The Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Safe Kids Kansas, Kansas Department for Children and Families and Kansas Department of Transportation would like to remind parents to never leave their child alone in the car and especially during summer months. As of June 8, four children have lost their lives in the U.S. this year to heatstroke from being left in a hot vehicle.  No parent ever thinks this will happen to them, yet sadly, it does.   

Unfortunately, no one is immune to this kind of tragedy. Parents and caregivers can cut down the number of deaths and near misses by remembering to ACT.

A: Avoid heatstroke-related injury and death by never leaving your child alone in a car, not even for a minute. And make sure to keep your car locked when you’re not in it so kids don’t get in on their own. 

C: Create reminders by putting something in the back of your car next to your child such as a briefcase, a purse or a cell phone that is needed at your final destination. This is especially important if you’re not following your normal routine. Consider talking to your child care provider about having a policy in place where they will call you if your child does not arrive for scheduled care. 

T: Take action. If you see a child alone in a car, call 911. Emergency personnel want you to call. They are trained to respond to these situations. One call could save a life.

Since 1998, more than 635 children across the United States have died from heatstroke while unattended in cars. You can help us spread the word to your community to stop these preventable tragedies. Additional prevention information can be found at www.safekids.org/heatstroke, and statistics on child heatstroke deaths can be found at www.ggweather.com/heat.