What would you do if you came out of a store on a hot summer afternoon and saw a small child locked inside a vehicle with the windows rolled up and no adult in sight? \u00a0Would you call 911 or would you mind your own business and walk away?<\/p>\n
Although most people would probably be concerned for the child\u2019s welfare, far too few appear to be concerned enough to take action, as evidenced by recent child heat-related deaths in vehicles.<\/p>\n
In Georgia, 22-month-old Cooper Harris was left in a hot car for almost seven hours after his father failed to drop him off at daycare and then drove to work, parking the car where outside temperatures reached 90 degrees.\u00a0 Cooper died, and his father, Justin Harris, now faces murder charges.\u00a0 The car was parked in a busy shopping mall area.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t anyone notice the child in the car at any point during those seven hours?<\/p>\n
A 15-month old toddler in Ridgefield, Connecticut, was found dead inside his father\u2019s parked car this past Monday after the child was left unattended \u201cfor an extended period of time\u201d according to Ridgefield police.\u00a0 Outside temperatures approached 90 degrees.\u00a0 Again, didn\u2019t anyone notice the child in the car?<\/p>\n
These recent headlines have brought renewed attention to these types of tragedies.\u00a0 According to the website KidsandCars.org<\/a>, \u201cOn average, 38 children die in hot cars each year from heat-related deaths after being trapped inside.\u00a0 Even the best of parents or caregivers can unknowingly leave a sleeping baby in a car, and the end result can be injury or even death.\u201d\u00a0 Thus far in 2014, 16 infants and small children have died, and there were 44 deaths reported in 2013.\u00a0 But these deaths are preventable.<\/p>\n Experts warn it takes only 10 minutes for temperatures to climb 20 degrees or more in a closed vehicle.\u00a0 Vehicles with windows left partially open do not offer any better protection, becoming ovens in basically the same amount of time. Leaving a child inside a car for even a short period of time can be deadly. <\/a>Heatstroke, or hyperthermia, is the major cause of death.<\/p>\n Heatstroke occurs when the body cannot cool itself quickly enough as temperatures rise, causing the body\u2019s core temperature to elevate to dangerous levels while shutting down the body\u2019s ability to sweat, making it impossible for cooling to occur.\u00a0 Children are especially susceptible, as their bodies heat up several times faster than an adult\u2019s body.<\/p>\n So how do parents forget their children and leave them in a hot car?\u00a0 According to David Diamond,<\/a> Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida, there is a phenomenon known as Forgotten Baby Syndrome, or FBS.<\/p>\n In cases of FBS, there\u2019s a \u201cclash\u201d between what is called prospective memory and habit memory.\u00a0 Prospective memory helps us plan and execute for an action in the future while habit memory enables us to function in \u201cauto-pilot mode\u201d with minimal conscious effort.\u00a0 According to Diamond, \u201cThe prospective and habit brain memory systems compete against each other on a regular basis. For example, a person places a cup of soda on the car roof (prospective memory), removes keys from his pocket and drives off (habit memory), leaving the cup on the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n Diamond, who has studied dozens of cases of FBS, believes that \u201cOn the day of the tragedy, the parent follows a well-traveled route, one that rarely or inconsistently includes transporting the child.\u201d\u00a0 FBS allows the parent to be on auto-pilot, guiding them to work or home, while at the same time suppressing the parent\u2019s ability to remember the \u201cpresence of the child in the car.\u201d\u00a0 The outcome is often tragic.<\/p>\n