With feels-like temperatures climbing into triple digits, it’s important to remember the dangers of forgetting a child in a hot car.
Children are especially vulnerable to the heat because their body temperatures rise faster than adults, and temperatures inside a car can rise 20 degrees in just a minute.
About 37 children die from heatstroke each year because they were either left in a hot car or got trapped inside.
But there are ways you can prevent tragedies.
First, never leave children in a car alone, for any amount of time.
Also, lock your car every time you get out so your little ones can’t climb back in later.
And find a way to remind yourself to check your back seat when you have a child in the car.
One approach is to take off a shoe and place it in the backseat. That way, you have to check the back of the car before walking off.
And it’s important for parents to go over these dangers and safeguards with anyone who watches their children, including babysitters, caregivers, and grandparents.
Other risks
It’s also important not to leave any items in your car that might get damaged by the heat.
That includes medicines because most need to be stored at stable temperatures. When they reach a certain temperature, their chemical properties may change, making them less effective.
If you leave plastic water bottles in a hot car, chemicals could leak out of the bottles into the water.
Never leave aerosol cans of bug spray or sunscreen because the cans might explode if they overheat.
You also don’t want to leave sunglasses or prescription glasses in your car because the heat could warp the frames.
And you need to protect devices like phones, tablets and laptops because the high temperatures might damage the batteries.