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How to Help Prevent Hot Car Tragedies With Stop. Look. Lock. No parent ever imagines a day could end in a hot car tragedy. Yet an average of 37 children die in hot cars each year in the United States, often during normal activities like daycare drop-off, a quick stop at a store, or a change in schedule. This summer, the Baby Safety Alliance is encouraging families and caregivers to practice Stop. Look. Lock. Each time you exit your vehicle, STOP and LOOK in the rear seat to confirm no child, pet, or other vulnerable passenger remains inside. Then LOCK your doors to help prevent a child from entering and becoming trapped. These incidents often involve loving, responsible caregivers and are frequently linked to stress, fatigue, distraction, or disruptions to normal routines. More than half of hot car deaths involve a child being unintentionally forgotten by a caregiver. “Stop. Look. Lock. is about creating a consistent habit before walking away from the vehicle,” said Joe Colella, Director of Child Passenger Safety at the Baby Safety Alliance. “That final back seat check helps account for changes in routine, distraction, or other factors that may cause a driver to unintentionally leave a child.” Routine Changes Increase Risk One of the most common factors in hot car tragedies is a disruption to routine, such as a different caregiver handling childcare drop-off or changing summer schedules. “When the brain shifts into habit mode, people can lose awareness of a sleeping or quiet child in the back seat, and continue on with their routine activities,” Colella said. “That’s why relying on human memory alone is not enough.” Stop. Look. Lock. works because it creates a consistent safety habit of ensuring everyone is accounted for during both everyday transitions and changes in routine. All caregivers, including grandparents, relatives, childcare providers, babysitters, and older siblings, should develop the same safety habit and practice it consistently. Hot Cars Become Deadly Quickly Many caregivers are unaware of how fast a vehicle can heat up. Hot car deaths have occurred when the outside temperature is as low as 60 degrees, and research shows nearly half of a vehicle’s temperature increase happens within the first 10 minutes, and 80% of the temperature rise happens within the first 30 minutes. Cracking the windows does little to slow the heat buildup. Children are especially vulnerable because their bodies heat up three to five times faster than adults. More than half of children who die in hot cars are under the age of 2. Simple Habits That Help Prevent Hot Car Tragedies A few simple habits can help families avoid hot car tragedies, including:
Another helpful tip is that some families also keep a stuffed animal in the child’s car seat and move it to the front seat whenever the child is riding in the vehicle. The visual reminder can help during busy mornings or schedule changes. Prevention does not have to be complicated. The Baby Safety Alliance encourages caregivers to practice Stop. Look. Lock. every time they exit a vehicle. More Than Mom: How Sleep Deprivation Affects Safety By Denise Iacona Stern, CEO, Let Mommy Sleep
The link between adults with sleep deprivation and postpartum depression has been proven over and over , with women reporting the highest levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms in early pregnancy and the lowest levels of social support. When we look deeper into the effects of lack of sleep however, the link between sleep and poor outcomes affects not only a parent’s mental health but the health and safety of the family as well. Simply put, when we don’t sleep, we make poor decisions. Here’s what that means: Newborns and Infants: Those experiencing sleep deprivation are less likely to place infants in safe sleep situations. Additionally they are less likely to bring infants in for routine health visits, and to have infants fully immunized. Partners: Sleep problems may also contribute to the transmission of depression within a couple. As the study states: “Mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms were correlated with each other…” Community: Accidents on the whole, in particular car accidents are also more likely due to drowsy driving. This is true for anyone who’s sleep deprived, but new parents are especially susceptible. Sleep Deprivation and Safety: Proven Tips to Help Prepare and Organize Baby Gear Just as athletes prepare and visualize success for their competitions, parents can prepare for their own big game when baby arrives! 1. Pre-assemble and understand how to use your gear! Take away the stress of learning how to safely use your stroller, car seat and other essentials at the moment they’re needed by practicing before baby arrives. 2. Anchor furniture and babyproof before birth: We’ve all heard stories of babies rolling, reaching and pulling up before anyone thought they’d be capable of doing so. Take away this stress by safely anchoring the furniture/TV’s and other heavy items, tucking away cords and completing other babyproof essentials. 3. Think beyond the gear: Did you know that in a 2013 survey of 4,146 ERs, only 47% have an emergency preparedness plan in place that addresses the unique needs of children? Download the FindER app to learn and understand which emergency room is best prepared for your child’s needs before an emergency. For more minor medical situations that can be handled at home, purchase or create -and understand how to use- your own first aid kit. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene Basic sleep hygiene is a great foundation for sleep for everyone. Parents of newborns may not be able to do all of these activities but try to include as many as possible into your day:
Create a Schedule- for YOU A common refrain from new parents is “how can I get my baby on a schedule?” But parents need a sleep schedule too! By switching nights or part of the night where one parent is on and one is completely off, both partners receive meaningful blocks of sleep. In other words, parents take turns caring for baby in shifts. Parent A is on from 7pm – whenever baby gets up overnight, then parent B is on from the end of that wake-up til morning. Better yet, do a 2 nights on/2 nights off schedule. You’ll keep your immune systems strong and make safe decisions for your family by getting meaningful blocks of deep, restorative sleep. Accept Help Friends, neighbors and family can provide childcare relief, whether they look after the baby overnight, or support you for an hour or 2 during the day to get a nap. Hiring a night nurse or other professional nighttime care is also an option. Your own health and the health of your family is worth it. As the CEO of Let Mommy Sleep, Denise Iacona Stern is a 15-year veteran of ensuring new parents quality sleep. She is also a mother of 3 and Cribs for Kids Safe Sleep Ambassador. Embracing Childproofing As grandparents, welcoming grandchildren into your home is a joyous experience. You play an important role in protecting curious and energetic explorers. When grandchildren are going to visit, it is best to take a few precautions in advance. Consider using a baby gate or two to create a safe space for them in a family room or other room in the home. Here are additional recommendations for adapting your home for little ones:
