Over 600 Kids Have Died from Being Left in Cars

SINCE 1998, OVER 600 CHILDREN HAVE DIED FROM HEATSTROKE, DUE TO BEING LEFT IN CAR Your Baby Would NEVER Be Left in the Car... Right? 00 Doctors, Lawyers, Stay-At-Home Moms... - ALL Have Left Their Child in the Car... One of the most DANGEROUS mistakes a parent can make is believing they (or another caretaker) would never leave a child in a very hot or freezing cold vehicle. ANYONE can forget their child, while under stress, illness; any kind of duress... See the following stats of loving, caring parents who tragically left their children in vehicles can make certain you never do! and how you Critical Facts About Children Left in Cars 7. Cars heat up quickly. A vehicle can heat up 20 degrees in 10 minutes. If the temperature in the vehicle is hot to begin with, even a few degrees 1. An average of 38 children have died in hot cars each year in the USA since 1998. increase in temperature, which can take only a few minutes., is dangerous. 2. Since 1998, 619 children have died in vehicles from heat stroke in the USA. 8. Cracking the windows or not parking in direct 3. More than 70% of heat stroke deaths occur in sunlight does not make a car significantly cooler. children younger than age 2. Heat stroke deaths have occurred even when the vehicle was parked in shade. 4. More than half of heat stroke deaths occur because a caregiver forgot the child in the car. 9. A car can reach 110 degrees when temperatures 5. Roughly 30% of heat stroke deaths occur because the child got in the car without a caregiver are only in the 60s. Heat stroke can take place when the outside temperature is as low as 57 degrees. knowing and couldn't get out. 10. The body temperatures of children can increase three to five times faster than adults. Heat stroke > 6. Nearly 20% of deaths occur because a caregiver begins when the body passes 104 degrees. Reaching an internal temperature of 107 degrees can be deadly. intentionally left the child in the car. U.S. Child Heatstroke Deaths Due to Being Left in Vehicle Iihihlnh 50- 47 49 40 44 43 36 29 43 39 39 39 30 32 35 33 33 34 31 26 20 10- 0- 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (As of 9/1/2014) Number of Child Deaths Per Year Chart by Give2Kids.com How Did It Happen? How To Make Certain It Never Happens According to media reports, about 606 child vehicular heatstroke deaths occurred NEVER LEAVE A CHILD UNATTENDED IN A VEHICLE. NOT EVEN FOR A MINUTE ! between 1998 through 2012, due to the following IF YOU SEE A CHILD UNATTENDED IN A HOT VEHICLE CALL 9-1-1. circumstances: Always lock your car and ensure children do not have access to keys or remote entry devices. Teach your children that vehicles are never to be used as a play area. 51 Child forgotten by caregiver (312 Children) Keep a stuffed animal in the car seat and when the child is put in the seat place the animal in the front with the driver. 29 Child playing in unattended vehicle (177) Or place your purse, briefcase, or anything else you will need when you leave car, in the back seat as a reminder that you have your child in the car. 18 Child intentionally left in vehicle by adult (111) Make "look before you leave" a routine whenever 1%) Circumstances unknown (6) you get out of the car. Have a plan that your childcare provider will call you if your child does not show up for school. Chart created by Give2Kids.com If you see a child alone in a hot vehicle, call 911 immediately. advises the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). "If they are in distress due to heat, get them out as quickly as possible," states the NHTSA's web site. Created by www.Give2Kids.com, for the good of all children. Information Sources: http://www.kidsandcars.org/userfles/dangers/heat-stroke-fact-sheet.pdf http://www.ggweather.com/heat/ - http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/07/02/child-deaths-hot-cars-facts/12055727/ http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/hot-cars-and-child-death-prevention Infographic Design © 2014 American Children's Cancer Association -- Use Allowable With Permission Only.