Leaving your child in the car can be fatal

Leaving your child in the car can be fatal

During the hot summer months there is something that no parent should ever forget, their child in a hot car. Unfortunately many parents forget their children in the car, not just in the UAE but all over the world. While there are parents who swear that it will never happen to them, it is always best to foresee the likelihood of you leaving your child in the car and takes steps to prevent such an occurrence of ever happening to you and your family.

1. Treat the car as a hazard, like you would an oven or a swimming pool. You would never intentionally leave your child unattended by either of these. Never ever leave your child in the car intentionally, even if you leave the air conditioning on, not even for a few minutes. You could get distracted, run into an old friend and start chatting or simply lose track of time.     
2. The child car seat should always be in the back, always leave your purse and mobile phone in the back seat next to the car seat. This will always force you to look into the back and you will be reminded that your baby is there too.
3. Buy a safety mirror that attaches to your rearview mirror, that way you will always be reminded of your baby by his/her smiling face.
4. Write yourself a brightly coloured sticky note saying, “REMEMBER THE BABY”, or something similar and stick it to your dashboard. Change the note position and colour often.
5. Keep a large stuffed animal in the child car seat, when you put your child in the car seat, put the stuffed animal in the front seat next to you as a reminder that there is a baby in the back.
6. You can also get yourself in the habit of leaving the diaper bag in the front seat with you to remind you of the baby in the back.

All of these strategies can be used in order to prevent this tragic occurrence. You might think that it will never happen to you, but prevention is always the better method. So make one or more of these strategies a habit.