We usually hear of little ones being locked in cars, sometimes with fatal consequences, in other countries.
But just last Sunday (August 13), a similar incident occurred right here in Singapore.
A tiny five-month-old baby boy was found locked in a car parked at Block 201E Tampines Street 23 at around 9pm, according to a Channel NewsAsia report.
‘How can you do that?’
Eyewitness Fizah Jamal posted a nearly 11-minute long video on Facebook (video is at the end of this article) where Singapore Civil Defence Force officers can be seen examining the vehicle, before the baby’s father came back, unlocked the car and took the little one out.
In the video, a woman can be heard scolding the father for leaving the baby locked in the car, saying the little one had been ‘screaming’.
“How can you do that?” she asks him. “I have a baby the same age. I have heard of so many cases of baby dying inside the car (sic). You left the baby inside for 20 minutes,” she says. “We happened to pass by. How can you leave the baby like that?”
Paramedics examined the child the moment his father took him. The baby was thankfully reported to be unhurt.
Children should NEVER be left in a locked car, even for a minute or two.
A huge risk, a tragedy averted
Mums and dads, we can’t stress this enough: babies and children should never be left inside a locked car even for a second.
Children in this situation are put at great risk of suffocation or heatstroke. And there is no nice way of saying this: the results can be fatal.
It may be tempting to leave the kids in the car while you make that quick trip to the store, but here is why it can be dangerous:
- A child’s body heats up to four times faster than an adult’s.
- Cars heat up quickly! In just 10 minutes, the temperature inside a vehicle can rise by nearly 20ºF.
- Heat stroke or hyperthermia can happen when the body is not able to cool itself quickly enough. Heatstroke occurs when a person’s body temperature exceeds 104°F. At 107ºF, cells are damaged and internal organs begin to shut down. This can lead to devastating injury, permanent brain damage or death.
How you can prevent hot car tragedies:
- Never leave your child alone in a car, not even for a minute.
- Always look before you lock. Check the back seats of your vehicle before your lock it and walk away. Create reminders to check the back seat, by putting something important next to your child, such as a briefcase, purse or cell phone.
- Keep your car locked when you are not in it so kids don’t gain access. Also make sure that the kids don’t have access to the car keys. Teach your children that cars are not safe places to play.
- If someone else is driving your child, always check to make sure your child has arrived safely.
- If you see a child alone in a locked up car, do not wait for too long for the driver to return. Call 995 and alert the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) immediately.