Punish parents for leaving kids in cars

It’s common sense. One should never ever leave children unattended in the car, even if it is for a couple of minutes. Children can die of vehicular heatstroke, especially in this kind of weather. In fact, many reportedly do every year as parents, caregivers mindlessly leave them behind, sometimes with engines running, to quickly attend to their errands. Anything can go wrong in the one minute or less when you visit a bank, ATM, or a grocery, and you will have the rest of your life to regret it. Authorities in Fujairah rescued two babies on Thursday when they were trapped inside their parents’ cars. The infants, fortunately, were fine and cleared by medics before being handed back to the parents. But civil defence personnel were quick to remind everyone to not let their children be alone under any circumstances. These advisories must be paid heed to. After all, it takes as little as 15 minutes in an overheated car for a child to suffer life-threatening brain or kidney injuries. The temperature inside a car can increase by around 20 degree Celsius in just ten minutes, even if it is pleasant outside with low humidity levels. A child’s body is more susceptible and heats up to three to five times faster than the body of an adult, which makes them more vulnerable.

The UAE doesn’t have a specific law that punishes people from leaving children inside a vehicle or other adverse conditions. Come to think of it we shouldn’t need one for something as elementary as this. Yet, going by the number of such incidences reported year after year it might be a good idea after all. It could act as a deterrent for careless folks. Perhaps, parents must be penalised for leaving their kids in cars. Child abuse and neglect should not happen. How can we put a child’s life at stake for our own convenience? Yes, it takes a lot of patience to deal with children, especially toddlers, who can get cranky for no apparent reason. Yes, it is tempting to leave them behind for just a few minutes so that work on hand could be dealt with faster. But is your child’s life worth it? Parenting is a huge responsibility and should be undertaken in all earnestness. Your child’s life is worth the extra one minute it takes to unbuckle the seat belts and take him or her with you. Parents should act more responsibly. They should use proper judgment. At the end of the day, it all boils to common sense. Doesn’t it?