Forgetting a child in a vehicle can be fatal

To attribute this problem to forgetfulness would be dismissing all other aspects of parental non-focus

It seems inconceivable, though the truth says otherwise. In 2015, 177 children were left in cars, according to Dubai Police — an issue that has, unfortunately, acquired a recurring pattern in the UAE. The dangers to children who are left locked in cars in summer temperatures are legion.

The science and the physiology of damage caused by rising heat in a confined space on small, fragile bodies has been made amply available in the public domain. Health experts and the authorities have repeatedly handed out advisories on this issue and yet the problem persists. Which brings us to ask of ourselves: What more can be done to educate parents on the dangers of such forgetfulness? In fact, the more important question is: Why do so many parents become so forgetful? To attribute the cause of this problem to simple forgetfulness would amount to dismissing all the other aspects that coalesce to breed this form of neglect, such as a frenetic pace of living, the fragmenting nature of parental multitasking, the myriad stresses and strains of daily life in a parent’s life that depreciate his or her focus and concentration on any one task at any given moment.

The fact that parents are being advised to place a handbag or some other essential item next to the child in the rear seat to work as a reminder reiterates this particularly pernicious brand of memory lapse.

So while parents try to resolve the big challenge of how to live a focused life, the one immediate step they can take that will help in this matter is to pledge that they will at no time, and under no circumstance, leave their child behind in a car.