No mom ever thinks she will be the one who leaves her baby in a hot car all day. But we have another sad and tragic story today out of Nashville, Tennessee, where a 5-month-old baby boy died in the back of his mom's minivan. It will break your heart, Moms and Dads, but keep reading. There's a lesson in here that could save your baby's life.
Police say Stephanie Gray arrived at her son's daycare on Tuesday afternoon to pick him up. Only little Joel wasn't there because he'd never been dropped off.
According to the cops, it appears the boy spent the entire day in the back of his mom's minivan. The baby's death has been described as "heat related."
But get this. Tuesday would have been baby Joel's SECOND day at daycare. You know what that means? This was not a routine for this mom of four. What was probably routine was taking her three older kids to school -- which she did on Tuesday before driving home, seemingly forgetting little Joel in the backseat and never making it to the daycare.
When you're a mom, especially mom of a baby, routines are everything. They keep us functioning when we've had so little sleep we can barely stand up. The little stuff (ahem, showering, washing the dishes), might not get done, but as long as you've got a routine down for the big stuff, your body can function on a sort of auto-pilot.
But when the routine is changed, big things can happen, disastrous things. Just look at what happened for Stephanie Gray. The cops say she was rushed to the hospital after the discovery of her son's body. It doesn't sound like she was some uncaring idiot. It sounds like she genuinely forgot. And I'm going to wager it's because the daycare drop wasn't routine yet; her body couldn't guide her to get it done.
It's a tragic mistake. But you're kidding yourself if you think it could NEVER happen to you. Routines change. We forget things. Whether it's a baby in a hot car or turning the coffee pot off, it's human.
Moms! Dads! If your routine is going to change, please be hyper vigilant with your kids. It could save their lives!
Have you had a routine change in your busy parenting life? What has fallen through the cracks?
Image via jurvetson/Flickr
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Comments 382
how did she even back out of the driveway and NOT look over her shoulder, sure she'd be checking for traffic but in my experience you can see your kids when you look back there. I could see forgetting to drop him off, but I cannot understand why she didn't think of him once the entire day.
I think that since this is becoming something so common every business large and small should be required to hire security to patrol their parking lots & garages and checking cars for this very reason. It could potentially save a child's life.
Not buying it! I don't understand how ANY parent could EVER leave or "forget" their CHILD in a car or anywhere else for that matter! Mistakes and accidents happen, I get it, but "forgetting" a CHILD??? Where was the van parked where no one heard him cry??? I am sure he had to of been screaming! Poor baby :(
Set a daily timer on your cell phones people. Set it to go off every work day while you should be driving to work. Then physically turn around and look into the empty carseat to double check once that alarm sounds.
wow...you're all a bunch of judgemental bitches. women....
Poor baby, and definitely poor mama:(
When I was a mom of a newborn, with both of my sons,actually, I would routinely be so sleep-deprived and exhausted/stupid that I would go to the grocery store and be so intent on putting my boys in their carseats, I would drive off and leave my groceries in the cart in the parking lot. This happened to me, no lie, at least 10 times. While you can't compare babies with groceries, I'm hesitant to judge this mama. I think there must be some missing part to the story. If she had him with her for 4months 28 days, I can't imagine her not knowing where he was on the 2nd day of daycare, but damn, there but for the grace of god... Nothing anyone says here on this forum will come even close to how much she will beat herself up for the rest of her life.