# Black Child Left In Hot Vehicle All Day—warning



## Atthatday (May 26, 2018)

1-year-old girl dies in hot truck after dad accidentally leaves her there all day
By Emily ShapiroMay 24, 2018, 2:13 PM ET
_





WATCH: The baby's father "reportedly forgot about the child after dropping off her sibling at daycare," police said. 
A 1-year-old girl has died in East Nashville after police say her father unintentionally left her in a car seat in the back of a pickup truck all day.

No charges are being filed at this time, police said.

The deadly incident happened Wednesday when the father, Matt Barker, left his home at 7:30 a.m. with his two children, 1-year-old Katera and a five-year-old, to take them to a day care, according to Nashville police.

Barker came home at about 8 a.m. and then left again minutes later, taking a ride share car to the airport, police said. He then flew out of the city for a business trip, police said.

Meanwhile, his wife, Jenny Barker, left the house in her car to go to work, police said.






A 1-year-old girl died after being left in a car seat all day in a pickup truck in East Nashville, May 23, 2018.
When Jenny Barker arrived at the day care that evening to pick up the kids, she was told Katera was never dropped off, police said.

She called her husband and realized the 1-year-old was still in the truck, police said.






A 1-year-old girl died after being left in a car seat all day in a pickup truck in East Nashville, May 23, 2018.
At 5:42 p.m., Jenny Barker called 911 as she pulled into her driveway, police said.

She took the baby out of the truck and started CPR until paramedics arrived, police said.

The baby was taken to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said.

The temperature reached 89 degrees in Nashville on Wednesday.

Matt Barker flew back to Nashville, arriving in town late Wednesday night, police said.

Both Jenny and Matt Barker "have been fully cooperative" with the ongoing investigation, police said, adding, that "no charges are being placed at present."

"The District Attorney’s Office is being kept apprised of detectives’ continuing work on this case," police said

ABC News' Amanda Maile contributed to this report.

_


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## Atthatday (May 26, 2018)

How does a person take a 5 year old child out of the car,  but “forgets” to take the 1 year old child out? The father is lying. If they interviewed the 5 year old, he/she would tell the whole story, and nothing but the truth. As of now, no charges...

As tears roll down my face, the child didn’t deserve this. This is beyond the Devil, to me.

We’ve GOT to do and be better!!!


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## tiffers (May 26, 2018)

I saw this thread yesterday and wondered what race the child was as soon as the article mentioned she was adopted. Poor baby. And of course the dad with a thousand holes in his story will get off scott-free.


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## hothair (May 26, 2018)

Wow. Like whoa. I can't. I'm out.


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## JFK (May 26, 2018)

So this Black child was adopted by the white couple and the white dad left her in the car?


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## JFK (May 26, 2018)

Important question:
Was the child that was successfully dropped off at daycare their biological, white child?


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## PuddingPop (May 26, 2018)

I always give the benefit of the doubt with these stories because I remember the few times I drove straight past the turn I needed to take to drop my infant daughter off at daycare, and continued on my way to work only to realize my error a few seconds later and make a u turn. 
But this here makes absolutely no sense. You can’t drop one child off at daycare and “forget “ the other sitting right beside them in the back seat. Impossible.  I hope they speak to that 5 yo baby and get to the bottom of this. 
I also hope they leave our damn kids alone and stop “ adopting “ them , but that’s a whole nother thread.


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## GeorginaSparks (May 26, 2018)

I saw that they were not being charged and was shocked because i assumed parents were black. Then i scroll down and find my answer.



JFK said:


> Important question:
> Was the child that was successfully dropped off at daycare their biological, white child?


very important.


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## TCatt86 (May 27, 2018)

I read this earlier and I think it was done on purpose. The 5 yr old would have been in the backseat with the 1yr old. So he would have seen the 1yr old and the carseat. I wouldn't be surprised if the 5yr old was also like "daddy you forgot ..."

Definitely intentional. This poor precious baby deserved so much better.


