Kids, Cars, and Heat Stroke

Justin Ross Harris is one of many parents in the U.S. who have forgotten their child in their car. After being left in the car in 90-degree weather Cooper Harris died of heat stroke and was not discovered until hours after his death. His body lay in the car for approximately nine hours and his father apparently had no idea he had left his son there.

Since Cooper was left in an unattended vehicle his father was looked down upon and accused of murder and cruelty to a child in the second degree. Harris has pleaded not guilty claiming that he left Cooper in the car accidentally. I personally do not believe that his claims are truthful. How can you forget where your child is? I mean I understand forgetting for a brief moment but I would think that it would come to mind shortly after having left the child in the car. But going nine hours without having his son come to mind at all seems unlikely. Either he truly did intentionally leave his son behind or he is a poor father for not having paid more attention to his son.

This tragedy inspired a man named Bartley to demonstrate what children such as Cooper experience when they are left alone in a car. His experiment was meant to teach all parents a valuable lesson. He hopes that those who watch his video will never forget that simple carelessness leads to extreme consequences endured most by the children who are forgotten.

Bartley told ABC News Sunday that the "first ten minutes when I was in the car was just trying to get a glimpse of what it felt like for a child to sit in a car."

This year alone 17 children in the U.S. have died of heat stroke in hot cars according to kidsandcars.org. After hearing about these incidents Bartley took it upon himself to raise awareness to the issue by serving as a reminder to parents what can happen to their children if they are not aware of their children’s whereabouts and help prevent more deaths.  

I applaud Bartley for demonstrating what it is like to be left in a car and being overcome by heat exhaustion. Hopefully his video will help to prevent deaths and inspire people to be more responsible and careful.  

To see Bartley’s video click on the link below:

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/07/14/dad_swelters_in_30c_heat_in_locked_car_video_goes_viral.html