Car Safety Guide for New Parents: Leaving Children Unattended

In our Car Safety Guide for New Parents series, we previously covered how to navigate the often confusing realm of child safety seats and their regulations, as well as child safety features. In the last instalment of our series, we are discussing the dangers of leaving children unattended in a vehicle.

Before you scroll past our final topic knowing that you would never leave your child alone or in a dangerous situation, remember that caregivers always have the child’s best interest at heart. However, when someone finds themselves in a stressful or unexpected scenario, they may overlook dangers that aren’t presented as big red flags at the time. These seemingly every day scenarios – like “quickly” running into a grocery store, or thinking “it’s not too hot out” or having to incorporate childcare drop-off unexpectedly – never seem like a danger when you’re in the midst of them. No one who leaves their child unattended in a vehicle does so with the intent to harm them.

Risk of Overheating

There are two main risks of leaving children unattended in vehicles. The one that is seen most commonly is children overheating. If you’ve ever sat in your car with no AC on a sunny day, you know how quickly the interior temperature can rise to dangerous levels within a short period of time, and leaving the window open just a crack doesn’t quite cut it. The temperature inside a vehicle can quickly reach over 40°C on a warm day, in less than 30 minutes. This can be uncomfortable for grown adults, not to mention small children and infants that cannot regulate their body temperature as well as adults.

Being hot and uncomfortable can lead to overheating and even child vehicular heatstroke. Don’t let yourself fall victim to the idea that you will “only be a minute” when running errands – even if you will only be a short while, take your child with you. If you’re able to, leave the infant at home with another responsible caregiver so you have one less thing to handle while you’re out.

Other than consciously leaving a child unattended, some instances of infant distress are also linked to them being forgotten in the vehicle. This can often happen if there has been a change in routine, for example: mom usually leaves her baby at home with dad when she goes to work, but today she needs to drop the baby off at grandma’s house. Most days mom doesn’t have the responsibility of this extra stop so on a day that she does, it can easily be forgotten. This is especially prone to happening if the infant falls asleep and doesn’t make any noise during the trip. Caregivers wind up at their final destination, completely forgetting that they were supposed to make an extra stop.

Even if the temperature outside hasn’t crawled up to hot heat, the temperature inside a vehicle can still rise.Leaving a child in their car seat for an extended period of time can also lead to accidental death – the incline position that infants are sitting in while in a car seat is perfect for avoiding injury while travelling, but can lead to asphyxia during prolonged sleeping.

To make sure that changes in routine don’t end with a child being left unattended, make sure you have some reminders in place. Completing a “backseat check” should be incorporated in your driving habits and post-trip inspection, to make sure that everything valuable – especially children – is cleared. Caregivers can also put a sticker or photo on their dashboard, as a reminder to check the backseat before exiting the vehicle. Many parents will also put their purse/wallet/cell phone into the backseat, forcing themselves to go into the backseat before leaving their vehicle unattended.

Risk of Vehicle Theft

The other big risk of leaving your child alone in a vehicle is that there are people out there with grim intentions. If you leave a vehicle unattended, there is always the chance that it could be stolen. If you leave a vehicle unattended with a child inside, that doesn’t change the risk of it being stolen. If you decide to “chance it” and leave your child unattended maybe you crack the windows or leave it unlocked, but doing so increases the likelihood of it being stolen since car thieves are always on the lookout for any easy steal. In a best case scenario, the car thief would rethink their intentions and leave your vehicle abandoned somewhere. In a worst case scenario, they decide to proceed with stealing your vehicle with your child inside.

Intervening as a Bystander

If you’re a bystander and see a child unattended in a vehicle, it’s important to intervene and involve yourself! Helping can range from testing the vehicle for unlocked doors and opening them for some air flow, to calling 911 for emergency assistance. Depending on where you are located and what the specific situation is, you can also enter the nearby store/building and ask for an announcement to be made over the store speakers with vehicle details and a request for the owner to come forward.

Law enforcement frequently voices concern over bystanders breaking glass as it creates the risk of injury to the child via glass shards so the best practice for concerned onlookers is to always resort to calling 911 as soon as possible.

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We know that as a parent or caregiver, you have the best intentions at heart and you may still be thinking that, even if you were to leave your child in the car, you wouldn’t find yourself in a dangerous situation. You would keep track of time; you would ensure they were properly secured; maybe you even have a camera to monitor them while they’re unattended. The fact of the matter is though, the only way to truly avoid any of these situations is to avoid leaving them alone in the first place. Make sure to implement some changes in your routines so you’re making the best decisions for your little one!