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## Petal26 (May 27, 2018)

He's a monster.


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## Ganjababy (May 27, 2018)

_“No charges are being filed at this time, police said.“_
Because he is white. I agree, how could he forget if the 5 year old was in the back seat and came out. Even if the 5 year old came out and closed the door themselves would he not have kept checking on them through the rear view mirror on the drive to the daycare?


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## nysister (May 27, 2018)

Evil. He should die the way he killed that baby. Pure evil. They collaborated on this. I rarely believe any of these stories but I definitely don't believe him.

*Why does this never happen in winter anywhere?*

Yes, because it's done on purpose.

Black babies in white hands scare me. They have a history of perpetrating mass atrocities against black bodies and instead of taking care of our children many fall prey to their drugs and give them our kids. Evil, pure evil by both parties.


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## French Rouge (May 27, 2018)

nysister said:


> Evil. He should die the way he killed that baby. Pure evil. They collaborated on this. I rarely believe any of these stories but I definitely don't believe him.
> 
> Why does this ever happen in winter anywhere?
> 
> ...



You know I never thought of it, but why does this only happen in the summer. Good Point.


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## movingforward (May 27, 2018)

He never wanted the baby.  It was intentional.  I pray that justice is served for that little one.


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## moneychaser (May 27, 2018)

Yeah I’m not buy this.  My son is 5 yrs old and he gets on me if we leave the store with getting a treat for his big sister.  There’s absolutely no way he would let me leave a whole baby in the car.  He’d probably even tell his teacher lol


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## jamaica68 (May 27, 2018)

All white people who adopt black children will get the side eye from me until further notice.  I'm still angry about the 6 black children that were killed in California  by their adoptive parents.

RIP Hart children


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## BonBon (May 27, 2018)

This is very sad.

I doubt their marriage will survive it either.


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## BrickbyBrick (May 27, 2018)

BonBon said:


> This is very sad.
> 
> I doubt their marriage will survive it either.



If she wasn't in on it.


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## nysister (May 27, 2018)

BrickbyBrick said:


> If she wasn't in on it.



Oh she was.

She hadn't spoke to him all day about the kids?
She didn't call the day care about the kids?
She waited to call 911 until she got home after realizing the baby was not at the day care.

These Aussies had a license to kill and they knew it. However since they're "cooperating" they have the "good white people" label. They should have killed themselves instead. Evil.


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## werenumber2 (May 27, 2018)

French Rouge said:


> You know I never thought of it, but why does this only happen in the summer. Good Point.



It happens year-round. A baby sitting in a car for hours in 50 degree weather will, at worst, be hungry with a dirty diaper.


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## NijaG (May 27, 2018)

Lies!!!!!

Both kids were going to the same daycare and in the back seat. How do you forgot one?

My two kids go to the same daycare. If I don’t give them advance notice that one of them is not coming, when I get there, they will at least ask about the missing child.

Wicked souls.


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## TCatt86 (May 27, 2018)

werenumber2 said:


> It happens year-round. A baby sitting in a car for hours in 50 degree weather will, at worst, be hungry with a dirty diaper.


Yeah I was going to say it does happen  year round. It's just during the hotter months the outcome is fatal  Though even in cooler months a car can turn into an oven. In a place like Louisiana doesn't matter the month since its hot year round and children havr died during the winter


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## nysister (May 27, 2018)

French Rouge said:


> You know I never thought of it, but why does this only happen in the summer. Good Point.



Because people like this realize the outcome and how it can simply be excused away as "forgetfulness"

5 fatalities from hypothermia
853 from heatstroke

...over the past 30+ years. People are forgetting on purpose. And once they start being charged like they are, these "accidents" will likely go down.

http://www.kidsandcars.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/National-Stats-Table-5-8-18.png


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (May 27, 2018)

Very sad. They tried to jail a black father last summer in my state who accidentally left his daughter in the car when he was at work. It was crazy because a white mom had done the same thing weeks before and she didn’t go to jail. 

I think this either needs to be a crime or not a crime instead of letting some people off and not others.


