Hot Hazards: Pools And Cars
With steaming hot weather sweeping the United States, The Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen is reporting on two possible hazards: inflatable wading pools and hot cars.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning parents about the dangers of inflatable pools, which are very popular but can present drowning hazards. The CPSC is seeing an increase in the number of children dying in these pools.
And, every year, caregivers forget that leaving children in hot cars can have tragic consequences. This usually happens when the caregivers change routine, become distracted and forget the children in their cars.
More information about inflatable pool hazards is available at the CPSC Web site.
Koeppen reports that inflatable pools are popular because, "They are inexpensive. You can get them for $50 in your neighborhood store."
As a matter of fact, The Early Show had trouble finding the pools that were used on the broadcast. (Target came through with a couple.)
It's easy to fill up these pools, leave them in your yard or driveway, and forget about them. "A child can walk along and stumble and fall in," Koeppen points out, "or kids are left unattended because you may not be thinking this is a real pool; a child can drown in an inch of water."
If you have an inflatable pool:
As for hot cars, Koeppen warns that your car can heat up to a deadly level in just minutes. Koeppen and her crew ran an experiment Tuesday in New York City, when the temperature hit 95 degrees. After running the air conditioner in a car, they brought the internal temperature to 75 degrees. Then they shut the car down and let it sit in the sun with the windows and doors closed.
After five minutes, the temperature inside the car was up to 80 degrees. After 15 minutes, it hit 94 degrees, and after 45 minutes, it was up to 108 degrees. "That is going to be deadly for a child if you forget the kid in the car," warns Koeppen.
The organization Kids And Cars keeps track of these incidents, and reports that 11 children have died already this year as a result of being left in a car. (Last year, the total was 42.)
How does such an accident typically happen? "Usually," says Koeppen, "it happens when a parent changes his or her routine. We have busy lives and get distracted. Kids fall asleep in car and parents forget the child is back there in the car seat."
To make sure you never forget your children in the car: