Ah, summer—the time for barbecues, camping, swimming, biking, and those lazy days of play… and occasionally, the tragic mistake of leaving a child in a hot car.
As a mother of four, I pride myself on being responsible. Sure, I make the odd questionable choice, like serving chicken nuggets and counting ketchup as a vegetable, or allowing my kids to binge on Minecraft for too long. However, no one—including me, even on my most self-critical days—would label me as a negligent parent.
Yet, a couple of summers ago, I would have dismissed the idea that I could ever forget my child in the car as utterly absurd. After all, if someone could do that, should they even have kids? Right?
That June was blisteringly hot, with a stifling humidity blanketing the Midwest like an unwelcome sweater. My mother had just relocated to be closer to us, and her presence was a breath of fresh air. We celebrated her first weekend in town with a barbecue. My husband was grilling while the kids played merrily in the yard. As the aroma of charcoal wafted through the air, I suddenly craved sweet corn to complete our meal.
“Mom and I will dash to the store,” I said. “We’ll be quick.”
“Take the baby,” my husband suggested, concerned about keeping an eye on all of them while cooking.
I secured my calm and easygoing 1-year-old in his rear-facing car seat, and off we went. The grocery store was just around the corner, and my mom and I chatted and laughed, our spirits lifted by music and thoughts of the feast ahead. Upon arriving, I checked my phone while Mom searched her purse. I locked the car with a click of the key fob.
We headed straight for the produce section, only to find it largely emptied of corn. “This is Iowa,” I complained to my mom. “How can they be out of sweet corn? Let’s try another store.”
We exited, unlocked the car, hopped in and I started the engine. Music blasting, air conditioning on full blast, I had the next store in mind. That’s when I heard my mother’s gasp—a sharp intake of breath that jolted me into a horrifying realization: we had forgotten the baby in the car.
It took me a while to find the courage to put those dreadful words into writing. Even now, the memory fills me with panic. It’s difficult to admit I made such a grave parenting error, particularly concerning my child’s safety. But the truth is, I did—and so did my mom. It was shockingly easy.
We were engrossed in our conversation, and I wasn’t used to having just one child with me; usually, it’s all or nothing. My baby had been silent throughout, offering no babbling or cooing to remind us of his presence. And so, he was left in the car, trapped in the sweltering heat, with the windows rolled up. The outside temperature was at least 90 degrees.
Miraculously, our time in the store was brief—two minutes at most. We had only checked the nearly empty corn bin and left. But what if we had decided to grab ice cream, or watermelon, or even napkins? What if we’d been stuck behind a long line at the checkout? The possibilities frighten me.
Cars can heat up to an alarming 125 degrees in mere minutes, even with a cracked window, and a child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s. Tragically, almost 40 children die each year in the U.S. due to being left in hot cars, and my child could have easily become part of that devastating statistic. The thought makes me sick.
I am sharing this experience not to portray myself as a terrible parent, but rather to remind everyone that even good mothers can make mistakes. This can happen to anyone, even you. It’s crucial to understand that simply being human can lead to these oversights.
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In summary, my terrifying experience serves as a potent reminder that no one is immune to momentary lapses in judgment. Always stay vigilant, and never say “I would never”—because being human is sometimes enough for mistakes to happen.