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## TCatt86 (May 27, 2018)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> Very sad. They tried to jail a black father last summer in my state who accidentally left his daughter in the car when he was at work. It was crazy because a white mom had done the same thing weeks before and she didn’t go to jail.
> 
> I think this either needs to be a crime or not a crime instead of letting some people off and not others.


At minimum it should be considered negligence. I'm a bit over zealous but I check my backseat at least twice before I head to work. If DS father is dropping him off I send a text reminding him to check the backseat and then text him later asking how DS was feeling at drop off. Then I call the teacher. School drop off isn't apart of his normal routine . So for my peace of mind I just need to follow up


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## DeepBluSea (May 27, 2018)

TCatt86 said:


> I read this earlier and I think it was done on purpose. The 5 yr old would have been in the backseat with the 1yr old. So he would have seen the 1yr old and the carseat. I wouldn't be surprised if the 5yr old was also like "daddy you forgot ..."
> 
> Definitely intentional. This poor precious baby deserved so much better.



 Chile once I joked that I was going to leave my son at school. My husband had picked him up early for dental appointment. I told my 3 yr old, he’ll be alright. When I say she threw a fit. She threw a fit. Where is my brother? I need my brother!

Who takes kids into daycare one at a time?

Why didn’t the daycare workers ask when he just brought in 1 kid ? If I pick up my son first, the teachers in the carpool line ask about my daughter. They are used to seeing her with me.

There are too many ifs in this story. They need to furthe investigate. Look into his on line history. Remember the folks in Texas killed the Indian baby they got from an orphanage. What is wrong with these people?


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## RossBoss (May 27, 2018)

I believe that anyone who lives children and pets in hot cars should be charged with a crime. I don't care about them forgetting. If the consequences are serious then that will cut down on people "forgetting".  I hate these stories and this filth should be charged with murder because this is exactly what it is.


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## GeorginaSparks (May 27, 2018)

there are backseat mirrors too for this purpose. it was intentional and they need to be both charged.


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## Farida (May 27, 2018)

If it was one kid I could buy it. But you dropped off one - the older one and forgot the baby? Am I reading this right? They were both going to the same daycare? Cool story bro...


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## Philippians413 (May 28, 2018)

Update: DCS determined that Barker did not stop at the child's daycare Wednesday morning.

He or his wife, Jenny Barker, would typically take Katera and her five-year-old sister to a daycare facility on Chapel Avenue. From there, the five-year-old would ride a shuttle to her elementary school.

Wednesday morning, Barker was running late, left home shortly before 7:30 a.m., and went directly to the elementary school.

After dropping off the five-year-old, he went home and did not stop at the daycare. He parked the pickup truck in the driveway. He then left for the airport in a ride sharing service and flew out of town on a business trip.



People are saying the 5-year-old is also Black and adopted. Either way, he was negligent.


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## prettyinpurple (May 28, 2018)

I didn't realize that the baby was black!

I also don't understand why the mother waited to call 911.



JFK said:


> Important question:
> Was the child that was successfully dropped off at daycare their biological, white child?


I read that the older child was adopted as well.

It sounds as if the second adoption was pretty recent.  Some comments said that maybe he was adjusting to having a second child and went about his normal routine with the older one.

I'm just stating some more facts and other people's opinions, not caping for him.


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## Miss_Luna (May 28, 2018)

So, the entire ride back the one-year-old didn't make a sound? My nephew is one and makes hella noise. Also, the older one wasn't playing with the baby? He didn't hear the baby make any noises when he got out of the car? Aren't most young kids loud when they are left alone? 

He got his bags, waited for an Uber, and didn't think to check if he did everything?

So the mom lied about going to pick the 5 year-old up? Something is shady and I'm over all of these kinds of people.


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## RossBoss (May 28, 2018)

Philippians413 said:


> Update: DCS determined that Barker did not stop at the child's daycare Wednesday morning.
> 
> He or his wife, Jenny Barker, would typically take Katera and her five-year-old sister to a daycare facility on Chapel Avenue. From there, the five-year-old would ride a shuttle to her elementary school.
> 
> ...



