# Forgetting an infant in a car **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651 "2009-03-16T19:06:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/81 "2009-03-17T18:49:23Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Just to note, this really doesn’t happen “so often”. 20 times a year in the entire US could probably be described as rare. It’s 15-20 times a year that a child dies, but I think it’d be interesting to know how many near-misses there are a year. How many people here have admitted that it almost happened to them? How many kids are left accidentally as their parent walks away and then remembers? How many parents DO get the call from the babysitter/daycare and run to their car? I don’t know what the solution is, but I think the numbers underestimate the problem. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/82 "2009-03-17T18:58:01Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > It sounds like that’s exactly what you were suggesting: No. Are you implying that a quick dash into the store while leaving a child in the car is neglect? Or leaving a sleeping child in the infant car carrier in the house or in the garage is neglect? I’m not. I am saying that it is often considered convenient to leave a sleeping child in a car seat rather than disturb them for a quick dash into the store or to transfer to him to a cot. When one gets used to such a convenience I can see how it may factor into the tragedy of forgetting them in a parking lot at work for a day. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/83 "2009-03-17T19:04:30Z")
> [@taxi78cab](#): > > It’s 15-20 times a year that a child dies, but I think it’d be interesting to know how many near-misses there are a year. How many people here have admitted that it almost happened to them? How many kids are left accidentally as their parent walks away and then remembers? How many parents DO get the call from the babysitter/daycare and run to their car? I don’t know what the solution is, but I think the numbers underestimate the problem. I don’t. If we’re talking about implementing a safety device in order to save lives, then the death statistics are the most relevant. A lot of the people who have almost forgotten a child wouldn’t have been helped by the hypothetical device. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/84 "2009-03-17T19:06:11Z")
> [@chela](#): > > No. Are you implying that a quick dash into the store while leaving a child in the car is neglect? Or leaving a sleeping child in the infant car carrier in the house or in the garage is neglect? I’m not. Absolutely it is. It is leaving a child unattended in a public place. What if he/she woke up without you knowing, how frightened would they be? What if someone hit the gas instead of the brake and crashed into your car? Even at home, if you got sick or passed out, how long might it be before anyone thought to look there for the child? An infant is worth about $45,000 on the black market in the US, and is generally sold to folks who are not just looking for a child to love. Would you leave $45,000 cash on the seat of the car while you “run into the shop for a moment?”. Is your child not a million times more valuable to you? Unthinkable, I wouldn’t do it, ever. For any reason. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/85 "2009-03-17T19:07:35Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I am saying that it is often considered convenient to leave a sleeping child in a car seat rather than disturb them for a quick dash into the store or to transfer to him to a cot. When one gets used to such a convenience I can see how it may factor into the tragedy of forgetting them in a parking lot at work for a day. That’s one reason I’ve never let my daughter sleep in the car alone. Not even to run into 7-11 and buy some nachos. If I don’t feel like bringing her in, then I don’t go. I’m FAR too absent minded to chance getting into a routine of leaving the car without taking her out of her seat. Hell, I sat in the car in front of my house for two hours once cause she was sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/86 "2009-03-17T19:09:14Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Absolutely it is. It is leaving a child unattended in a public place. What if he/she woke up without you knowing, how frightened would they be? What if someone hit the gas instead of the brake and crashed into your car? Even at home, if you got sick or passed out, how long might it be before anyone thought to look there for the child? > > An infant is worth about $45,000 on the black market in the US, and is generally sold to folks who are not just looking for a child to love. > > Would you leave $45,000 cash on the seat of the car while you “run into the shop for a moment?”. Is your child not a million times more valuable to you? > > Unthinkable, I wouldn’t do it, ever. For any reason. While I would never leave my child in the car unattended, I have no problem with a child in a car seat sitting on the floor of one’s house. I think that’s what s/he meant by the second example. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/87 "2009-03-17T19:14:35Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > An infant is worth about $45,000 on the black market in the US, and is generally sold to folks who are not just looking for a child to love. Where did you find that information? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/88 "2009-03-17T19:18:09Z")
> [@chela](#): > > No. Are you implying that a quick dash into the store while leaving a child in the car is neglect? Or leaving a sleeping child in the infant car carrier in the house or in the garage is neglect? I’m not. A quick dash into the store with the kid in the car is a total 100% no-no these days. Leaving a sleeping child in the car seat in the house is, IMHO, totally OK. It’s just another piece of furniture, and the kid is as safe as if he were in his bouncy seat, or crib. However, none of these tragic scenarios bears any resemblance to these (right or wrong) uses of a car seat. These tragedies are when the parent believes the kid is safe and where he should be, when the kid is actually in danger. It has nothing to do with the terrible idea of leaving the kid in the car seat while you run an errand. It has everything to do with people being busy, and needing to let other people care for the child while they are spending hours working or doing some other task. Making one mistake, thinking the child is with the other care giver when he isn’t, is enough to cause a tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/89 "2009-03-17T19:37:40Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Where did you find that information? I don’t recall where I first read it, but just google “Black Market Babies” if you’d like to see more info. Actually, the price seems to be up to $50,000 now. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/90 "2009-03-17T19:42:47Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I don’t recall where I first read it, but just google “Black Market Babies” if you’d like to see more info. Actually, the price seems to be up to $50,000 now. If you don’t know where you found the info, then how do you know that now the price is up to $50,000? I just did the Google search you suggested and didn’t turn up anything indicating the current sale price for babies on the black market. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/91 "2009-03-17T19:57:12Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > If you don’t know where you found the info, then how do you know that now the price is up to $50,000? I just did the Google search you suggested and didn’t turn up anything indicating the current sale price for babies on the black market. Did you use the Black Market Google? Cause the normal Google won’t give you any results. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/92 "2009-03-17T20:04:46Z")
