Photo: WFTS / abc-7.com
With children still dying in hot cars (47 in 2019 in the U.S., and 4 of them in Florida), one grandfather from Lakeland, Florida, has just the thing that could prevent tragedies of the kind.
His “invention” doesn’t require modifications to the car, installing sensors or extra equipment, but is probably almost as efficient: it’s a simple, colored, rubber bracelet that acts as a visual cue reminding parents to check the backseat for kids. To make it even more efficient, it includes a written text.
Scott Headley is a grandfather, so he started thinking about this out of a desire to protect his own family, ABC-7 reports. The bracelet comes in neon green, with the message “Stop, look & listen. Child check,” and should remind even the most exhausted or rushed parent to check the backseat before locking the car and going about their business.
The idea is that, for the bracelet to work as a visual cue, you shouldn’t wear it all the time, but place it on your wrist at the start of a journey. This way, you will feel it on your wrist and not forget about it.
“You take the bracelet from the seat like I’ve done here. And then the idea is that since you’re not used to seeing this and wearing this, the feel of it and looks of it will remind you, you have precious cargo on board,” Headley explains.
Perhaps even more awesome than the fact that this grandpa is actively thinking of a solution to a widespread problem is that he’s giving away the bracelets for free. Residents in Lakeland can get theirs on October 4, thanks to a partnership with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Lakeland Police Department and Safe Kids Florida.
While it’s easy to assume that a parent forgetting about a kid in the backseat is negligent, science says that the real culprit is the parent’s brain going on autopilot. When this happens, it overrides conscious awareness, which means the parent does things without even thinking. A change in routine (like having to drop the kid at school when the other parent usually does that) and a brain on autopilot leads to the forgotten baby “syndrome,” psychologists says. Many times, it has tragic consequences.
Scott Headley is a grandfather, so he started thinking about this out of a desire to protect his own family, ABC-7 reports. The bracelet comes in neon green, with the message “Stop, look & listen. Child check,” and should remind even the most exhausted or rushed parent to check the backseat before locking the car and going about their business.
The idea is that, for the bracelet to work as a visual cue, you shouldn’t wear it all the time, but place it on your wrist at the start of a journey. This way, you will feel it on your wrist and not forget about it.
“You take the bracelet from the seat like I’ve done here. And then the idea is that since you’re not used to seeing this and wearing this, the feel of it and looks of it will remind you, you have precious cargo on board,” Headley explains.
Perhaps even more awesome than the fact that this grandpa is actively thinking of a solution to a widespread problem is that he’s giving away the bracelets for free. Residents in Lakeland can get theirs on October 4, thanks to a partnership with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Lakeland Police Department and Safe Kids Florida.
While it’s easy to assume that a parent forgetting about a kid in the backseat is negligent, science says that the real culprit is the parent’s brain going on autopilot. When this happens, it overrides conscious awareness, which means the parent does things without even thinking. A change in routine (like having to drop the kid at school when the other parent usually does that) and a brain on autopilot leads to the forgotten baby “syndrome,” psychologists says. Many times, it has tragic consequences.
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