Have You Ever Accidentally Locked Your Child in the Car?
This weekend one of my closest friends accidentally locked her 21-month old daughter in her Jeep Liberty. Thankfully after the police and a fire truck came they were able to bust out the back window and get into the vehicle. Her daughter was red and upset, but she eventually calmed down and was fine. My friend had to the endure the embarrassment of the situation. This happens to a lot of moms. We don’t intentionally lock our kids in the car, it happens.
I accidentally locked my daughter in the car when she was 18 months old at the grocery store. I set my keys down on the back seat next to her car seat and turned to put the diaper bag on the top of my trunk. Just as I was placing the bag down a gust of wind blew my car door shut. I immediately asked myself how long is she safe in the car with no AC. Thankfully my phone was in the diaper bag and I called my husband. He didn’t answer and I texted the words “call me now!” He had an extra key and was only 3 minutes away at home. While waiting for husband to come I knocked on the window and smiled at her and tried to show her that everything was okay.
Since locking my girl in the car I have started to put the keys on top of my car or in my pocket when I am getting them out. Another way to prevent the situation is to carry an extra key hidden on the car under the license plate or taped under the car somewhere. Pop A Lock will also open your car for free. You can program the number of your local dispatch in your phone. (I just programmed mine. It took less than 60 seconds.)
In this summer heat the temperature of the inside of the car can rise significantly in just a few minutes. Here is an excellent post on Baby Tool Kit about what do when an infant or child is accidentally locked in a car with the keys. The first thing is not to panic and then call for help. If you don’t have a phone then ask someone nearby to call 911. Then note the time, because sometimes 5 minutes can seem like an eternity.
Locking your child in the car can totally shake you up. Hug your child and get something to drink to hydrate everyone. Be sure you are calm before you drive again. Know that you haven’t lost your card to The World’s Best Moms Club. You are still a great mom!
Have you ever accidentally locked you children in the car? How do you get them out? Where you shaken up?
- photo courtesy of crowdive
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I think this happens a lot more than you think. My brother-in-law regularly locks his keys in the car- along with my nephew a time or two. We had a horrifying experience one time. We were parked in our “new to us” SUV with a sunroof. My 7 year old was standing up with her head out the sunroof watching for her sister to come out of school. I decided to turn the car off to save gas and the sunroof closed! It was supposed to open back up as soon as it hit something, but it didn’t and it closed on my daughter’s neck! I didn’t know what to do. I called my husband and he told me to push the button to open it, but I wasn’t sure which button to push, so I didn’t do that. My older daughter got there right then, so we pushed the window up until my daughter could squeeze back into the car. The sunroof ended up shattering and my daughter had just a bruised neck, Thank God! Don’t feel bad for locking your kids in the car. Surprising things happen all the time when you are a mom!
Okay, I admit it… I’m Amanda’s friend. Yes, I felt like quite the fool, but I’m sure it won’t be the first time. Here are some of the things I learned (well, other than to keep better tabs on my keys and whether or not my daughter has hit the “lock” button):
-Keep your cool. I’m naturally a pretty level-headed, logical person so I knew freaking out would do neither Morgan nor me any good.
-Take advantage of the help around you. Thankfully, I was at the gym with a friend so she helped out as did a couple of the staff members and other gym members.
-Disregard unasked for advice or condescending remarks. You’ll be tempted to respond in kind, but don’t. Stay focused on the task at hand.
-Don’t bother with Pop-A-Lock. They told me they couldn’t arrive for 30 minutes and to call police/fire instead.
-It may be best just to take matters into your own hands from the get-go. Over the phone, the Fire Dept said that breaking a window would be their last resort. Turns out it was their first. If I had known this, I would’ve broken the window myself several minutes earlier and avoiding the spectacle of having all of San Antonio’s emergency response crews called out for me and my daughter.
-Forgive yourself; accidents happen. But I do think it’s time to go buy one of those hide-a-keys
I locked my keys in the truck on our way from a parking garage to Evan’s heal prick just after he was born. I was very thankful I had already gotten both boys out of the truck. But it scared me so badly, I am now paranoid about it, always strangely aware of where my keys are at all times. So maybe that will never happen to me. Fingers crossed!