Mum's plea to all parents: 'Please take ten minutes of your day'

Mum-of-three, Amy Amos, lived every mums worst nightmare and she is pleading with parents not to make the same mistake. 

In a post titled 'I would never forget my child in a hot car', Mum wants to know why we don't teach our children how to get themselves out of the situation. 

You see, Amy always believed that the scenario would never happen her, but then she remembered we're all human, and accidents can happen. 

Coming home from the swimming pool, the mum-of-three, exited the car, unbuckled her son's seatbelt, took all the bags and extras along with her and walked into her home. 

As always, her four-year-old follows her inside. 

Nonetheless after ten minutes she didn't spot her youngest running around inside with the rest of her brood. 

Looking for him, Amy ran outside to see where her little tot was only to find him sitting in the car, his face pressed against the window, sweaty and crying. 

He never made it out of the car. 

"Tonight I realised my son, who will be four in just a few days, couldn’t open the car doors from the inside by himself. He’s strong, he’s big for his age, and he’s smart. But the door handle didn’t open easily for him and he panicked."

"He was sweating and sobbing with his face pressed against the window. Ten minutes while we were distracted, and he was trapped in the car."

Amy's older daughter had closed the door because they thought he was out of the car, but her little brother was picking up his flip flop which had fallen on the floor of the car. 

"He couldn’t get the car doors open, so he panicked and cried. No one could hear him."

"Preschoolers are so difficult, they can have a little independence, they can walk around and do things with a mind of their own, but there are also so many things they can’t do that we may not realise, like getting out of a car with all the doors shut."

While Amy is thankful that it was only ten minutes, she also acknowledges that she may never recover from the fright she sustained. 

"I’ve explained to my older kids how quickly kids and pets can overheat in a hot car. I’ve made sure they know to check carefully before closing a door from now on."

"Tomorrow my son will be practising how to open the car from the inside all by himself: Opening the door handles, how the locks work, and how to honk the horn until someone comes to help if you can’t open the door."

Dedicating her time to making sure her children, especially her youngest knows how to exit a car in the unlikely event an accident like this could happen again, there is nothing off limits for the mum. 

"I’m also going to make sure he can unbuckle his car seat. I’m fairly certain he will be able to at least undo the chest clip, and I’ll have him practise pulling his legs up and out from there, just in case he ever finds himself in the car and needs to get out."

However, she admits that it is something she hadn't thought of until now, but wants all parents to understand the vital importance of teaching our children the basics: "It’s not a thing that I’ve ever heard of or thought off, practising how to get out of the car."

"But it should be. It should be something that preschool kids are taught, just like we tell them what to do in case of a house fire. […] We teach them how to swim, how to float if they fall in water and can’t get out, yet we don’t teach them how to get out of the car sitting in the driveway."

Begging parents to become more aware of how quickly and easily such an accident can happen, Amy asks everyone to take ten minutes of their day to teach kids how to push buttons and jump on the horn if they are accidently alone. 

"Please take ten minutes of your day […] and have them practise opening the doors from the inside if they’re strong enough."

"Remind your friends with small children to do the same. You never know, they could get into the car when you least expect it. Knowing how to get out might save their lives."

It's not always easy to admit your mistakes, but well done to Amy for speaking out, hopefully her honesty will help more parents out there to be aware.