Children's Car Deaths in the Summer versus Winter

[Country Kids]

Since last week when we had a child left in car and passed away, there have been numerous articles being posted about hot car deaths, don't leave your child in the car when it's hot, etc.

I began reading these and the reason parent's leave the child in the car. Then I googled leaving children in cars, when do children die the most in cars, and a few other wordings in my search. 99.5% if not 100% were saying do not leave your child in a hot car, hot car deaths on the rise for children, heat stroke in children from being left in the car, etc.

What I find interesting is there are no articles on children being left in the car in the winter and dying, no warnings for not to leave your child in your car in the winter, no articles on children and hypothermia from being left in the car.

Do parents not leave forget their children in the colder months? What is the difference between summer and winter? Parents surely switch schedules, go into autuzone in the winter, take a different route, are still tired or stressed in the winter and all the other reasons given in articles for why children are left in the car during the summer.

It has sparked a wonderment to me of why this happens in the summer and not winter. What are your thoughts on this and do think kid's are left in the car and don't die or just not needing medical attention when found because of cooler temps. I just am perplexed by this and curious to what others thought on here.

[Cat Herder]

My thoughts, soon to be disproven I expect, are with human breeding cycles.

Winter is when most humans are focused on infants, children and family. The holidays keep the focus there. We do it for a biological reason. Even if we don't want to see it. By summer, most are focused on other things. In EMS we call summer gunshot season because of the number of those calls we get during that time. Short tempers, domestic violence and breakups seem more common.

Harvard sort of agrees, although does not link up the two issues.

"Most animals mate at a certain time of year. One of our evolutionary advantages is we can continuously mate and have young. However, if you look at birth patterns, you’ll notice that most birthdays tend to occur at certain times of year. For a mammal with no official mating season, it’s surprising that the majority of births occur between July and September. September is the most common birth month in the US, according to one Harvard study, with September 16th being the most common day. Count back the months and you’ll realize that these babies were conceived around the holidays."

https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/why-dont-humans-have-a-mating-season-turns-out-we-do-sort-of

[Country Kids]

The thing is though, these children can be quite older-I think up to 4 I have seen, so it is not entirely little newborns being left. The one in our community was 2.

It also seems the holiday times would be much more stressful, parents brains totally somewhere else with the holidays, trying to make sure everything goes according to plan. To me it seems the time of year to easily get focused on something else while driving to work.

[Mike]

I think the main difference is that since a car is like a greenhouse, summer is already hot and the car can get very hot very fast, but in the winter, it's cold out, so the greenhouse effect makes it take much longer for the car to get too cold. Much more time in the winter to realise a child is missing.

[storybookending]

Cars heat up faster than they cool down. A child left in the car in the winter will likely have a coat on and the car will take hours to cool below freezing whereas sometimes minutes to reach a temp that’s too hot when left in the sun. I’m sure children get left in the car in the winter just as much but no one is going to report themselves for neglect unless it resulted in injury or death.

[Country Kids]

I think the main difference is that since a car is like a greenhouse, summer is already hot and the car can get very hot very fast, but in the winter, it's cold out, so the greenhouse effect makes it take much longer for the car to get too cold. Much more time in the winter to realise a child is missing.

These children usually are found till after work if left in the car or are left all day before parents go back to the car.

It seems after 8-10 hours the child would have hypothermia setting in or already be deceased.

Even if they are found much quicker you think there would be some sort of statistics out there on children being left in the cars during the winter.

[storybookending]

My thoughts, soon to be disproven I expect, are with human breeding cycles.

Winter is when most humans are focused on infants, children and family. The holidays keep the focus there. We do it for a biological reason. Even if we don't want to see it. By summer, most are focused on other things. In EMS we call summer gunshot season because of the number of those calls we get during that time. Short tempers, domestic violence and breakups seem more common.

Harvard sort of agrees, although does not link up the two issues.

