Yesterday (17th February 2020), New Straits Times reported on a nine-month-old girl that died of heatstroke after she was left for some four hours in the backseat of a multipurpose vehicle. This is not the first case in Malaysia, and yet it keeps happening. Although some people may come up with comments such as “How can you forget about having your child in the backseat?“, the fact is that – these things happen. Our minds are so caught up with work and so many other things that these things do happen!
In light of this tragedy, we got a few mums to share their tips and daily practice that other parents can use to ensure this does not happen to them and their child.
“My husband and I have developed a habit to call or text one another after we’ve dropped our little one at nanny’s place or at school. We’ve been practising this for four years in case either one of us forgets that there’s a little one on the back seat.”
Ooi Sue Hwei, Mother of 1
“I turn on the child reminder option in Waze, so it will remind me to check the backseat. Just go to Settings>under notifications>reminders.
If you have a kid who can speak already, ask them to remind you or voice out when you stop the car. Mine didn’t need that training but is doing that on his own.”
Joo Yee, Mother of 1
“When my girl was little, I used to play baby songs in the car. That was my reminder that she is in the back seat.”
Anonymous
“I always take a photo of an empty car seat and send to my husband on days I take him… We take turns on certain days to send our son to preschool.”
Siew Yung, Mother of 2
“I know that I should implement one with my spouse or myself in future if I need to drop off my kids … I think setting a daily alarm on our phone at a specific time after drop off helps.”
