[MP-Ryan]

For those of you who also have children, this is a must read.  For those who might one day have children, this is a must read.  For anyone who has ever judged someone who left their child in a car and that child died, it is essential that you read this piece.  It is 11 pages long and worth every second of your time.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2009-03-08/news/36840402_1_courtroom-tissue-class-trip

We recently had a death here in Edmonton where a young girl climbed into an unlocked vehicle and died of hyperthermia, which led me onto this.  As a parent, this article is terrifyingly close to home.

[Luis Dias]

Jesus ****ing Christ man, as a parent of three, I both already knew stories like these and I didn't need another one.

[Lorric]

It is 11 pages long and worth every second of your time.

You did not disappoint.

Oh and for those wondering about the seemingly strange topic title, it will become clear on the 7th page.

[deathfun]

It's a fascinating thing, death by hyperthermia

An excellent read

[Dragon]

A good read indeed.
I wonder, BTW, what is, in toto, safer. A front facing baby seat (with less protection in case of crash) or a rear facing one (increasing the risk of forgetting about the baby)?

[deathfun]

What's more likely to occur? A crash, or you being distracted?

That and, if someone crashes into via the side, the kid is screwed anyhow

[Mongoose]

I'd say that this would never happen to me, but the people in this article would have said the same thing once too.  And that terrifies me.

[MP-Ryan]

I'd say that this would never happen to me, but the people in this article would have said the same thing once too.  And that terrifies me.

That is precisely the same thought that went through my head.

[Lorric]

I'd say that this would never happen to me, but the people in this article would have said the same thing once too.  And that terrifies me.

That is precisely the same thought that went through my head.

Then I guess you can invest in the safety measures mentioned in the article to make those fears go away.

Putting reminders of your child/rens existence around will also help counter that out of sight out of mind thing. Things such as the background on phones and computers being pictures of them.

[Dragon]

What's more likely to occur? A crash, or you being distracted?

That and, if someone crashes into via the side, the kid is screwed anyhow

Well, this article makes it clear that being distracted isn't such a rare occurrence as people would like to believe. Crashes, on the other hand, are not really that common, and in a normal, head-on crash, the kid being in the rear seat already provides decent protection, not to mention there are tons of safety features against that already. And in case of a side impact, seat orientation doesn't really matter, everyone in a car is pretty much screwed unless there's a really big height difference between the cars ("think sports coupe hitting a SUV" kind of difference). It would certainly be interesting to see how the actual numbers compare.

[Nuke]

can you win a darwin award if you have children, but then you kill them all?

[NGTM-1R]

can you win a darwin award if you have children, but then you kill them all?

Only if you also kill yourself in the same act.

[Phantom Hoover]

This kind of thing is why I absolutely ****ing detest smug assholes who reflexively blame the misfortunes of others on 'their own stupidity'. Everybody makes these mistakes, and insulting people when they do and acting like you're above the failings of the human condition is an incredibly immature and self-important way to behave. (I'm tempted to name names here because the people who do this do not have the basic introspective ability to realise this applies to them, but that would be derailing things too far.)

E: "In hyperthermia cases, he believes, the parents are demonized for much the same reasons. "We are vulnerable, but we don't want to be reminded of that. We want to believe that the world is understandable and controllable and unthreatening, that if we follow the rules, we'll be okay. So, when this kind of thing happens to other people, we need to put them in a different category from us. We don't want to resemble them, and the fact that we might is too terrifying to deal with. So, they have to be monsters.""

[Phantom Hoover]

What's more likely to occur? A crash, or you being distracted?

That and, if someone crashes into via the side, the kid is screwed anyhow

Well, this article makes it clear that being distracted isn't such a rare occurrence as people would like to believe. Crashes, on the other hand, are not really that common, and in a normal, head-on crash, the kid being in the rear seat already provides decent protection, not to mention there are tons of safety features against that already. And in case of a side impact, seat orientation doesn't really matter, everyone in a car is pretty much screwed unless there's a really big height difference between the cars ("think sports coupe hitting a SUV" kind of difference). It would certainly be interesting to see how the actual numbers compare.

I'm willing to bet that an order of magnitude more children are killed in car crashes than from hyperthermia; but that's not really the point. Car crashes are something we're... comfortable with, that fit into the narrative of life as we understand it. Forgetting about your child while they die of heatstroke? That's bizarre, and... well, the quote I put in my last post pretty much sums it up.

[deathfun]

I'd say that this would never happen to me, but the people in this article would have said the same thing once too.  And that terrifies me.

I can accurately say this won't ever happen to me
Since I will avoid ever having responsibility with a child

And I don't drive

[karajorma]

Last year, she almost succeeded. The 2008 Cameron Gulbransen Kids' Transportation Safety Act -- which requires safety improvements in power windows and in rear visibility, and protections against a child accidentally setting a car in motion -- originally had a rear seat-sensor requirement, too. It never made the final bill; sponsors withdrew it, fearing they couldn't get it past a powerful auto manufacturers' lobby.

General Motors Kills Children.

Say that a few times and the bill would pass with no resistance.

[An4ximandros]

 

I can accurately say this won't ever happen to me
Since I will avoid ever having responsibility with a child

 And I don't drive

Just wait until that day where your cousin/brother/sister/friend asks you to babysit their baby and you don't refuse because you own them a favor. And you leave it on you girlfriend's car and both of you forget about him.

 You can't say it won't ever happen to you, there are simply too many ways for this to manifest itself. You should always look for ways to avoid it, not rejecting the chance of it happening.

[karajorma]

As the article pointed out, it's the people who say it will never happen to them who are more likely to have it happen. The ones who buy gizmos to prevent it are safer (although not safe cause of that swiss cheese effect).

I did like the ending of the article though. It does give me some faith in humanity to hear someone is willing to do that.

[deathfun]

Just wait until that day where your cousin/brother/sister/friend asks you to babysit their baby and you don't refuse because you own them a favor. And you leave it on you girlfriend's car and both of you forget about him.

 You can't say it won't ever happen to you, there are simply too many ways for this to manifest itself. You should always look for ways to avoid it, not rejecting the chance of it happening.

Hahaha
Girlfriend
That's cute

That and, I don't have a driver's license hence "I don't drive" as it'd be illegal

As a sidenote: They would've had to save my life to earn the favour of my watching their kids

[Nuke]

i think what deathfun is trying to get at is that he has taken the responsible route and chosen not to breed. he knows full well that raising children is beyond his capacity. thats kinda why i restrain my screwing habbits to creating bastards for hookers to throw in dumpsters, instead of the dating->marriage route (the baby would end up in a dumpster anyway but thats because i always end up with crazy women). and frankly only an idiot would ask either me or deathfun to babysit, related or no.