Protect Your Kids on Halloween

Halloween Safety Tips from KidsAndCars.org

More children are struck by cars on Halloween than any other night of the year.

Two-thirds (2/3) of all highway fatalities at Halloween are alcohol-related. Don't even think about getting behind the wheel if you're impaired.

While excited trick-or-treaters may forget the rules of the road and be oblivious to the hazards, we as motorists must be uber vigilant. Be especially careful between 4 and 8 p.m., when most severe vehicle/young pedestrian collisions happen. Approximately 85% of deaths among young pedestrians occurred at non-intersection locations (indicating children are most likely to dart and dash from mid-block into the street).

Review all appropriate pedestrian and traffic safety rules with your children.
Look both ways before crossing the street. (Ideally, you should look right, left, and then right again.)
- Only cross at street corners, stoplights or crosswalks.
- Never cross against a green (or yellow) light.
- Make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of a stopped car and wait for them to wave you on.
- Stick to the sidewalk between houses. If there are no sidewalks, walk on the far edge of the road facing traffic.
- Do not cross yards and lawns where unseen objects or the uneven terrain can present tripping hazards and never walk near lit candles or luminaries.
- Brighten them up. Fasten reflective tape to their costumes and treat bags to make sure they are visible. Give them flashlights with fresh batteries and glow sticks, to help them see and so drivers/others can see them.
- Trick-or-treat in a group if someone older cannot go with you.

Review traffic safety rules for drivers:
- All motorists need to be especially alert and cautious when driving on Halloween because of the increased number of pedestrians walking the streets.
- Watch for children darting out from between parked cars and into the street. Kids can cross the street anywhere, and most young pedestrian deaths happen at spots other than intersections.
- Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs. Yield to all pedestrians.
- Be extra alert when pulling in and out of driveways.
- Do not assume children can see you or are paying attention. You need to take that responsibility.
- At twilight and later in the evening, watch for children in dark clothing.
- Don't use a cell phone while driving through neighborhoods. A single distraction could lead to a tragedy.
- Discourage teens from driving on Halloween. There are too many hazards and distractions for inexperienced drivers.
- Stay well below the posted speed limit. Drive slowly, and don't pass stopped vehicles. The driver might be dropping off children.
- Always use your turn signals. And if you have to pull over to drop off or pick up your kids, turn on your hazard lights.

Today, technology saves your car battery—tomorrow, it could save your child

My op-ed for TIME Inc., published July 29, 2014

If Cars Can Monitor Left-On Headlights and Rear Obstructions, 
They Should Be Able To Save Trapped Kids’ Lives

Susan Pepperdine

Today, technology saves your car battery—tomorrow, it could save your child

Thursday is National Heatstroke Prevention Day, so here is a little fact for your awareness: In the past 20 years more than 670 U.S. children have died of heatstroke in hot cars. To date this year KidsAndCars.org has recorded 18 such fatalities, including the death last week of a 10-month-old girl in Wichita, Kansas, who was unknowingly left in a vehicle on a 90-degree day.

Our national advocacy nonprofit works year-round to educate parents and caregivers about these dangers, including a nationwide “Look before you lock” program. But education is not enough when all it takes is a simple change in a daily routine to cause a parent to drive past their childcare center and forget their child in the back seat. Current state laws require putting your baby in a rear-facing child safety seat, which has saved the lives of thousands of children in car crashes. An unintended consequence of this shift is that when out of sight, quiet little unobtrusive passengers can slip out of mind.

How can we prevent this failure of memory? The auto industry obviously recognizes that we’re human and our memories often fail us: our cars are able to warn us if we leave our headlights on, our keys are in the ignition, a door is open, we’re low on fuel, if our seatbelt isn’t buckled… If we can monitor our headlights or gas levels, we should be able to get a signal that a child has been forgotten.

Some of the technology options currently on the market include car seat monitors and alert systems, key fobs connected to car seats that sound a reminder and weight-sensitive mats. One system activates when the driver has opened the back door to strap in the car seat, and then sounds a reminder chime when the driver leaves the vehicle. Mobile apps have hit the market, such as Cars-n-Kids Carseat Monitor, which connects with the carseat via a sensor, or the Amber Alert GPS, which tracks your child in or out of the car.

These after-market systems may be useful reminders to some people, but they have not all been tested, and they are not the failsafe solution we need in every vehicle. Furthermore, a 2012 study on “Evaluation of Reminder Technology” sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that a few of these systems were not always reliable.

Safety is something every family deserves. It shouldn’t be optional, like 4WD or leather seats. And it shouldn’t be political. The federal government and automakers along with safety advocates have the ability to solve this problem.

KidsAndCars.org recently launched a petition to push the Obama Administration to authorize the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide funding for research and development of innovative technologies to detect a child left alone in the rear seat of a vehicle, such as infrared breathing sensors (a technology that already exists in certain baby monitors for the home). We also spearheaded an initiative to adopt federal safety standards that require all vehicles to be equipped with trunk release latches to prevent trunk entrapment, safer power window switches to prevent strangulation, and brake transmission shift interlock systems so children cannot inadvertently knock a vehicle into gear. In March, the DOT issued a rule requiring rear visibility systems, such as cameras, as standard equipment on all new passenger vehicles by May 2018.

Today, technology saves your car battery. Tomorrow, it could save your child.
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Susan Pepperdine is the public relations director of KidsAndCars.org, a national nonprofit group dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles.

Save kids from heatstroke deaths in vehicles – National Heat Awareness Day

Twittercue: This yr 5 children in SC, GA, TX, CA have already died of #heatstroke in hot vehicles. Check backseat. #LookBeforeYouLock  NEWS RELEASE KidsAndCars.org  7532 Wyoming St., Kansas City, MO 64114 Office: 816-216-7085,  www.KidsAndCars.org Contacts: Janette Fennell, 484-278-4641, cell 415-336-9279 or Janette@KidsAndCars.org Amber Rollins, 816-216-7085 or Amber@KidsAndCars.org Susan Pepperdine, 913-262-7414, cell 913-205-5304 or susan@pepperdinepr.com KidsAndCars.org, Ray Ray's Pledge to promote National Heat Awareness Day May 23 Social media campaign warns about dangers to children in hot vehicles May 23, 2014 - Summer hasn't even arrived yet, and already this year five children in four states - South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and California - have died from heatstroke in vehicles. KidsAndCars.org, Ray Ray's Pledge and other child-safety groups are joining forces on Friday, May 23, for a 24-hour social media campaign aimed at raising awareness to prevent child heatstroke deaths in vehicles. The groups will post facts and prevention tips related to child vehicular heatstroke throughout the day, and ask that the public and media outlets join them in support of this national effort. Facebook and Twitter users can find photos and posts to share at the KidsAndCars.org Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/KidsAndCars.org).  Examples of posts and images that will be shared include; 44 children died of #heatstroke in vehicles in 2013. Check backseat, create reminders!  Keep your baby safe! #LookBeforeYouLock Set a policy with daycare to call you IMMEDIATELY if your child doesn't show up. Prevent child #heatstroke in vehicles! #RayRaysPledge Can't find your child? Check inside your vehicle & trunk IMMEDIATELY to prevent #heatstroke. Keep car locked at home.  If you see a child alone in a car, call 911! A car acts like a greenhouse, heating up to lethal temperatures in minutes. Prevent #heatstroke Even the most loving, responsible parents have unknowingly left their child in a vehicle. Prevent #heatstroke! #LookBeforeYouLock       "The worst thing any parent or caregiver can do is think that this could never happen to them or that they are not capable of inadvertently leaving their child behind," says Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org, the leading national nonprofit child safety organization working to prevent injuries and deaths of children in and around vehicles. "This can and does happen to the most loving, responsible and attentive parents," she added. Since the group began tracking data, at least 719 children have died from heatstroke inside vehicles. Last year was one of the worst years in history with a total of 44 children deaths. "We need everyone to understand that these tragedies are not only predictable, they are also very preventable," she said.   Safety Tips from KidsAndCars.org Click image to enlarge. Remember the following "Look Before You Lock" BE SAFE tips from KidsAndCars.org:  Back seat - Put something in the back seat so you have to open the back door when leaving the vehicle - cell phone, employee badge, handbag, etc.  Every child should be correctly restrained in the back seat. Stuffed animal - Move it from the car seat to the front seat to remind you when your baby is in the back seat.  Ask your babysitter or childcare provider to call you within 10 minutes if your child hasn't arrived on time.  Focus on driving - Avoid cell phone calls and texting while driving.  Every time you park your vehicle open the back door to make sure no one has been left behind. Through the "Look Before You Lock" educational campaign, the first of its kind, KidsAndCars.org has distributed nearly 500,000 safety education cards to birthing hospitals nationwide. KidsAndCars.org urges everyone to read Pulitzer Prize-winning article, "Fatal Distraction," by the Washington Post journalist, Gene Weingarten  http://ow.ly/ldDwUThis powerful feature is the best article ever written that explains how these heartbreaking and preventable tragedies can happen to anyone. For additional information, statistics and charts specific to child vehicular heat stroke visit http://www.kidsandcars.org/heatstroke.html. ### About KidsAndCars.org: Founded in 1996, KidsAndCars.org is a national nonprofit child safety organization dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around vehicles. KidAndCars.org promotes awareness among parents, caregivers and the general public about the dangers to children, including backover and frontover incidents, and heat stroke from being inadvertently left in a vehicle. The organization works to prevent tragedies through data collection, education and public awareness, policy change, product redesign and survivor advocacy.

TOMY Revolutionizes Car Seat Safety With First Smartphone-Synched Convertible Car Seat

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TOMY

2015 Spring Road

Suite 400

Oak Brook, IL 60523

www.tomy.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Matt Miller

Salmon Borre Group

847.582.1610

matt@salmonborre.com

Twitter: @TOMYNewsUS

TOMY Revolutionizes Car Seat Safety With 

The First Smartphone-Synched Convertible Car Seat

The First Years® True Fit IAlert Car Seat Monitors Key Safety Areas:

Child Out of Seat, Unattended Child, Installation Angle and Temperature Check

Now Available Exclusively on Amazon.com

OAK BROOK, IL (July 18, 2013) – A new car seat from TOMY International that will revolutionize the way parents and caregivers think about automobile safety for babies and toddlers is now available for consumers to purchase. TOMY’s The First Years brand is producing the first mobile-synched car seat, featuring an integrated innovative monitoring system designed to alert parents of unsafe and potentially life-threatening situations. The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat (for use from 5 to 65 lbs.) monitors a child in the car seat and notifies parents or caregivers with an alert via their Smartphones if: 

·       A child moves out of the car seat while the vehicle is in motion

·       A child is left in the car seat when the vehicle is not in motion

Additionally, the IAlert Smartphone App:

·       Assists in achieving the recommended angle orientation for rear-facing installation

·       Reminds caregivers to buckle up their child

·       Displays the temperature in the back seat of the car

Each year, thousands of infants and children are killed or injured in motor vehicles, many of those fatalities as a result of an improperly installed car seat or a child who is improperly restrained while the vehicle is in motion. In addition, heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle related deaths for children, with 33 fatalities in 2012 and many other illnesses occurring after children were unintentionally left in cars, according to KidsAndCars.org. Unfortunately, until now, parents and caregivers have only been aware of these life-threatening situations after a close call or tragedy has occurred.

“At TOMY, our mission is to help parents and caregivers keep kids safe by making innovative high quality products that are easy to use and install. To that end, the new The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat has built-in features and functions that take some of the guesswork out of using infant gear properly,” says Greg Kilrea, President and Chief Executive Officer of TOMY International. “The advanced Smartphone-synched technology integrated into The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat helps provide parents with additional peace of mind, which is central to our Company mission. It is critically important to TOMY that we take a leadership position in advancing the overall safety of children in motor vehicles.”

“All new parents need to learn how to keep their child safe in and around vehicles. KidsAndCars.org believes the solution to preventing tragedies is education along with technology in case the driver’s memory fails,” says Janette Fennell, President and Founder of KidsAndCars.org. “When parents follow our simple ‘Look Before You Lock’ program safety tips such as never leaving their child alone in the car and always opening the back door once they arrive at their destination, they are taking life-saving steps to protect their children.”

