Page 8 - Child Care Resource Center

Matter of Minutes
As the temperature increases in these coming summer months, it’s critically important to ensure children are never left alone in or near a car. Since 2014, Child Care Resource Center’s campaign A Matter of Minutes has raised awareness about the potentially deadly consequences of leaving a child unattended in or near a vehicle for even mere minutes.
According to the National Safety Council, an average of 39 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle. In 2019 alone, 52 children died from heat exposure in the United States. Countless children are injured or even killed by moving vehicles, when the driver fails to see the child behind the vehicle before backing up.
The temperature inside a vehicle increases rapidly, with the inside of a car getting 20 degrees hotter than outside in just 10 minutes. A child’s body temperature rises three or four times faster than that of an adult, meaning this temperature increase is especially dangerous. According to the Stanford University School of Medicine, children left in vehicles on 70-degree days have died.
In 2001, Kaitlyn’s Law (Senate Bill 255) became a law to honor Kaitlyn Russell, a 6-month old baby who died after being left alone in a parked car for more than two hours. The law makes it illegal for a child to be left unattended in a motor vehicle.
Important safety tips:
• Never leave a child unattended in or near a car.
• If you see a child locked inside a car, call 911.
• Teach children not to play in or near a car, even in driveways or parking lots. • Keep cars locked and keys away from children.
• Check cars and their trunks immediately if a child is missing.
• Check that all small passengers have left the car once it’s parked.
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