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When parents forget baby in a hot car
Confession time: I could have been one of those women who forgets and leaves a baby in a hot car. It invariably happens on a day when the parent changes his or her routine or has to make an out-of-the- ordinary stop, like this tragic case. Here's a tip on how I make sure my distracted Mommy brain never fails me.
On the very first day that my youngest was starting at a home day care, I dropped his older brother off at school and started heading up the road like usual toward work, my mind already ticking off all the things I wanted to get finished that day and people I needed to call before lunch, blah, blah, blah. About five minutes into the trip, my 6-month-old baby made a gurgle sound and I quite literally jumped. He had been so silent I forgot he was back there. What if he had fallen asleep? Would I have gone into work, completely forgetting I had a baby boiling in a car? The image haunts me.
Which is why, to this day, I put my phone in my cupholder so it's handy, but my purse goes on the floor below the car seat. I never leave the car without my purse (or my baby!)
Here are some more safety tips on kids and cars from Harrison's Hope, an organization that tracks injuries and deaths due to kids being left alone in or around cars. So far in 2008, we've had 237 incidents and 45 deaths.
-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne
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THE AUTHORS
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
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Freelance writer Courtney Cairns Pastor wasn’t so sure about having kids and how she would balance child-rearing with her journalism career. It turned out that her journalism training went to good use. As the mom to a funny, active toddler, she learned to handle him like she did her sources. Never ask yes or no questions (the answer will always be no), get him to be specific (are you crying because you’re wet or your tooth hurts?) and be prepared for anything because no two days are the same. When she’s not playing trucks, Courtney crams for her book club, trains for races and occasionally bursts into showtunes. E-mail her at 
Suzannah DiMarzio has it bad for the Mouse. Although she grew up outside of Boston, she took her degree in tourism management down to Orlando just to work at Disney and the travel industry. Of course, when she married her high school sweetheart, the reception was at Disney. She’s now a seasoned stay-at-home mom to two tweens and a toddler – and yes, that is as crazy as it sounds. Suzannah has her own blog, Comment Policy
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