The IAlert Convertible Car Seat application, produced in partnership with St. Louis, Mo.-based CARS-N-KIDS LLC, is compatible with iPhone and Android devices, and is currently available to consumers. Once the app has been installed and synched, the app provides an audio and a visual alert on the user’s Smartphone when a monitored issue occurs, so that parents or caregivers can pull over to a safe location and check the situation. The system can also be configured to send a text message to other family members or caregivers in the event of an unsafe situation. The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat, which retails for $349.99, is now available exclusively on Amazon.com.

The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat – Description & Specifications

The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat is a revolutionary new car seat with an integrated monitoring system designed to alert parents of potentially life-threatening situations. Working in partnership with CARS-N-KIDS LLC out of St. Louis Mo., this patented technology, when integrated into the True Fit Convertible Car Seat, assists parents or caregivers via their Smartphones with the recommended angle orientation when installing in the rear facing position. In addition, it alerts them if their child moves out of their seat while the vehicle is in motion, if their child is left unattended in the car when the car is not in motion and constantly displays the ambient temperature in the back seat of the car, The First Years True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat is side-impact tested to international standards and offers all the standard features of the True Fit line, including the Rebound Energy Management system for rear-facing installation. Managing rebound energy helps reduce the chance for broken bones in the legs, hips and waist that can be significant in a violent crash. The True Fit IAlert Convertible Car Seat also features a new head rest designed to help manage head control, a no-rethread, easy-adjust harness, built in lock offs, color coded belt paths, LATCH, center angle indicator, cup holder and easy-off pads for convenient cleaning. For use rear-facing 5 to 35 lbs.; forward-facing 23-65 lbs. MSRP: $349.99, available now exclusively on Amazon.com

About TOMY International

TOMY International (www.tomy.com) is a leading global designer, producer and marketer of a broad range of innovative, high-quality toys sold to preschoolers, youths and adults under the TOMY®, Ertl®, Johnny Lightning® and Tomica® brands as well as products for mothers, infants and toddlers marketed under its The First Years®, Lamaze, JJ Cole® Collections and Boon® brands. TOMY International also markets its products under popular and classic licensed properties such as Chuggington, Pokémon, Dinosaur Train, John Deere, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, Princesses, Cars, Fairies and Toy Story, and other well-known properties. TOMY International’s mission is to inspire and fulfill the dreams of children and parents worldwide. TOMY International reaches its target consumers through multiple channels of distribution supporting more than 25,000 retail outlets throughout North and South America, Europe and Australia. TOMY International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-based TOMY Company, Ltd. (Tokyo Stock Exchange Code No. 7867). © TOMY

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Protect Kids From Backover Accidents

In Kansas City 2-year-old Benjamin Thompson died this week when his father's truck backed over him. It's a tragedy that is repeated all too often – about 50 times EACH WEEK in the U.S. Benjamin was the 52nd death recorded this year.

These incidents for the most part take place in residential driveways or parking lots:
• The predominant age of victims are one-year-olds. (12-23 months)
• Over 60% of backing up incidents involved a larger size vehicle. (truck, van, SUV)
• Tragically, in over 70% of these incidents, a parent or close relative is behind the wheel.

KidsAndCars.org urges all adults to heighten their awareness before they engage a vehicle into reverse, especially when children are present. Young children are impulsive and unpredictable, with  poor judgment and little understanding of danger. In addition, young children do not recognize boundaries such as property lines, sidewalks, driveways or parking spaces.

KidsAndCars.org recommendations to keep children safe include:
• Walk around and behind a vehicle prior to moving it.
• Know where your kids are. Make children move away from your vehicle to a place where they are in full view before moving the car and know that another adult is properly supervising children before moving your vehicle.
• Teach children that “parked” vehicles might move. Let them know that they can see the vehicle; but the driver might not be able to see them.
• Consider installing cross view mirrors, audible collision detectors, rear view video camera and/or some type of back up detection device.
• Measure the size of your blind zone (area) behind the vehicle(s) you drive. A 5-foot-1-inch driver in a pickup truck can have a rear blind zone of approximately 8 feet wide by 50 feet long.
• Be aware that steep inclines and large SUV’s, vans and trucks add to the difficulty of seeing behind a vehicle.
• Hold children’s hand when leaving the vehicle.
• Teach your children to never play in, around or behind a vehicle and always set the emergency brake.
• Keep toys and other sports equipment off the driveway.
• Homeowners should trim landscaping around the driveway to ensure they can see the sidewalk, street and pedestrians clearly when backing out of their driveway. Pedestrians also need to be able to see a vehicle pulling out of the driveway.
• Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute.
• Keep vehicles locked at all times; even in the garage or driveway.
• Keys and/or remote openers should never be left within reach of children.
• Make sure all child passengers have left the car after it is parked.
• Be especially careful about keeping children safe in and around cars during busy times, schedule changes and periods of crisis or holidays.

These precautions can save lives. For additional information visit www.KidsAndCars.org

KidsAndCars.org founder to speak at NHTSA press conference

News Release

KidsAndCars.org
7532 Wyoming St., Kansas City, Mo. 64114
Office: 816-216-7085, www.KidsAndCars.org

Contacts:

Janette Fennell, 816-216-7085, cell 415-336-9279 or Janette@KidsAndCars.org

Susan Pepperdine, 913-262-7414, cell 913-205-5304 or susan@pepperdinepr.com

KidsAndCars.org founder to speak at NHTSA press conference

Aug. 22 at Children’s Mercy Hospital

Speakers will also include mother whose child died of heatstroke in hot car

KANSAS CITY, MO.– Aug. 21, 2012… Janette Fennell, president of KidsAndCars.org, a national nonprofit child safety organization working to prevent injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles, will speak at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, at a press conference sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at Children’s Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillhan Rd., Kansas City, Mo.

The event will focus on programs to prevent child heatstroke deaths and injuries in hot cars and to urge parents and caregivers to think, “Where's baby? Look before you lock.”

Speakers will also include Jodie Edwards, Ph.D., whose family suffered a tragedy when she unknowingly left her daughter Jenna, nearly 11 months old, in a hot car while she was at work as a professor at a small Christian university in Ohio. She thought she had taken every precaution possible to protect her daughter and her older brother. Yet her brain ‘flipped a switch,’ causing her to mistakenly believe she had dropped off Jenna at the babysitter’s on the way to work. “I have talked to dozens of families who have lost children to vehicular heatstroke,” Edwards said. “The only thing we all have in common is that none of us realized our love wasn’t enough to protect our children from our imperfect brains.”

KidsAndCars.org reported last week that in the six-day period from Aug. 2 to 7 eight children from 5 months to 4 years old died of heat stroke in vehicles in four states: Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and New Mexico.

To educate parents and caregivers, KidsAndCars.org introduced the “Look before you lock” program, the first of its kind, and has distributed 150,000 information cards to hospitals nationwide. “We want parents to understand from Day One that this is something they need to know in order to protect their baby,” Fennell said. “Sadly, these tragedies can and do happen to anyone, even the most conscientious parents.”

In 2005, KidsAndCars.org was successful in getting a provision included in the omnibus federal transportation bill that requires data collection of incidents that are vehicle-related, but take place off of our public roads and highways. In January 2009, the first report was issued stating that more than 1,700 children and adults are killed and more than 840,000 injured every year. “Though significant, we believe the actual numbers are much higher,” Fennell said. “KidsAndCars.org is working to collect statistics on near misses, which traditionally have not been reported.” 

“After so many years of carrying this torch, KidsAndCars.org is gratified to see the muscle and tremendous outreach efforts of NHTSA to take on a leadership role in working to end these preventable tragedies.”

Based on incidents documented by KidsAndCars.org:

54 percent of the time children die after being unknowingly left inside a hot vehicle.

32 percent when children got into a vehicle on their own, similar to the situation that Hays described.

12 percent when they were knowingly left in vehicle

2 percent of the circumstances were not clear.

Safety Tips from KidsAndCars.org

KidsAndCars.org provides these BE SAFE safety tips on a card being distributed to new parents:

Back seat – Put something in the back seat so you have to open the door when leaving the vehicle – cell phone, employee badge, handbag, etc.
Every child should be correctly restrained in the back seat.

Stuffed animal – Move it from the car seat to the front seat to remind you when your baby is in the back seat.
Ask your babysitter or child-care provider to call you within 10 minutes if your child hasn’t arrived on time.
Focus on driving – Avoid cell phone calls and texting while driving.
Every time you park your vehicle open the back door to make sure no one has been left behind.

