She Tried, She Conquered, She Did It

Summer Safety: L.O.V.E

Author's Note: This article is dedicated to Asia Genesis Jones-7/31/2002-6/9/2005, Searies McHenry, Jr. (3-4/2008-7/2008), Jalen Knox-Perkins (12/2008-4/2009) along with other children who have died as a result of being left in hot vehicle due to carelessness. Prior to writing this article, Searies McHenry Sr., the father of Searies Jr, was unavailable for comment regarding this delicate and heartbreaking situation no parent should have to go through. 

As a full time educator and business owner, there are times that I forget the simplest things: my phone, my checkbook, or something smiliar. I may forget a meeting or get the time and date mixed up. Hey, it can happen to anyone. My mind is sometimes filled with one hundred and one things at a given moment. Add a mild case of ADHD to that, and it's one hundred and one things plus the ADHD mind blended like very strong coffee and milk. Given my ADHD, I am pretty good at remembering things, however, sometimes I forget simple things. 

There is one thing I have never forgotten: a small child, either on a playground, or on a field trip. As a career educator with extensive classroom experience, I have never left a child on a vehicle unattended, or a hot vehicle during the summer. 

Since 1991, Wisconsin has seen it's share of children dying from heat related deaths as a result of being left in hot vehicles unattended during the summer. One of the most famous cases was that of 2 year old Asia Jones, a Milwaukee toddler who died in the summer of 2005 as a result of being left in hot vehicle owned by her childcare center where she attended. On the morning Asia died, her mother, Nicole, placed her child on the van and went on with her day. Asia was placed in a car seat where she fell asleep, and the van driver completed his route, clocked out for the morning and went on with his day. Later that afternoon, Asia's mother came to pick up her child from the center, only to experience a parent's worst nightmare: 

Her daughter, her baby, her world, was dead. And it was an act of possible carelessness.

The day Asia died, her mother, Nicole, arrived at the center to pick up Asia. The director of the center informed Nicole that the center didn't have Asia and they didn't know where she was. I'll stop here to illustrate my point. 

Any and all state liscensed childcare centers in Wisconsin have DHFS rules they are to follow, which mandate the safety, well being and health of young children. Every center should have a copy of the DHFS Liscensing Rules in their center available for both staff and families to read, should a question arise. DHFS rules clearly indicate what is expected of centers in regard to building premesis, including both inside and outside, staffing and education of staff, children's illness, food storage, meals and snacks, child guidance, and more. Rather than go into specific detail about liscensing rules, know that there are many things contained within the rules, and there are people from the DHFS, commonly called "liscensors" by those who work in childcare centers to ensure the center and staff are complying with DHFS rules. Compliance within state rules warrants a letter of compliance, and non-compliance (violations) will warrant a write-up by the state, with ample time to get the violations corrected. 

According to DHFS rules, anytime children are transported via center vehicle is it mandatory they are checked into and out of the vehicle, whether it is to and from the family's home, the center to school, school to center. Health histories, a clipboard or sign-in sheet and emergency contact information for parents and/or guardians must be present at all times. More importanly, a director or designated staff member must be present at the door when children arrive to ensure the safety of all children.

I wasn't there when Asia died, however, I worked for the people that owned the center she attended at a different location. Nothing against the owners or director (who was the sister of the owner), and from what I could see of the director, I could tell she was a new director and hadn't been in her position long to know the ins and out of effectively running a center. Just like myself as a new teacher, I was still learning the ins and out of being a teacher, and after nearly twenty years in the field of early childhood education, I am still learning to this day. Perhaps this director was overwhelmed and busy. My guess is that she had every intention of making it to the door that morning, or that she could've been in a classroom at the time, covering for a teacher. Anything could've prevented her from being at the door, yet the simple fact is that Asia's death could've been prevented with proper procedure. However, a later article involving a welfare fraud case involving the Wisconsin Shares program and the owners of Asia's center led myself and many other readers to believe that on the day of her death, Asia's center was not following and had never followed the DHFS rules in regard to the health, safety and welfare of children. 

Asia's death in a hot vehicle, like other children who have passed away in the same manner, could've been prevented. I recently read a story about a Nashville mother who left her infant daughter inside a hot vehicle while she auditioned for a strip club. The mother's friend who was "watching" the child, was in the strip club the entire time the child was in the vehicle. The child was rescued and the mother and friend were both arrested. Last year in a related story, a MA father realized he left his one-year-old daughter in his vehicle as he was on a commuter train to work. He realized his mistake, called 911, explained the situation, and charges were not filed. 

As a society, we are busy with something called life. Business should never be the cause of a careless mistake, like leaving a child in a hot car. All it takes is five seconds to "L.O.V.E.":

L-Listen for the child/ren's movements

O-Observe their activitiy: asleep or awake and remove them from the vehicle

V-Verify they are out of the vehicle and next to you, either in a stroller or holding onto the vehicle, depending on the age of the child (When I was a nanny, I would have A get out of the car first, and hold onto the door to wait while I got P out of his car seat. A was almost 3 and we had rules in place while in busy parking lots)

E-Exit vehicle/Enter destination

L.O.V.E at home, daycare or school. Anywhere. Everywhere. 

Asia, Searies and Jalen, there is no way to tell what you would have become. Your young lives were taken way too soon. Educators, nannies and parents can take a lesson from tragedy and learn from mistakes. Children are the future, and it's upto us to make sure the future is bright.