As temperatures climb during these hot summer months, our Parkview child passenger safety technicians want to remind you of the extra steps you should take when transporting your little ones. We asked Leslie Miller, RN, IBCLC, CPST-I, birth planner and child passenger safety technician, Parkview Hospital Randallia, for her best tips for keeping children safe this season.
When children are left alone in a vehicle, tragedy can happen. Deaths, while accidental, are always preventable. Here are some helpful tips to make sure it doesn’t happen to your family:
- Never leave a child alone in a parked car, even with the windows rolled down or the air conditioning on. A child’s body temperature can rise three to five times faster than an adult’s. A core body temperature of 107 degrees is lethal.
- Always look in both the front and back of the vehicle before locking the door and walking away.
- Place a briefcase, purse or cell phone next to the child’s car seat so that you’ll always check the back seat before leaving the car.
- Never let children play in an unattended vehicle. Teach them that a vehicle is not a play area.
- TAKE ACTION! If you notice a child alone in a car do something. Protecting children is everyone’s business.
Helpful resources
Additional car seat safety resources can be found at: