Saturday, July 7, 2012

Fatal Heat

Today I endured 5 long, brutal hours of sweltering heat while attending a swim meet for my 2 oldest children.   Let me just say I have no tolerance at all for heat, I wilt like the delicate little flower I am (snickers).
As I was sitting there roasting like a hot dog wiener on a fire pit I got to thinking about some of the news stories I've heard of recently. Sadly, every summer this topic is in the news and it always lights a fire under my britches because I just don't understand how people can be so careless- whether accidental or intentional. The ones that are intentional though, whew son they make me wanna open up a can of whoop ass on the person. Fo sho.
So what has my panties in a wad today? The fact that every year we hear about child deaths that are caused by irresponsible, idiotic people leaving them in HOT CARS! I know that we all have out parenting fail moments, but this is just inexcusable! To forget your child in a car is bad enough, but when its during the summer and as soon as you step outside the heat blasts you...you'd think the smart thing to do would be to take the extra time to check after yourself. And the backseat! 

My heart breaks every time one of these stories is mentioned. Many of these children are under the age of 2 yrs old! Completely defenseless and unable to get help for themselves. They depend on us to protect them, and in these cases the parents are the ones to do them harm. Sad irony. 

In many of these stories it is an accident or oversight. In others a parent actually makes the conscious decision to leave their child unattended while they go do what they want. Umm hello?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 'a locked car sitting in the summer sun quickly turns into an oven,' and 'temperatures can climb from 78 degrees to 100 degrees in just three minutes, to 125 degrees in 6-8 minutes.'
This one is so sad, the child attempted to get out of the car :(
These two aren't heat related but serve as a prime example of why some people shouldn't have children!
 
Here are a couple of the websites I visited to get an idea of the numbers related to this topic. Such a shame that we see a steady number or an increase instead of the opposite. Be aware people! Keep a lookout when in a parking lot. If you have small children put a "baby on board" sign in the window in case you have a forgetful moment, God forbid. 
This gives you an idea of how quickly a car can heat up!

For all the little ones that have passed and are missed by their loved ones <3

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