Will a new product help a parent remember baby in the back seat?

Photo Credit: Getty Images

We've all read and heard about the tragic stories of parents who've accidentally left their baby in a car, only to return and find the child dead. I think most of us read these reports and are simultaneously saddened and horrified. I know I always wonder how the heck that can happen. Keys, sure. But kids?

Some facts:

In 2008, so far 20 children have died from hypothermia after being left in cars.
Between 1998-2007, more than 350 children died after being left in cars. Reason? Fifty one percent of these kids were "forgotten" by a caregiver while 30 percent were playing in unattended vehicle. (You can find more information here...the report was published in Pediatrics.)

News reports have raised awareness on this topic. I think most parents are on red alert when it comes to making sure they get their kids out of the car. And some moms even have little tricks to remind them about the sleeping or quiet baby in the back seat.

Sharon Kennedy Wynne over at woah momma wrote that she could have been "one of those moms" that left her kid in the car on a hot day. I applaud her for being so honest and sharing her story. Her morning was hectic, she was in a mom zone:

"About five minutes into the trip, my 6-month-old baby made a gurgle sound and I quite literally jumped. He had been so silent I forgot he was back there. What if he had fallen asleep? Would I have gone into work, completely forgetting I had a baby boiling in a car? The image haunts me."

Her trick for not leaving a baby in the car? She puts her purse on the floor beside the car seat...an easy reminder to grab her babe.

KidViz prototype

A few weeks ago I was at my local farmer's market when I met David H. Bell, th CEO of Visible Kids. He's working on a new product called VizKid, a very simple "stand" to remind parents they have a child in the car. He was giving away prototypes for moms and dads to test out. You put the VizKid on the empty passenger seat next when you're driving with kids. The goal is that you associate the VizKid with the real kid(s) in the backseat. After a drive, you take the kids out and put the VizKid the floor.

It was tough for me to get into the habit of using VizKid, mostly because my kids are older. My two sons, 6 and 3, are incredibly vocal in the car (which also makes me nutty sometimes). They rarely snooze on a drive. It would be really difficult for me to forget them. But my little guys liked having Mr. VizKid in the car and wanted to decorate him and give him a name. Go figure.

However, I could see how a new parent could find VizKid handy. Had I started this habit when I had my first baby, I would most certainly keep it up. Sort of how I make sure I don't lock my car doors unless my kids are out of my driving machine.

Do you have any tricks/tips that help you remember to grab your kid out of the car? Would something like VizKid help you?

From the Community…

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Posted by Mimi-pz Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:43am PDT

Well.. .my parents one time accidentally left me in the play pen at home... They remembered when they got older brother strapped into his seat and got in the car... they immediately went back in and got me... but it can be done.
I think VizKid is a great idea. Not only can it be used to remind you your kids are in the car, but it can also remind you to pick them up from school... (I have to set the alarm on my mobile phone or I'd miss the carpool and bus every day)! Yikes!

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Posted by MistressMinx _ Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:49am PDT

Sorry, but I never once forgot my kid in the backseat, nor even forgot she was there. I think its a sad excuse when we forget our kids. Its really pathetic and I don't understand it at all.
Yes, I forget stuff on a regular basis - coupons, milk, overdue library books, stamps, etc., but my kid? No way.

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Posted by c_stoppa01 Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:53pm PDT

Are you kidding me? People who forget they have children left behind should be castrated and not allowed to have any more, male or female. Dumb, I have never ever left my son behind anywhere or forgot about him. He is my number one priority and yes I do work full time and have a life. Absolutley rediculas and no exscuse for it except you have your head too far up you own a$$.

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Posted by Harriet Dublin Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:08pm PDT

wow! I wish I was as perfect as MistressMinx and c_stoppa01, but I don't know anyone that is actually that perfect. I think you're both fooling yourselves if you don't think you're going to have an accident of some sort with your child. Cockiness is the worst thing you can be guilty of. Best of luck to you both. A lot can play in to these kinds of things. PPD for one. Medication is another. I have accidentally locked my 1st daughter in the car when she was first born and now keep a key with me at all times. My husband was locking the door on the other side of the car and I was getting ready to open the door she was in. Accidents happen all the time. As mothers we get preoccupied with our days activities...I have chidren and there is always noise in my car so forgetting they're back there is virtually impossible at this point....but I am always consious of the possibility I can make mistakes...bless all who have lost a child this way. I can't even imagine...

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Posted by zeebee Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:38pm PDT

Why can't parents use the mirrors that clip onto your rearview mirror? They make ones for backwards-facing kids, where you set up the mirror in the backseat and angle it in such a way as to be able to see your baby in the rearview mirror, and ones for forward-facing kids that you just clip onto the rearview mirror and angle it to see your kid. The backwards ones run about $20 and the fowards ones are under $10. Not only do you not forget your kid is back there because you can't help but see them in the mirror, but it also allows you to check up on them while they drive. I realize that you'd need for the carseat to be in the middle seat for this to really work, but that's where they should be anyway. I gave one as a shower gift even though it wasn't on the registry because I felt it was important enough for people to use. My husband and I each have one in our vehicles and can't imagine driving around without them.

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Posted by mds0427 Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:42pm PDT

hola minubres mds

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Posted by smithclanx4 Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:02pm PDT

I THINK THAT FOR THE FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS A LITTLE HAPPY FACE SITTING IN THE SEAT MIGHT REMIND YOU THAT YOU HAVE A LITTLE PERSON IN THE BACK SEAT DEPENDING ON YOU TO NOT LEAVE THEM IN THE CAR, AFTER THAT IT WILL JUST BECOME PART OF THE CAR OBJECTS PROBABLY KNOCKED ONTO THE FLOOR OF THE CAR AND ROLLING AROUND FORGOTTEN LIKE YOUR CHILD. IF YOU CAN NOT REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR CHILD OUT OF THE CAR,, THAN GET A SHOCK COLLAR FOR YOUR NECK AND WHEN YOU GET 100 FEET AWAY FROM YOUR SWELTERING CAR AND PANICKED CHILD IT WILL SHOCK YOU, I BET YOU WILL REMEMBER AFTER THAT.

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Posted by springtime Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:16pm PDT

olaola128 has a great idea and it doesn't cost anything. Put your purse or briefcase right beside the baby. No woman will leave a car without her purse.

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Posted by optiva Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:28am PDT

hmm how in the world would a parent forget their child is in the backseat???? I don't understand it at all. If I had children I would be driving so safely to ensure they would be ok,and there is no way I would ever forget them. Says alot about the parents who do,maybe they should have the kids taken away,bet they would remember them, then.

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Posted by runaround*girl Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:21am PDT

I believe that this could happen to any parent. Nobody is perfect or evet will be. I feel that if you have a daily routine and something happens to interfer with that routine, thats when something so tragic like this can happen. I am not one to judge anyone out there that this has happen to. But my heart goes out to those who have lost a child this way...

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