Yesterday, attention has been centred on yet another child death brought about as a result of being left unattended in a car. The 12-month-old baby was believed to have suffocated after her father – who was supposed to drop her off at the babysitter – went straight to his workplace in Pekan Saleng, Kulai, leaving her in his car for five hours.
This tragic incident is a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving children in the car unattended, with the door locked – and also how easy it is for a loving parent to be distracted in their routine and not realise that the child is still in the car. And while the cause of death is different this time – suffocation, not heatstroke – it is still dangerous and something that should never have been allowed to happen.
Although a car is not completely airtight – air can still flow in through small gaps such as the air vents – it still isn’t recommended to leave a child in such an enclosed space. Added to that, a child could be poisoned by the carbon dioxide that they breathe out, as the space becomes increasingly saturated in CO2.
Heatstroke is another contributing factor, particularly as a child’s body heats up much faster than an adult’s, according to paediatric emergency experts as reported by NBC News. As the temperature rises, the child could lose consciousness and bodily functions shut down, which may lead to suffocation.
There are other dangers associated with heatstroke – just 15 minutes being stuck in an overheated car interior could cause a child to suffer life-threatening brain or kidney injuries. When a child’s body temperature hits 40 degrees Celsius, internal organs shut down, and at 41.6 degrees Celsius, the child could die.
According to Ahmad Mahyuddin Mohamed, Orthopedic and Traumatology consultant at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital in Temerloh, there’s no guarantee that a heat stroke can be prevented with slightly opened windows and leaving the air conditioner on in a static car. Children shouldn’t be left alone in a car even for a minute. The heat can cause sweating, dehydration, seizures, brain and organ damage, and eventually death.
Just watch the video to see what happens when a busy mother leaves her young son in a car. The video is a reenactment, and the child is an unharmed actor, but what ensues could very well happen for real.
The mother in the video looks completely normal, and her routine could mirror that of any one of us. According to statistics in the US, only about 10% of child heat stroke-related deaths involve neglect or substance abuse by the caretaker.
Unintended forgetfulness is a far more likely factor. Our busy schedules, combined with the tendency for us to seat our sleeping children in the rear of our cars (because that’s where the child seat is usually mounted), could cause us to forget that we are carrying precious cargo in our car cabins. We could potentially go about our routine and leave our kids locked in the car.
Other than trying our very best to remember, other methods we can use to ensure that we don’t forget about our sleeping babies is to place an item (that you need to take with you when you leave your car) at the rear with the child. This could be your handbag or phone, for example, and you can place it on the floor in a secure area just so you are forced to go to the back of the car when you leave.
To passersbys, if you spot a child left in a car alone, you should call the police immediately. If you watched the video, you’d know that the child in the video was saved by passersby. You can also share this story or the embedded YouTube video on your Facebook, Twitter or other social media platforms to get the word out. You might just save a life.
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i hate when my brain betrays me the same way in many other instances.luckily this hasn’t happened to me.this guy maybe careless,but there’s just something about our brain being messed up or wired up differently that makes people like me easily forget or having my train of thought completely derailed in a matter of seconds
agreed.
The nature of Malaysians being busybodies, I think it is best to be very observant on our surroundings and do look out for cars if there is anyone trapped in a car. Also it is also important for everyone to know that we can use the headrest pointy metals to break the glass, just in case we are trapped in a car.
I remember in the mid 90s when Toyota cars were fitted with cobra alarm system. It had motion sensors which will trigger alarm when a movement is sensed inside the car.
That is a good concept to remind car us we left babies inside our car.
Pretty sure with all the sensors in the car someone could create a safety system where if high CO2 is detected in car and a child is present in the car it would either automically ventilate the car via HVAC or wind down the windows. Doesn’t seem to be that difficult using existing sensors in the car.
Lee
my condolences to the grieving parents.
This kind of accident really piss me off. Five hours without an ounce of thought of his child, really? Sounds like murder to me and should have been charged so.
wait till it happens to you…
I dont think we have to go thru the entire education bits, I doubt anyone still doesnt know that leaving your kid locked up in the car in our Malaysian weather means death.
So, pls do not feign ignorance.
Thanks PT. The moral of the story is DO NOT LEAVE ANY CHILD UNATTENDED IN A LOCKED CAR. Lets hope there will be less accidents like this happening again.
reckless parents should be charged for manslaughter for a life of an innocent kid.
I’m v querious that still got creature on this planet who forgot to take their kids out when they leave the car.cant imagine
This is a good message for those people who cannot control themselves and have 5 to 8 kids. They cannot manage. Worse still when you have many wives and each wife has 4 kids. How do you juggle 16 kids? Half the time, you don’t even know their whereabouts!
The father basically forgot he left his kid in the car?? Wtf is wrong with people.. How much of a dumb ass can u be to do that… OMG, stupidity has a new low… Im so enraged seriously… I have zero compassion for the father… OH MY GOD…!!! That kid deserved a better human than that father he had…
This is just sad! Being a father myself, I would like to ask the father of the child one question: how in the world you can forget that your flesh and blood was still in the car? That is just plain negligent and irresponsible. Sorry for being blunt, but can I suggest jail time to set an example for other parents to take parenting seriously.
Maybe too many kids…..can’t remember. Know how to be a father but don’t know how to be a parent??
What were the parent thinking? This thing will haunt his family for life. You deserve to get low-life job for life. If your kid is not precious, then you’re an animal father. serve you right, bad luck in your life
Thus, the government should regulate the requirement of installing ultrasonic sensor inside the car cabin so if someone leave any living things (children, pets, etc.) inside the car, the alarm siren will be triggered to attract either the car owners themselves or surrounding crowds to the car.
This is not the first & it will certainly not be the last. Am sure most if no all father love their children.
The father of the child must be devastated & hope the earth will swallow him if given the chance.
I am not going to judge him for his negligence. Only God can judge him.
The moral of the story is “Do Not let a child left unattended in a vehicle”
It’s time to stop giving excuses and for every parent who has commited this ,must be charged in court and convicted.