I'm always suspicious of non-Blacks who ONLY adopt Black children, but I understand Black children languish in foster care longer than others so I can't really say too much about it. I still feel he should be charged with something even if it was truly an honest mistake.


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## Farida (May 28, 2018)

Philippians413 said:


> Update: DCS determined that Barker did not stop at the child's daycare Wednesday morning.
> 
> He or his wife, Jenny Barker, would typically take Katera and her five-year-old sister to a daycare facility on Chapel Avenue. From there, the five-year-old would ride a shuttle to her elementary school.
> 
> ...


Ok. So a change in routine which is typical in these types of cases. I always said this would never happen to me but I read a super scary article about why it happens and why they typically don’t prosecute parents for it.

These cases were virtually unheard of back in the day when you could put a car seat in the front passenger seat. They rose exponentially with the use of backseat reat-facing car seats.

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/h...ail-why-parents-forget-their-children-n777076

I cannot find the article I read that made me rethink it all but here is one.

Since both adopted kids are black I am more likely to believe it is an accident.

If the cops cannot find an ulterior motive and this couple is genuine there is no greater punishment than the guilt that comes with something like this...


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## TCatt86 (May 28, 2018)

Farida said:


> Ok. So a change in routine which is typical in these types of cases. I always said this would never happen to me but I read a super scary article about why it happens and why they typically don’t prosecute parents for it.
> 
> These cases were virtually unheard of back in the day when you could put a car seat in the front passenger seat. They rose exponentially with the use of backseat reat-facing car seats.
> 
> ...


The change in routine is why I do so much follow up when DS dad is dropping him off. It's not apart of his normal routine. A bad morning or running late can throw things off and I'm not trying experience anything like this.


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## sweetlaughter (May 28, 2018)

Why did he change the routine? Were they running very late?


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## RossBoss (May 28, 2018)

TCatt86 said:


> The change in routine is why I do so much follow up when DS dad is dropping him off. It's not apart of his normal routine. A bad morning or running late can throw things off and I'm not trying experience anything like this.



I like your vigilance in making sure that this does not happen. This is why I say that if the law made the penalty severe enough for doing something like this, the people would be just as careful as you are.


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## werenumber2 (May 28, 2018)

Farida said:


> Ok. So a change in routine which is typical in these types of cases. I always said this would never happen to me but I read a super scary article about why it happens and why they typically don’t prosecute parents for it.
> 
> These cases were virtually unheard of back in the day when you could put a car seat in the front passenger seat. They rose exponentially with the use of backseat reat-facing car seats.
> 
> ...



I think I read the same article and it was heartbreaking. Everyone says it could never happen to them until it does.


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## toinette (May 28, 2018)

RossBoss said:


> I like your vigilance in making sure that this does not happen. This is why I say that if the law made the penalty severe enough for doing something like this, the people would be just as careful as you are.



You think people would be more deterred by the thought of jail time than at the thought that they would be responsible for the death of their own child and the lifetime of guilt and shame they would have to carry with them? Countless studies have shown that a change in routine is the most likely precursor to these incidents and everyone always thinks they're immune. ..until they're not and they're the ones who just killed their baby. @TCatt86 honestly has the best idea in these cases. If mom and dad know there will be a switch up, the other parent has to be diligent in making sure that they phone to follow up and also phone the school to make sure the child was dropped off.


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## LovelyNaps26 (May 28, 2018)

I dread these stories every summer.


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## momi (May 28, 2018)

I try to empathize with folks but I just cannot understand anyone forgetting about an entire CHILD.  Ain't that much too busy had a lot on on my mind not my normal route in the world.  

I'm thinking about my children all of the time - wondering and praying about their well-being - checking on them and two are grown. I just don't get it. 

I could be way off the mark but if these children aren't left in the cars intentionally it must be some type of subconsciously guided situation.  