"Most animals mate at a certain time of year. One of our evolutionary advantages is we can continuously mate and have young. However, if you look at birth patterns, you’ll notice that most birthdays tend to occur at certain times of year. For a mammal with no official mating season, it’s surprising that the majority of births occur between July and September. September is the most common birth month in the US, according to one Harvard study, with September 16th being the most common day. Count back the months and you’ll realize that these babies were conceived around the holidays."

https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/wh...-we-do-sort-of

I have a child with a Sept 16th birthday hahaha

[storybookending]

These children usually are found till after work if left in the car or are left all day before parents go back to the car.

It seems after 8-10 hours the child would have hypothermia setting in or already be deceased.

Even if they are found much quicker you think there would be some sort of statistics out there on children being left in the cars during the winter.

You also have to consider that not every state gets to a cold enough temp where hypothermia would even begin to set it whereas the temperature only needs to be in the upper 70s or low 80s (not sure on exact #, don’t quote me, but it’s not that high) for the interior of a vehicle to heat up to a temperature that would cause a heat stroke. Also when it’s cold a child will shiver and shivering also help keep body temperatures up.

[Country Kids]

You also have to consider that not every state gets to a cold enough temp where hypothermia would even begin to set it whereas the temperature only needs to be in the upper 70s or low 80s (not sure on exact #, don’t quote me, but it’s not that high) for the interior of a vehicle to heat up to a temperature that would cause a heat stroke. Also when it’s cold a child will shiver and shivering also help keep body temperatures up.

I think though in a child, hypothermia would set in much quicker. Especially sitting all day in a car all day without a coat on.

Yes, all states don't get cold enough but there are states that do and I think each winter proves times that it can get very, very cold. We know just by Black Cat's posts, Minnesota can get extremely cold.

[Cat Herder]

The thing is though, these children can be quite older-I think up to 4 I have seen, so it is not entirely little newborns being left. The one in our community was 2.

It also seems the holiday times would be much more stressful, parents brains totally somewhere else with the holidays, trying to make sure everything goes according to plan. To me it seems the time of year to easily get focused on something else while driving to work.

My point was, biologically, their minds are on the next one or nesting with the current one. They are more chemically bonded during that time.

[Cat Herder]

My point was, biologically, their minds are on the next one or nesting with the current one. They are more chemically bonded during that time.

Was trying to add "Oxytocin" but my internet crashed.

[Country Kids]

My point was, biologically, their minds are on the next one or nesting with the current one. They are more chemically bonded during that time.

Ah, I see what you mean.

I was very pregnant during the holidays with three of my children and between working 11 hour days, running after the others, trying to get ready for the baby/holidays, doing holiday parties etc. my brain was easily overloaded. Actually my brain is overloaded more at the holidays than any other time of the year so I think it would happen more with moms being hurried (pregnant or not) and trying to get everything done.

[Ariana]

We had this discussion in another thread actually!

I think it is because most kids have coats on, a car is shielded from the wind and when the sun hits a car in the winter it helps warm it up inside. Also the body shivers to make itself warm and is extremely effective at keeping the core temperature above hypothermia. Hypothermia usually only sets in when shivering is either hindered (person is passed out) or if a person is in water (you can’t raise the temperature of water through shivering). Movement also heats up the body so a chikd screaming, crying etc as we all know heats the child up.

When a child is hot the only thing that relieves the core temperature from rising is sweating. The sweat evaporates off the skin lowering the body temp. In a closed environment like a hot car, sweating does not lower the internal temperature fast enough and without air circulation evaporation is not happening.

It is much much easier to die in a hot car because it happens VERY quickly.

[Cat Herder]

We had this discussion in another thread actually!.

We did, it was mine. I don't think we got into this particular aspect too deeply. It definately got me thinking more deeply on it, though. ::

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89515

[hwichlaz]

A bundled up child will survive in a freezing car much longer than a child will survive a hot car.