Being a grandparent is a wonderful time – taking a few precautions can help protect your grandchild, reduce stress, and hopefully ensure frequent visits! Use The Right Products It is the age of the internet, we have all seen numerous videos showing shortcuts, aka ”hacks” for cooking, cleaning, and more. These can be useful tips but when it comes to child safety, hacks should not be part of the discussion. We all want to provide the best for our children, that means using the Right Products. What do we mean by “Right” – it means a product designed and tested for a specific purpose. As someone who is married to a long-haired spouse, hair ties serve a specific purpose. That purpose is not to secure kitchen cabinets. You need to use a child safe cabinet latch. Chairs, bar stools, and ottomans were never intended to be used as stair barriers. There are many JPMA certified gates that install easily, look great, and are the most suitable product for childproofing. Below are some tips to assist you with choosing the right gates and using them safely in your home every day:
When it comes to protecting our children, please take the time to “Use The Right Products”, the difference could save a life. No Child Left Unattended...
Leaving a child unattended in any circumstance can lead to preventable injuries or worse. The inside of a vehicle is an extremely dangerous environment for a child and children should never be left alone in a vehicle for any amount of time. Not just a story! A parent left their daughter unattended in the vehicle and ran in the house for just a minute to pick up an item left behind. The phone rang and he needed to go to his computer to comply with the request of the caller. He stepped into the restroom. The phone rang again. His child dies of heatstroke in the family’s driveway. The time it took you to read the short paragraph above is the same amount of time the parent intended to leave the child unattended in the vehicle, just a minute. This is not just a story; this really happened. TAKE ACTION IF YOU SEE A CHILD ALONE IN A HOT CAR:
SAFETY TIPS FOR PARENTS
“That would never happen to me.” We all understand the inconvenience of loading, unloading, and reloading a child into a vehicle… it is exhausting! BUT…we must never put our own convenience above the safety of our precious children. There are so many things that can happen to children left unattended in a vehicle:
How to Choose and Use the Correct Car Seat to Protect Your Child
Car crashes are a leading cause of injury, hospitalization, or worse for American children. Each day in the United States, an estimated 445 children are injured and an average of three children are killed. A shocking 40% of those children killed in car crashes are not buckled up at all, and more than half of families make errors in correctly choosing and using their car seats. Correct selection, installation, and use of a car seat, booster seat, or seat belt is the proven best defense to ensure the safety of a child in your care. The good news is that the Baby Safety Alliance and its car seat manufacturer members are here to help guide you to correctly choose and use a car seat to protect your child. As a trade association for prenatal to preschool product stakeholders, the Baby Safety Alliance is the voice of safety and quality for the industry. We do this through sharing evidence-based educational messaging, helping to develop safe product regulations and standards, and encouraging state legislatures to pass state laws that reflect best safety practices. A correctly used car seat begins by choosing a safe car seat that is appropriate for your child’s size, age, and developmental needs. It must then face the proper direction for your child and be placed in a car seating position that considers the safety of the child and all other passengers. The car seat must be tightly attached to the vehicle according to car seat and vehicle instructions, and your child must be snugly buckled in with correctly adjusted harnesses. The following are answers to some common questions from parents and caregivers when it comes to choosing and using the right car seat: How do I choose the right car seat? The basic rules that any certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) will reiterate, are that the best car seat 1) fits your child; 2) fits your vehicle; 3) will be used consistently and correctly.
Since every car seat sold in the United States must meet stringent Federal safety requirements, those basic rules are constant. Beyond regulations, many car seat models have extra safety, convenience,
and comfort features added to their designs. The right car seat for your family should also accommodate your budget and lifestyle needs. Children should ride rear-facing until they reach the maximum rear-facing weight or height allowed by the instructions for the model. This advice is based on extensive research and comes from the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a leading organization that represents 67,000 pediatricians who diagnose and treat child injuries. Families should delay transitions from rear-facing to forward-facing
to booster seat to seat belt as long as their car seat instructions allow. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which regulates the safety of car seats and vehicles, offers
similar guidance. https://healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/Pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx As safety devices that can protect children in dangerous crashes, car seats must be used in the ways they are designed and tested. So to be sure that you are using it correctly, you must carefully read and follow the car seat instructions and the car seat section of your vehicle owner’s manual. Plus, there are additional resources to help you use your car seat correctly:
The Safest Ways for Kids to Ride
Regardless of the restraint type, always follow the car seat and vehicle instructions for proper use, along with state laws. It is very important to remember that the back seat is the safest place for children under 13 to ride!
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7/15/2026 » 7/17/2026
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