For additional information about ways to keep children safe in and around vehicles, visit www.KidsAndCars.org

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About KidsAndCars.org: Founded in 1996, KidsAndCars.org is a national nonprofit child safety organization dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles.  KidAndCars.org promotes awareness among parents, caregivers and the general public about the dangers to children, including backover and frontover incidents, and heatstroke from being inadvertently left in a vehicle. The organization works to prevent tragedies through data collection, education and public awareness, policy change and survivor advocacy.

KidsAndCars.org launches national safety awareness program

In June I volunteered to start helping KidsAndCars.org publicize information to save children from dangers in and around cars -- heat stroke from being left in a car or getting trapped in the trunk, deadly backovers and frontovers, etc.

On July 12 Good Morning America aired a story about two incidents that resulted in the deaths of boys aged 2, 4 and 8 who became trapped in car trunks. Stories have also appeared in the New York Times plus other national and local Kansas City media.

Here is our latest news release, distributed July 13:

KidsAndCars.org launches national safety awareness program

for hospitals to educate new parents about heat stroke danger

‘Look Before You Lock’ cards explain how memory lapses

can place children in danger when inadvertently left in cars

Leawood, Kan. – July 13, 2011 … KidsAndCars.org announces an innovative new pilot program to distribute safety cards through hospitals nationwide to educate new parents about how memory lapses can result in children suffering heat stroke and even death in hot cars. The “Look Before You Lock” program is the first of its kind to provide life-saving information at the very beginning of their baby’s life about the dangers of inadvertently leaving children alone in a vehicle.

“Educating new parents will help prevent tragic heat stroke deaths by giving them practical steps to jog their memory to take their children out of the car,” says Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org, a national nonprofit child safety organization working to prevent injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles.

Available in either English or Spanish, the cards will be distributed as part of the free information packets given to new parents when leaving the hospital. KidsAndCars.org is working in cooperation with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., which provided a grant to fund the program launch. “We support the important work of KidsAndCars.org in elevating this issue to a national level,” said Ed Bradley, regulatory affairs manager, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. “Vehicle safety is an issue that crosses all populations and communities, and Toyota strives to address this vital issue in a comprehensive way. This campaign is a great first step in educating the public in the prevention of injuries and fatalities to children in motor vehicles.”

Hospitals have been highly successful in stressing the importance of infant car seats, in many cases even requiring parents to prove – before leaving the hospital – that they know how to correctly restrain their baby. “Lack of sleep while caring for a newborn and changes in family routines can have lethal consequences,” Fennell points out. “It’s just as important that parents learn to be cautious about leaving children unattended in vehicles as they are about leaving them alone near a swimming pool or in a bathtub.”

Administrator David Strickland of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration commended KidsAndCars.org’s efforts: “With NHTSA’s focus on child passenger safety, we applaud any program that helps alert parents and caregivers to the risks of leaving children alone in vehicles. On hot summer days in particular, we encourage parents to make it a habit to look in their vehicles — both front and back — before locking the door and walking away.”

To request cards, hospitals simply need to notify KidsAndCars.org of the number of babies that are born at their facilities.

Individuals may also download and print copies of the card from the website, www.KidsAndCars.org.

Safety tips on the card include the memory device, BE SAFE:

Back seat – Put something in the back seat of your vehicle that requires you to open the back door every time you park – cell phone, employee badge, handbag, etc.
Every child should be correctly restrained in the back seat.

Stuffed animal – Keep a stuffed animal in your child’s car seat. Place it on the front passenger seat as a reminder when your baby is in the back seat.
Ask your babysitter or child care provider to call you if your child hasn’t arrived on time.
Focus on driving – Avoid cell phone calls and texting while driving.
Every time you park make it a routine to open the back door of your car to check that no one has been left behind.

“This is the first program of its kind,” Fennell noted. “New parents are highly motivated to do whatever it takes to keep their new baby safe, so this is the perfect time to present this information.”

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About KidsAndCars.org: Founded in 1996, KidsAndCars.org is a national nonprofit child safety organization dedicated to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles. KidsAndCars.org promotes awareness among parents, caregivers and the general public about the dangers to children, including backover and frontover incidents, and heatstroke from being inadvertently left in a vehicle. The organization works to prevent tragedies through data collection, education and public awareness, policy change and survivor advocacy.