The former site (black - market - [babies.com](http://babies.com)) was a hoax site. I believe that is what **TruCelt** is referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/93 "2009-03-17T20:51:06Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Are you implying that a quick dash into the store while leaving a child in the car is neglect? Yep, absolutely, at least where I live. > [@](#): > > _Or leaving a sleeping child in the infant car carrier in the house or in the garage is neglect?_ Nope, not at all. There were times when I would haul out my beach chair and read a book in my own driveway rather than wake up one of my boys by taking him out of the car. > [@](#): > > \*I am saying that it is often considered convenient to leave a sleeping child in a car seat rather than disturb them for a quick dash into the store or to transfer to him to a cot. \* Leaving a child in the car while you are not in it or next to it? Out of visual range? Yes, I would call it negligent. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/94 "2009-03-17T20:52:17Z")
As a former child who somehow survived a completely scatter brained parent who left her many, many times, many, many places… I have the utmost sympathy for these parents. And absolutely none for the parent who do not restrain their children. I can’t imagine they can’t get something marketed that addresses this. We got an alarm for my daughter bed (which we refer to as the “dead baby alarm” that was sensitive enough to notice when they stop breathing. It is my default baby gift for new parents. I could never understand people who say they would know if their child stopped breathing. Uh, what is the sound of nothing? I will say it worked, because it was triggered twice for real and no, she wasn’t breathing. Later, it became useful to tell us when she had crawled out of her crib. Of course, by then, she was smart enough to go turn it off. Damn kid. Anyway, what I’m saying is that I completely agree that it can happen to anyone. And the stuffed animal in the seat is a good idea, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/95 "2009-03-17T21:14:58Z")
Keep 15 feet of twine in the car. Tie one end to the infant’s car seat and the other to one’s wrist. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/96 "2009-03-17T21:26:10Z")
A phone is a device, program it to text/call/sound an alarm as soon as you arrive. Wear a tracking bracelet and keep the other on the infant seat, it shocks you if you wander to far? Think you need a device to avoid tragic mishaps, program yourself to look in the backseat? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/97 "2009-03-17T21:47:16Z")
> [@chela](#): > > A phone is a device, program it to text/call/sound an alarm as soon as you arrive. Wear a tracking bracelet and keep the other on the infant seat, it shocks you if you wander to far? Think you need a device to avoid tragic mishaps, program yourself to look in the backseat? :dubious: Nobody thinks they need a device to prevent tragic mishaps. That’s the point. I don’t understand your :dubious: smiley. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/98 "2009-03-17T22:08:39Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > That is a damned smart habit for every new parent to get into- ladies, get your phone out and then throw your purse in the back seat. Based on the stories that these parents tell, of being **distracted** and on auto-pilot, and the number of them who were fielding phone calls on their way into the office getting the phone out is the _last_ thing a parent should do with a kid in the backseat. It would reduce the number of accidents, too. There is nothing in the world so important that people need to have phone conversations _with_ work when they’re on their way _to_ work, unless you’re the president of your nation or perhaps an open heart surgeon talking someone through a complicated life-saving procedure. In the car is not the place for a phone conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/99 "2009-03-18T00:37:15Z")
When my group had smallish kids, we would all meet on Thursdays at the local gymnastics place. The kids got to play on cool equipment for an hour while the Mom’s got to chat uninterrupted. We were/are all middle class, suburban housewife types- some of whom work or are/were temporarily not working while the kids were little. Our group is mostly nurses and teachers with a smattering of secretaries, real estate agents, etc. Normal, average, intelligent, educated moms. After gymnastics, it was our custom to all head out to one of our houses for a couple of hours. We didn’t have a formal, rotating schedule or anything- whomever had the cleanest house or the most peanut butter sandwich stuff would usually volunteer. Whoever it was, we usually allowed them a 5 or 10 minute headstart in case they had any quick tidying up they wanted to do before the horde descended. This day, Sue volunteered, so she headed on out first. The rest of us soon arrived and were quickly involved in herding kids or making sandwiches. Soon, Sue’s husband came in. He asked “Where is darling young son?” (Their darling daughter was present and accounted for). I said, “I think I saw him run through here with another kid a few minutes ago” so he went off to locate the boy… And found him in his carseat in the driveway. The boy was red and hot and crying so he got dunked into the bathub very quickly and the nurses in the group gave him the once over. After his bath and some hydration, he was fine and ready to play. And all of us who had walked past or near the car to get to Sue’s house learned that this is something that could happen to anyone- even one of “us”. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651/100 "2009-03-18T05:24:26Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Nobody thinks they need a device to prevent tragic mishaps. That’s the point. Perhaps parents don’t. Engineers do. When a piece of industrial machinery is being worked on, such that it would be dangerous for the worker if someone turned the machine on, they put a[lockout](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockout-Tagout) on it. This not just a reminder, it is literally a hasp on the switch with a padlock, or a locked device around the electrical plug. But that’s to protect _adult_ workers… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgetting-an-infant-in-a-car/489651.md?page=6)