When The Bough Breaks

Admittedly, when my first child was born and riding around in vehicles, the air bag had not been created yet, and there were no rulings or laws about children being in car seats in only the back seat. Everywhere we went, he was sitting beside me, facing away from the window, I could see his little face, and we talked.

Once my second child was born, although air bags were now in the newer model vehicles, I still had my same old vehicle that had none. By then the laws had changed and my second born would ride in the back as instructed but could face forward because I had no airbags; and we would talk. I could see him clearly in my rear-view mirror and he learned how to see me as well.

There was never a ride, to or from work, or anywhere else that I was not carrying on a conversation with my children. I don’t care if they were one year old or four, I would sing and I would talk and if they were old enough, they were talking back. That was our special alone time with each other; either before our day began or when it was winding down.

So forgive me if I find it so unbelievable how anyone could not know that their child is still in the vehicle; the same child that they strapped down in a car seat and rode whatever amount of time to their destination. How in the world can that possibly happen? What was the parent doing all that time? What could have possibly been so important that they completely forgot the human being that was still sitting in the vehicle, the same one they just locked up and walked off from?

Are we so preoccupied with our favorite song on the radio, talking on our cell phones, listening with our ear buds, reading text messages at red lights, or the presentation we have to give at work today, that we have forgotten about what should be the most precious to us of all?

And now someone has created an application for your cell phone to REMIND you to get your child out of the car? Really? Those cell phones are what is wrong with us now if you ask me. We use them for every single life event there is, no wonder our minds can’t remember anything, we have a noise-maker strapped to our hip that goes off to alert us of every little thing in life we should be able to remember on our own; doctor’s appointments, to take our medicine, our tee-time, and now, when to get your child out of the car-seat you strapped them into.

If it helps one mother or father remember, then something good will have come out of it and God bless who invented it. But my question is this: what have we come to that we have such a hard time remembering there is another human being in our presence? Does anyone have an answer?