Leaving kids in the car: just don't do it!

Temperatures are rising across North Texas and individuals are preparing for the unofficial start of summer as we head into Memorial Day Weekend. But with the start of the season comes an unfortunate side effect of summer – the news stories about children dying after being left in hot cars. Just this week a one-year-old girl in Austin died after being left in a car.

Everyone thinks that it could never happen to them and we all certainly hope that it never will. To help hopefully make that a reality, we turned to an emergency room physician and a pediatrician to get their tips.

One way to avoid risking a child’s health is to never leave a child in a car unattended for any reason, said Dr. Hoyt Frenzel, director of the emergency department at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital. “Just don’t do it.”

He cautioned that it is very easy to be distracted when running into the store really quick and there is no good option for leaving the child unattended in the car. Leave the car running with the air conditioning on and you risk carbon monoxide exposure and car theft. Turn the air off and leave the child in the car and they risk dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke or death because young children are unable to adapt to rapid changes in temperature, Dr. Frenzel said.

“What was planned to be a one to two minute trip in and out often turns into a much longer time away from your child,” he said. “This delay can be deadly.”

In addition to not knowingly leaving your child in the car, it is important to develop routines to lower the risk that you might inadvertently leave a child in a hot car, said Dr. Ayman Arouse, a pediatrician on the medical staff at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne.

Dr. Arouse recommends the following steps:

• Always park in the shade whenever you can.
• Be sure all passengers leave the vehicle when you’re at the destination.
• Leave your purse or briefcase in the backseat so that you will see if the child is still in the car.
• Make it a habit to look in the back passenger areas even when your children are not in the car so that no one is left when routines are disrupted.
• Make sure children do not develop the habit of playing in the vehicle.
• Keep car keys in a safe place away from children so they cannot get in the vehicle without your knowledge.

It’s not just parents that should be on the lookout in their own cars either, Dr. Arouse said. Educate family members and babysitters about the safety tips and developing those routines as well.

And finally, if you ever see a child left unattended in a vehicle, Dr. Arouse said, always be proactive. Call 911 and seek help to get the child out of the car.

Have you developed any other tips or tricks to help you and your family? We’d love to hear them.

Dr. Hoyt Frenzel is medical director of the emergency department at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Ayman Arouse is a pediatrician on the medical staff at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne.











Physicians on the medical staff are not employees or agents of Texas Health Resources.