Heat Kills Kids in Parked Cars
Safe Kids and Wolfson Children's Hospital Remind Parents: Never Leave Your Child Alone

Jacksonville, Florida, June 28, 2007 -- Every year, approximately 30 children die of heatstroke after being left in parked cars. Even in mild weather, the interior of a parked car can rise to dangerous temperatures in just a few minutes, and a small child's body temperature can increase three to five times as fast as an adult's. The resulting heat-related illness can cause permanent organ damage or death.

"Never leave your child alone in a car, even for a quick errand," says Cynthia Dennis, RN, Safe Kids Northeast Florida coordinator. "And don't let your child play in or around a parked car, even in your own garage."

Kids can enter an unlocked car parked at home and be unable to get back out. Approximately one-third of child fatalities from car overheating occur when kids crawl into unlocked cars and get trapped. "Lock the doors, lock the trunk and keep the keys out of children's reach," says Dennis.

Check to make sure all children get out of the vehicle at your destination. Don't forget sleeping babies. "Tragically, every year there are new cases of parents or caregivers forgetting and leaving small children in cars," says Dennis. "You might think you could never forget that your child is with you, but if you're dropping off a child at school or day care and that's not part of your daily routine, it can happen." As a reminder, put a stuffed animal in the passenger seat.

Safe Kids Northeast Florida and Wolfson Children's Hospital also recommend these precautions:

Put a folding shade in the windshield of your parked car. (But do not use window shades that attach with suction cups, as they may become hazardous projectiles in the event of a crash.)

Be wary of child-resistant locks. Teach older children how to unlock the doors if they unintentionally get locked in a vehicle.

To prevent children from being locked in the trunk, ask your dealer about getting your car retrofitted with an interior trunk release.

Hot interior surfaces can burn a child's skin. Before you put your child in a car that has been parked in a warm spot, check the temperature of the car seat or upholstery.

If your kids do get locked in a car, get them out and call 911 immediately for follow-up assessment. If you find a child left alone in a parked car, call 911 and get some air into the car, even if you have to break a window. Heatstroke is a life-threatening medical emergency.

Finally, note that state and local prosecutors can file criminal charges of child endangerment against an adult who leaves a child alone in a car -- anywhere, even for a minute.

For more information, visit the "Safety In and Around Cars" page at www.usa.safekids.org/skbu.