Summer is just around the corner! As Texas braces for the rising temperatures of the summer season, we at Little Spurs Pediatric Urgent Care believe ensuring the safety of little ones in hot cars is increasingly important. Children do not self-regulate their temperatures as effectively as adults do, therefore they are already at increased risk of heat-related problems. Year after year, heartbreaking incidents remind us of the urgent need to prioritize hot car safety. Here are our urgent care pediatrics essential tips for navigating the warmer months and ensuring children’s safety in cars:
- Check the Back Seat Before Exiting the Vehicle: Develop a habit of checking the back seat to be sure your child is not in the car. This is a simple yet effective practice for preventing accidents.
- Create a Visual Reminder System: Place your purse, wallet or briefcase in the back seat. This action not only ensures you check the back seat when exiting the vehicle, it is a way to reinforce your awareness of your child’s presence in the car.
- Educate Children About Car Safety: Teach your children that the car is not a place to play; this can instill from an early age they should never play or hide in cars and stay out of vehicles unless accompanied by an adult.
- Secure Keys: Keep your keys out of reach of children to prevent them from gaining access to the car without your knowledge. Store keys in a safe and secure location, such as a high shelf or other designated areas out of reach.
- Act Fast: Most importantly, if you see a child left unattended in a car, act fast. Temperatures can rise quickly and every minute counts. Stay with the child until a parent arrives, call 911 immediately if the child is in distress or unresponsive. Even on mild or cloudy days, temperatures inside vehicles can reach life-threatening levels. (make and insert graphic about temperatures rising correlated to time)
We hope you find these kids urgent care tips helpful in preventing heat-related injuries and accidents in the car. It’s important for everyone to understand that children are more vulnerable to heatstroke and every minute counts when a child is alone in a hot car. As parents, caregivers, and bystanders, we all play a role in helping to make sure another accident doesn’t happen.
Little Spurs Pediatric Urgent Care opened in 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. With multiple locations in San Antonio and Dallas, they are open seven days a week with extended evening hours and see walk-in patients or through an online check-in system. They accept most commercial insurance and Medicaid plans. More information about Little Spurs Pediatric Urgent Care can be found at www.littlespurspedi.com.
