Can't You Feel the Heat?
Summer officially begins on June 21, but already here in Louisville, Kentucky we’ve had nine days where the temperatures reached the 90s. Sometimes I feel that there’s no sense in taking a shower or washing my face because I’m just going to sweat once I step outside. But no worries, I still cleanse myself every day. My car turns itself into a very unpleasant sauna each summer. Though I see sweating as an inconvenience and quite an embarrassment, I place myself second when I think about my son in the heat. Before I place him in the car, I roll all the windows down and make sure the sun isn’t shining on his skin. But most importantly, I do not leave my son in the car when the days are unbearable.
Recently in the Derby City, there had been a couple of news stories in which a mother or both of the parents have left their child in a hot car. One of the children died, and the other survived. So far in 2011, ten children have died due to hyperthermia from being left in a hot car. Last year it was 49 children http://ggweather.com/heat/ . My mother had a co-worker who left his child in a hot car. There are no excuses for leaving a child alone in a car where its insides can reach over 100°. I’ve heard mothers claim that they forgot, or left the car doors opened where the child was playing inside and later died. However, the sickest incident that occurred in Louisville was when two parents left their little boy inside a car that reached 110° to drink in a strip club. While in the back of the police car, the father complained that he was hot and sweating.
The happiest day of my life was when my son Elliot was born. I find myself staring at him in amazement at times. How this beautiful child could be mine, I ask myself. I took care of myself when I was pregnant with the right foods, prenatal vitamins, and kept all of my doctor’s appointments. Taking care of him didn’t stop once he was born. I could never imagine myself leaving my son in a car, no matter what the temperature was. So how could these people call themselves parents if they choose to leave their own flesh and blood in a hot car? Is that bag of weed or round of drinks so important you have to place harming your body before taking care of your child? When I was in the recovery room, I had to watch a video required of all new mothers to watch about the dangers of shaking a baby. In addition to that video, one about being responsible and to never let a child of any age be left in a hot car should be required.
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