Now grandparents nearing dementia I can somewhat empathize with....I guess.


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## DeepBluSea (May 28, 2018)

Let’s say he dropped the older child directly at school. It still sounds fishy. That’s another opportunity for him to notice the other child. My older son always says bye to “his baby” when he gets out the car. Now she’s older she’s yelling have a nice day to him. Plus teachers opening doors  in the carpool lane usually will wave to the baby. Say hi cutie. 

If he went directly in the school to drop the kid off then did he leave the baby in the car while signing the other kid in?

FYI this is a gentrified neighborhood. There are spotty bad areas. Definitely would have my guard up with a kid.  

I’m not buying it.


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## FelaShrine (May 28, 2018)

Farida said:


> Since both adopted kids are black I am more likely to believe it is an accident.
> .



You'd be surprised

I remember a L&O episode which was based on a true story of a couple that adopted black children and theuy were white supremamcy, one of the kids died on their hands


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## FelaShrine (May 28, 2018)

Anyway I believe it's either

1. Both are in on this

2. The wife realy wanted the adoption, the husband reluctantly accepted and played along and his resentment about it led to this murder


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## Mooney72 (May 29, 2018)

The Pulitzer Prize winning article was titled ''Fatal Distraction'' and appeared in the Washington Post. I cannot copy it becuase I have used up all my free WP articles this month and it's behind a pay wall for me. Should be easy enough to find a copy. It really changed my mind about judging (most) of the parents who have left their children in cars to die.


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## nyeredzi (May 29, 2018)

This particular case is suspect to me because he dropped one kid off but they were both back there and both go to the same daycare. But I do believe the majority of people who say they forgot actually did.

When I was pregnant with my first, I heard a news story on the radio while driving to work, I think on NPR. They played the 911 call of a mother after she came back to find her baby in the car. Maybe that woman was an excellent actress, but the wild panic and pain in her call made me tear up. I became really afraid this might happen to me.

I think one way to make this less likely is to incorporate checking on the child into your routine. So that it becomes part of that autopilot. Now I always just check. Even if I go to lunch at work, I still check in the middle of the day, though I already checked in the morning. After I get out I always look back there. Also to prevent accidentally locking them in, once I strap one or both back there, I roll down the back window until I can get in the driver’s seat. So in case I dropped my keys or the door locks automatically, I can reach through the window and open the door


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## NijaG (May 29, 2018)

@nyeredzi 

Yeah..... I do the same thing with the car doors. A window down or one of the doors open until everyone is in the car.

If there is a change in routine, e.g.  the non-regular daycare/school dropping/pickup Parent having to perform that duty, then the regular parent should be checking in with the other one just to make sure things went smoothly.


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## MamaBear2012 (May 29, 2018)

I do follow ups too if our routine changes. DH forgets his wallet going to the store. He'll walk out of the house without his keys. So changing up a routine, yeah, I'm calling him. 

I also don't have tinted windows. When I pick up DD from school, people are like, "I was waving at you yesterday," and I'm telling you, so many people forget that their windows are tinted and it's hard to see in. Sometimes these types of cases are prevented (a parent running into the store) when other people walk by and can see a child unattended.


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## Reinventing21 (May 29, 2018)

The only thing that bothers me these days about this tragedy is that there has been so much attention to kids dying in cars, research etc., that you would think by now parents would take serious steps to prevent this as some of you (myself included), esp. where temperatures range the extreme.  It is a real thing to forget/get distracted.  Mental/physical fatigue from newborns esp., is no joke. However, mow more than ever society is providing /teaching ways to avoid leaving a child in a car.


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## Cheleigh (May 29, 2018)

I was paranoid about this when my kid was a baby, so I feel like I was pretty anal about checking the car seat before getting out of the car, putting my purse back there, etc., but I can totally see how it can happen, especially with rear-facing car seats. Some of these giant rear-facing seats hide the baby entirely, and kids fall asleep in this monster seats all the time. 

