extra...right?
Sorry, your logic doesn't hold water. I do think the answer is in carseats and not the car. But still..."Its all about me" is so common.
Why should I have to pay taxes for the road if I never use them? Why should I have to pay taxes for our local school if I have no children in school? Why should I have to pay 911 fees on my phone bill if I've never called 911? Why should I pay extra for a heater in a car if I live in Florida and never use it?
Your idea might not be bad, but I think the people advocating for alert systems aren't exactly off-base either. Also, you admitted you admitted you don't have children, so you therefore don't have a CLUE what that life is about and how a person who DOES love their children could nonetheless be distracted and unintentionally forget them despite their considerable efforts to do no such thing.
Thanks, it's like banging your head up against a wall, continuously. I'm not sure why people are so confused and opposed to safety features. it is irrelevant whether one has children.
I wonder if anyone has ever arrived to park at work & then realized that the baby was still in the car?
If I had ever done that it would make my hair stand up on end thinking of the "what-if's"
Yes, of course. In one of the articles, not sure of it was the Washington Post article or another, a woman tells of how she got to work, got out of the car, and out of the corner of her eye she saw a movement and realized she had not dropped off her baby. It shook her badly. That could not have been an isolated incident.
BF and I talked about this last time we saw a headline like this, which wasn't too long ago, unfortunately. It seems like it could be a simple solution, at least to us. Some company can make millions, but more importantly, save innocent lives.
It would be something like this...Have a sensor you can place in any car seat, so when any weight is placed on the sensor it knows there is someone, or even something (groceries, a pet, your purse). This sensor can be synced with your cars keys, so when you try to lock your car with the remote, it will not lock it, but instead, give you an alarm sound. In order to get your car locked with this weight sensor on, you would have to push a combination of buttons to by-pass the alarm. One would knowingly have to push this combination to lock the car.
There would be no fool-proof, 100% way to prevent such a tragedy, but this could help, and if it helped one child, it's worth it's weight in gold.
Something along these lines should be an easy thing to do, I would think. I'm sure with a think tank of many, some type of solution could be found.
This has been thought of (and said) a thousand times. Lack of ideas isn't the problem. Getting an auto manufacturer to take on the potential liability should the device fail and a child die is why something like this hasn't been implemented.
This has been thought of (and said) a thousand times. Lack of ideas isn't the problem. Getting an auto manufacturer to take on the potential liability should the device fail and a child die is why something like this hasn't been implemented.
I caught part of a news story last night when at a neighbors, it seems like it's similar to one of these recent stories where lawmakers pass a law to have all new cars have some type of alarm/reminder system.
And for those who seem to remember their cell phones, but not the child in their car, here are 2 items I found that may help those who seem to have lost their minds!
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