Nonprofits Team Up to Educate Parents about Heat Stroke

A visual demonstration of the extreme temperatures inside a car will make you think twice next time you leave your child alone in a car this summer.

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Safe Kids Georgia have teamed up to teach parents about the dangers of leaving children in the car on hot summer days and will have a live demonstration Wednesday afternoon at the Kroger on Briarcliff Road to show the difference between temperatures outside and inside a car.

"Never Leave Your Child Alone in a Car" is just part of the program both groups initiated to educate parents about the dangers of heat stroke.

Last year, a record 49 children in the United States died from heat stroke after being left alone in cars.

The live demonstration with thermometer display will be at Kroger, 1799 Briarcliff Rd. NE, on Wednesday, May 25, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The groups offer these tips to avoid any tragedies this summer:

• There is no safe way to leave a child unattended in a car - even for one-minute a child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s.
• It takes only ten minutes for a car to heat up by 19 degrees and it continues to heat up quickly because of all the windows in a car.
• Dial 911 immediately if you see an unattended child in a car. EMS professionals are trained to determine if a child is in trouble.
• Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even for one minute. Leaving a window slightly open has no effect on the temperature in the vehicle
• Place a cell phone, PDA, purse, briefcase, gym bag or whatever is to be carried from the car on the floor in front of a child in a backseat. This forces the adult to open the back door and observe the child when they reach for the item.
• Set your cell phone or Blackberry reminder to be sure you dropped your child off at day care.
• Set your computer “Outlook” program to ask, “Did you drop off at day care today?”
• Have a plan that if your child is late for day care you will be called within a few minutes.
• Be especially careful if you change your routine for dropping off children at day care.
• Teach children not to play in any vehicle.
• Lock all vehicle doors and trunk – especially at home. Cars are not playgrounds. 
• Check vehicles and trunks FIRST if a child goes missing.
• To view a reenactment of a car heating up incrementally, go to www.ggweather.com then to the first bullet under “weather links.”