I remember one the daycare called me because no one had picked-up our daughter. As others have said--change in routine, and DH and I got our wires crossed about who was picking up the kid. And I think about my kid all the time, but I don't always think about WHERE she is. More recently, I had a long day at church, and got on the church shuttle to get my car. I realized right before the shuttle left that my kid was still in children's church. Again, it was a change in routine, because usually my DH brings her during my long church days. But  he was out of town so I had her all day. 

Not sure why folks think the mom was in on it. Unless she's a sociopath, finding your child dying/dead in your own driveway has to be one of the seven rings of hell. She trusted her husband to get the kids to school, like he's done repeatedly. Maybe he doesn't often take flights for work or something, because he's the one who changed the routine, not the wife.


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## Philippians413 (May 29, 2018)

Reinventing21 said:


> The only thing that bothers me these days about this tragedy is that there has been so much attention to kids dying in cars, research etc., that you would think by now parents would take serious steps to prevent this as some of you (myself included), esp. where temperatures range the extreme.  It is a real thing to forget/get distracted.  Mental/physical fatigue from newborns esp., is no joke. However, mow more than ever society is providing /teaching ways to avoid leaving a child in a car.



I agree, and have the same sentiments regarding kids and pools.


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## Keen (May 29, 2018)

Don't daycare call if a child don't show up? My nephews daycare will call if they did not come to school and the parents did not notify them in advance.


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## Farida (May 29, 2018)

It doesn’t matter how much attention is brought to the issue. Most people don’t believe it will happen to them so they don’t do anything about it.

I see some people say to put your purse or something in the back seat. But if a person can forget a whole human what makes you think the person will remember to leave a purse or shoe in the back to begin with.

It helps to have one of those car seat mirrors so you can always see the kid when you scan your rearview mirror as you drive.

This issue was much rarer before rear-facing seats. Some people have even wondered if the number of kids forgotten exceeds the number of kids who would be injured in the front passenger seat (especially since the newer cars have sensors which turn off the airbags). I guess we won’t ever really know.


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## Atthatday (May 29, 2018)

*

*

*11-Year-Old Invents Device to Help Prevent Leaving Children In Hot Cars*

June 28, 2017:

So Bishop, in his McKinney, Texas home, drew a mock-up of a device that would sense if a child is left alone in a car. The device, attached to a headrest or car seat, would then alert parents' phones and the police — all while blowing cold air until help arrives.

He calls the device "Oasis."

"It's like texting," Bishop said. "But without emojis."

His dad, an engineer at Toyota also named Bishop Curry, was immediately sold on the idea: "My thought was, 'Why isn't this in stores now?'"

Toyota was so impressed by Bishop's idea that it sent him and his dad to Michigan for a safety conference.

For all the attention, Bishop won't soon forget the tragedy that inspired his invention.

Fern, the 6-month-old baby girl who had died in an overheated car, lived nearby. Bishop passed by her family's house all the time on the way to school.

Since the tragic incident, Bishop has met with Fern's parents.

"They really supported me," he said. "They didn't want anything [like that] to happen to any other families."

Since 1994, 804 children have died from heat-related illnesses in cars in the U.S., according to Kids and Cars, an advocacy center that studies the issue.

In approximately 55 percent of those cases, the parent was unaware the child was in the vehicle, they say.


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## TCatt86 (May 29, 2018)

Farida said:


> It doesn’t matter how much attention is brought to the issue. Most people don’t believe it will happen to them so they don’t do anything about it.
> 
> I see some people say to put your purse or something in the back seat. But if a person can forget a whole human what makes you think the person will remember to leave a purse or shoe in the back to begin with.
> 
> ...


yes. I was going to say that. Most parents think they would never forget their kids and most don't but it just takes one time. A change in routine which throws off everything. That's why I include so many verifications.   I also check my backseat every time I get out of the car. Even when I don't have my son. 

I don't believe the number of children dying from these tragedies is more than ones who die from accidents while in carseats. Just like they did a big "back to sleep" push for infants they should do something similar for these car deaths


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