Simply Dumb

During the summer, car interior temps can soar. Quickly. In fact, temps can increase by 20 degrees every 30 minutes a car is closed up. And children’s bodies warm 3-5 times as fast as an adult’s does. And that means heat stroke can come about much quicker for kids than for adults. An average of 36 children per year die from heat overexposure (hyperthermia) – and it’s almost always due to a kid being left in a car.

But a Florida grandmother apparently didn’t think about any of that when she left her two grandchildren in her car. While she gambled at a casino. She left her 14-year-old grandson and 2-year-old granddaughter in the car — with the windows rolled up — for at least an hour and 15 minutes. Within that time frame, a car’s internal temp can rise by 40 degrees. Fortunately, the boy is old enough that he can open the doors and make sure there was some airflow in the car.

The grandmother was charged with two counts of aggravated child neglect. This was so stupid of her. Really. In most places, a 12-year-old can legally babysit. If she’d left the kids safely at home, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

But leaving kids in a car with rolled up windows certainly IS a problem. I think we may have just found our next Hall of Fame nominee.

Image: image*after

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