Forgotten Baby Syndrome: Neglect or Forgetfulness?

A hand buckles baby into carseatThe tragic story of Cooper Harris, a Georgia toddler whose father left him in a hot car all day, has yielded a criminal prosecution and a national debate about kids and cars. Some media pundits and parenting experts have pointed to so-called “forgotten baby syndrome.” Forgotten baby syndrome isn’t an actual disease or mental health condition that you’ll find listed in psychiatry’s bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). However, the fact that 623 children have died of heat stroke in hot cars on warm days since 1998 suggests that forgetting children in cars is a real problem.

Why Parents Forget Their Children

Most parents now put their children in the backseat, with babies facing the rear, to minimize their risks of injury in a car accident. This positive parenting practice, though, means that parents may not interact with their children during a car ride and that they may not even be able to see their children. The tendency of most parents to be overwhelmed and distracted increases the chances that a child in the backseat will slip the parent’s mind.

When we drive our cars, prepare food, and complete other routine, everyday tasks, our brains go into auto-pilot. This means many parents are not consciously thinking about their children while driving them to and from daycare or activities, instead they may be thinking through the day to come. And deviating from a standard routine makes it easy to forget that the child is there at all. One recent study found that 11% of all parents have forgotten their children, and 1 in 4 parents of children under age 3 have accidentally left their child in a car.

How to Avoid Forgetting Your Child

If you’re concerned about forgetting your child, the key is to jar your brain out of auto-pilot. When something’s out of place, it’s hard for your mind to continue working unconsciously. Put something that is an integral part of your daily routine— such as one shoe, your laptop, purse, or office keys—in the backseat. As you get out of the car, you’ll notice you’re missing something, even if you’re not thinking about your child. And once you notice the missing item, you’ll discover the item and your child in the backseat. 

References:

  1. Null, Jan. (2014). Heatstroke Deaths of Children in Vehicles. Department of Earth and Climate Sciences, San Francisco State University. Retrieved from http://www.ggweather.com/heat/
  2. Martin, L. (2012, March 12). Forgotten baby syndrome. MailOnline. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2113440/Forgotten-baby-syndrome-It-unthinkable–accidentally-leaving-baby-hours-lots-busy-parents-devastating-consequences.html
  3. Payne, M. (2014, July 16). Shoe trick will prevent child deaths in hot cars. News-press.com. Retrieved from http://www.news-press.com/story/news/investigations/melanie-payne/2014/06/20/tell-mel-neverleft-campaign/11102697/ 

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  • Cassidy

    July 17th, 2014 at 12:40 PM

    Stories like this truly do break my heart.
    I am not sure what the parents are thinking or if they are even thinking, and I am astounded how you can go into that zone where you seemingly just forget about your child. I know that there have been times when I have forgotten to run by the store on my home or to drop off some library book, but I am sorry, my child would not be something that I could forget about! And how do you not even at least glance back into your car? I always kind of check things out to make sure doors are locked and things like that so how do you miss them even then? I am not trying to be critical because we all mistakes and get into our own little worlds but stories like this are such tragedies that could be so easily prevented that it amazes me that they keep happening over and over again.

  • josie

    July 28th, 2018 at 9:57 PM

    So people would not forget a purse or a shoe, but yes their child????

  • laurel

    July 18th, 2014 at 9:10 AM

    I really can’t say that I know what goes through the mind of someone who would do this. What on earth could you possibly be thinking about that would be more important than your child that you are leaving in the car? Things like this can often boggle the mind

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