Children cannot be left in cars

Ever dashed into a shop leaving a sleeping baby in the car? I think we’ve all been guilty of that but have you ever stopped to consider why children are not to be left alone in cars? Do you have any idea how long it takes for a car to heat up to temperatures that are deadly for babies and small children? Do you know how many children were rescued by emergency services in Victoria alone in this past year?

We say we know the risks of babies and children in hot cars but do we? Nine hundred Victorian parents got the shock of their lives when after dashing into the shops for a quick errand they came back to find an emergency services worker holding their distressed child rescued from their car. How would you feel? Humiliated, stupid, angry at yourself you would hope.. but how many of us, look at that peacefully sleeping baby in their car-seat and think, «It’s just one minute, it will hurt more if I wake them up, get out the pram, put them in it and then go through the whole thing again when all I wanted to do was buy milk and bread.»

But our warm summer weather can be deadly in cars, especially for babies and small children who physiologically don’t have the capacity to withstand high temperatures. Five minutes is all it takes for a car’s internal temperature to rise to a terminal level. The time taken to get through the supermarket check out can be enough to kill or seriously harm your baby.

Is it worth the risk? Robert Caulfield from Kidsafe Victoria says definitely not. The important thing to do is plan your activities when you’ve got a baby in the car. Safety is never negotiable and the five minutes saved would never make up for the fact you know you’ve deliberately put your child’s life in danger.