Every summer, the media run more stories than you would care to see about children who have been left in hot cars.
And, most likely, every summer, when those stories come out, you judge the parents of those children.
You think you would never make a mistake like that. You would never be foolish enough to leave your kids trapped in the car.
Blogger Explains How She Left Her Toddler Trapped In The Car
Britta Eberle, blogger at This Is Motherhood, has written an important post highlighting just how easily mistakes like that can happen.
In a post shared on Facebook page This Is Motherhood, Eberle shared an adorable photo of her sleeping toddler along with the words:
“Do you see this little girl? Today I did the unthinkable and forgot about her in the car.
“Here’s how it happened: our family arrived at a friend’s house and in our excitement we all darted out, assuming that someone else had remembered to grab the youngest member of our clan.
“But no one remembered her. And she sat for about twenty minutes crying alone before one of us grabbed her. It was such a small mistake but it could have had devastating consequences.
“Thank god we were parked in a safe place. Thank god it wasn’t hot outside. Thank god she wasn’t alone for long. Thank god she has already forgotten about it and forgiven us. But it will be a long time before I forgive myself.”
Eberle shared her story to show other parents just how easily it could happen to them. Having always considered herself a ‘careful mom’, Eberle had always assumed such a mistake would never happen to her.
The story was covered by Today. According to the programme, an average of 37 children die in hot cars each year and, most shockingly of all, over half of those deaths are the results of accidents.
Eberle told the show: “It’s important to be open and honest about this because when everybody hides that they’ve done something like this people start to think oh it could never happen to me, it’s a dangerous mindset, it’s overconfident and it makes you think you’re invincible, and we’re not.
Since sharing her story, Eberle has been contacted by parents from across the country who came forward with similar tales. Most of these stories had never been heard before because the parents were too ashamed to tell others.
Eberle hopes her story will inspire honesty in others and encourages others to own up to their mistakes. After all, mistakes don’t make you a bad parent. We all make mistakes, it’s part of being human, we’re not perfect.
Here’s to more people like Eberle who speak openly and honestly about their mistakes in the hope of protecting others from potential harm.
Campaigners are encouraging parents to ‘look before you lock’. Get into the habit of taking a look around the car before you lock it. This simple habit could potentially save a life because it reduces the risk of you mistakenly leaving your child in the car.
Recommended Reading:
