Just a rant: forgetting children?

knitncook · 03-16-2008, 11:58 AM

I just read yet another news article about someone who forgot their child was in their car and the baby died because it was left in the car all day. How do you forget that you have one of your children with you? I mean I can understand the father getting to work and doing the V-8 slap that he forgot to go to the daycare, but how do you not notice that your child is in the backseat of your car? It just astounds me! I feel sorry for the couple having lost their baby in such a tragic way, but is forgetting your child that easy? I suppose if this were the first time I had heard about it I wouldn't be as shocked, but it seems like you read about this kind of thing several times a year. It's so sad!

snowbear · 03-16-2008, 06:18 PM

I agree.. I would not judge the parents.. but maybe there needs to be some kind of a beeper if there is a baby in the car, a beeper goes off till the baby is removed...

I can't even begin to understand the loss those parents must feel.

katknit · 03-16-2008, 06:20 PM

I know what you mean. Mindboggling and tragic.

mwhite · 03-16-2008, 06:37 PM

Pardon my french but HOW THE HELL DO YOU FORGET YOUR CHILD IS WITH YOU? I mean, you had to help them get into the car! Too much cellphone activity, too much of anything! Sorry, but I DO blame the driver/parent/careprovider. I talk with Maddi (DGD) when she's in my car. No one has ANY excuse for this. Mary

bailsmom · 03-16-2008, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by mwhite

Pardon my french but HOW THE HELL DO YOU FORGET YOUR CHILD IS WITH YOU? I mean, you had to help them get into the car! Too much cellphone activity, too much of anything! Sorry, but I DO blame the driver/parent/careprovider. I talk with Maddi (DGD) when she's in my car. No one has ANY excuse for this. Mary

I completely agree with this statement. There is no way in hell you can forget there is someone else in the car with you. I'm sorry if you don't agree with this, but it's true. Yes, it is a terrible loss for the family, but plain and simple: You can't forget there is someone in the car with you. I don't care how busy you are. End of story.

cindycactus · 03-16-2008, 08:58 PM

I also do not know how you forget that you have a child in the car with you that you are supposed to take to daycare. Someone has way too much on their mind. A parent needs to take the time they are with their child to interact with them. Even a baby in the back seat could enjoy hearing a parent's voice while they ride to daycare. It is tragic!

maniago · 03-16-2008, 09:15 PM

I agree, you couldn't possibly forget you have a child in the car. My daughter used to sing and talk constantly, we would do ABC's or numbers all the way

katknit · 03-16-2008, 09:24 PM

I'm assuming most of these child victims were asleep when their parent left the car. How else could it happen?

kellyh57 · 03-16-2008, 10:27 PM

I can see forgetting if the child is sleeping, but you'd think you'd notice them when you get out of the car. Wouldn't you see them when you got out? Why would the daycare not call and ask where the child was? Do they really not care?

I saw one of the parents on TV a while back. Apparently, Dad usually took the kids to daycare but she had to take them all that day because they were down to one car for some reason. She forgot all about it until it was too late. They had tried calling her but she wasn't answering her cell phone. Duh. She suggested to leave something either on the dashboard/steering wheel or right next to you to remind you that you have the child. (Their toy, diaper bag, backpack, etc.) Then, when you drop off the kid, it's gone so you don't have to think about it. I think simply looking in your windows would be so much easier. I always check my car to make sure there's nothing left in there anyway!

A few months ago I had that fear that I left my baby at home. He used to cry all the time in the car or play or something. He was being REALLY quiet and it kind of freaked me out. I checked and saw his car seat/carrier. Then I started to wonder if I left him but grabbed his carrier empty. Of course I didn't, but after hearing all these stories, that fear was in the back of my mind.

feministmama · 03-16-2008, 11:50 PM

My mother left my brother at a store when he was 7. THis was way back in the 70s. The amazing this is my brother hung out at the store for about an hour and realized he had been forgotten. But rather than ask a clerk to call or something he decided to walk. It was a 10 minute drive. In the dark, late at night, snow on the ground with no street lights through a heavy wooded area. It took him a couple of hours. He came busrting in the door "YOU FORGOT ME!!!!" My mother was so shocked. At the time we thought it was kind of funny (Hey I was 8) but I think about how brave my littel brother is to do something like that. I would've just sat on the floor crying.