Hot summer safety
It is a tragedy that riddles the news every summer. Each summer young children are left in sweltering vehicles and die from heat exposure. Today reports that at this time last year, 19 children died in hot cars, while 700 have perished in the past 20 years. Of those children, 87 percent were under the age of 3. Many deaths occur because the young child is mistakenly forgotten, while another percentage of children had climbed into the vehicle without their parent's or guardian's knowledge. Yet, an unfortunate small number of deaths happen because the parents are simply uninformed about the dangers of this act. Here are a few suggestions on how to prevent future tragedies.
- Look before you leave: Even though we may be in a hurry or a bit distracted on certain days, you should always take a good look at your car before leaving it. This is to assure that everyone is out of the car and won't be left behind.
- Always lock your doors: To prevent curious young children from crawling or climbing into vehicles without you knowing, always lock your doors before you walk away from your vehicle. Furthermore, hide your keys away from young children to keep them from accessing them.
- Keep items in your backseat: This is a simple way you can make sure you will always reach into or look at the backseat before you exit your car. Keep essential daily items such as your cell phone, purse or briefcase that you wouldn't forget to grab to make this tip more effective and practical.
ProSolutions Training offers many resources for early childhood educators. We also offer CDA training and CDA renewal for your continued professional development.
