Lisa Belkin reminded me about that fantastic article in the Washington Post last year about parents who accidentally left their kids in hot cars. The reporter won a Pulitzer prize for that piece.
Belkin warns that kids can wander into parked cars to play and get stuck in there. That happened to Ian.
This morning, Steve's folks called, while he and Jonah were at
church. It was a long conversation, and Ian was messing around with his
trains in another room. Until he wasn't. Where was he? I got off the
phone and ran from attic to basement calling him and searching. Was he
playing hide and seek? I looked in closets and beds. I listened for
giggles. Nothing. Had he gone outside to ride his bike without telling
me? The bike was in the garage. Finally, I saw a little blond head in
the car.He was playing the DS in the car. He is afraid to play the DS
without the plug, because it might run out of power in the midst of a
game and the world would end. He couldn't find the indoor plug, so he
had used the adapter for the car.The problem was that it was 100 degrees outside.
I tried the car door. It was locked. I banged on the window, but he
was too absorbed in the game. I ran in the house and found the car
keys. When I got to him, he was beet red and the sweat was pouring off
his head. I brought him into the kitchen and put cold paper towels on
his head. He started passing out. So, I carried him upstairs and threw
him into the shower with all of his clothes on.He was shocked. Finally, he started crying. I had gotten his favorite t-shirt wet.
When Jonah was six months old, Steve and I congratulated ourselves
for not killing the baby. We figured that it was all down hill from
there. Wrong.
Please be careful.
Related: Forgetting the Kid
Apt. 11d 
Oh my god, how terrifying.
LikeLike
“When Jonah was six months old, Steve and I congratulated ourselves for not killing the baby. We figured that it was all down hill from there. Wrong. ”
Funny, isn’t it. It’s wrong to say that it doesn’t get easier, ’cause it does, in the physical, practical sense. But the mind sense, well that doesn’t seem to get easier ever. And, as my parents demonstrate, when your children get old enough, you can start worrying about keeping the grandchildren safe, too.
LikeLike
That was a great article. And wow, how terrifying. You did really well.
LikeLike
I never worried much when we had a baby, because I figured I knew what I was doing, except I worried about SIDS. Every night, I used to lie in bed and pray that if someone died that night, it would be me and not our baby.
But teenagers are much more worrisome, to me, because they want to go out and have fun, and you can’t control them. All you can do is inculcate cynicism and remind them constantly that people are not basically good, that you shouldn’t trust strangers, and to stay in groups. On the bright side, City teenagers don’t drive.
LikeLike
That writer deserved a Pulitzer. The piece was brilliantly written, compelling, a masterpiece.
I wish I’d never heard of it, let alone read it. I did not sleep well, after reading it, until around September last fall, when the weather began to cool off. I had a resurgence of anxiety about it once the weather began warming up this year. My son is one and a half; the ease with which a simple loss of focus–a reversion to autopilot–could kill him, terrifies me.
LikeLike
So scary what happened to Ian, but I’m glad you wrote about it.
My first two kids were never the types of kids to venture into the garage without my husband or me present. Child #3 thinks nothing of unlocking the door, going into the garage, and climbing into the car. Starting today, I’m going to be vigilant about locking the car (with the alarm on).
So thank you.
LikeLike