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March 9, 2009

When a baby dies in a car...

because his distracted father or mother forgot he hadn't been dropped off at day care, should the parent be prosecuted? That's one of the questions posed by this tragic portrait of the rising phenomenon of hyperthermia in yesterday's Washington Post Magazine.

Warning: The story is extremely graphic, so while I urge you to read it for its cautionary message -- that leaving a baby in the car has happened to all kinds of people -- it's not for the faint of heart.

If you don't want to attempt it, please go directly to the most important part: the tips on how to prevent this from happening to you and your child. They include leaving your work i.d. badge, cell phone or purse in the back seat with your baby; having a day-care provider call you right away if the baby hasn't shown up as expected; and putting a stuffed animal in the front seat with you to remind you that the baby is in the back.

Posted by Kate Shatzkin at 10:03 AM | | Comments (1)
        

Comments

I don't think they should be prosecuted. They've already suffered enough, and as someone in the article said, punishing them further isn't going to serve as any kind of deterrent. Instead, I think people should focus on publicizing these incidents so that parents can take preventative measures.

Thanks for your blog post.

Posted by: Byron | March 9, 2009 4:10 PM

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About Kate Shatzkin
Kate Shatzkin is the parenting and families content editor at The Baltimore Sun and, before that, was its family beat reporter. But her most challenging and rewarding job is being mother to Leah, 8, and Sam, 6.

In her 14 years at The Baltimore Sun, Kate also has covered nonprofit organizations, prisons and courts, and has written several investigative series. She was previously a Knight journalism fellow at Yale Law School and a reporter at the Seattle Times and at the Patriot-Ledger of Quincy, Mass. She lives in Baltimore with her family.

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