In Light of Yesterday’s Tragedy

Many tragedies can be avoided with proper education, knowledge and awareness.

In an effort to prevent tragedies similar to yesterday’s from happening again, as a public service, TLS is giving readers the opportunity to post ideas or links to products which can save a child’s life.

Note: Please only post links to products that have high ratings.

 

This content, and any other content on TLS, may not be republished or reproduced without prior permission from TLS. Copying or reproducing our content is both against the law and against Halacha. To inquire about using our content, including videos or photos, email us at general@thelakewoodscoop.com.

Stay up to date with our news alerts by following us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

**Click here to join over 20,000 receiving our Whatsapp Status updates!**

**Click here to join the official TLS WhatsApp Community!**

Got a news tip? Email us at newstips@thelakewoodscoop.com, Text 415-857-2667, or WhatsApp 609-661-8668.

57 COMMENTS

    • A simple habit that can save a child’s life is to leave your car windows partially open when parking. This will lower the heat buildup inside the car significantly. My son’s life was saved this way B”H.

  3. CSO Radio in Lakewood sells something that is wired into the car. If the back door is opened in beginning of a ride it will ring until the back is opened once car is in park. They sell it on Amazon too. I don’t have a link.

  4. Really this and past tragedies can be prevented by the morahs and babysitters having a check in system.
    When any child is late for whatever reason they reach out by a certain time. I’m a morah and I do this. By 10 if anyone is out I reach out to the parents.
    Think about that- if this baby’s babysitter reached out that baby could be alive. What a terrible thing that really shouldn’t have happened

    • I heard my grandson’s morah was trying to reach a father yesterday because a child did not arrive as expected. The father was in the beis medrash without a phone/phone service. Is there a known way to reach a yungeleit in the BMG beis medrash?

    • Not all babies are in babysitting groups, and while I agree Morahs should reach out to parents who don’t show up past a certain time- it’s the parent’s responsibility to not leave their children in the car. Even reaching out at 10 like you do, if a baby had been left in the car for an hour it could already have ended in tragedy. Even just 30 minutes. Children’s bodies overheat much faster than adults, and their organs start shutting down once they reach 104. Depending on the temperatures, this could happen in under 10 minutes..

      And please do not place any blame on the morah in this specific situation. You don’t even know if the child was going to a babysitter. Morahs reaching out to parents is a great EXTRA precaution but definitely not a primary solution

    • Maybe she did. Maybe she was informed the child wasn’t coming. Maybe you have no idea what you’re talking about. And how should a babysitter/morah reach out to 50+ parents because it’s 3 minutes late. Maybe you only have 3 children coming to you. Maybe a whole bunch of other things happened. Just a reminder, when the malach hamaves comes, nothing will stop him. So stop belly aching about something that is controlled by Hashem.

      • Take it easy!
        Stop and think about each point that you made and you’ll see that the suggestion – while not always foolproof – is a good one.
        For example, a babysitter with 50 children should not be used (unless of course she has assistants – in which case it wouldn’t be so hard to reach out to parents.
        Additionally, there shouldn’t be a need to reach out to all 50, unless they are boycotting you…

        • My point is that not everything has a simple solution. All these tragedies are from Hashem, nothing we can do will prevent Hashem from completing His plans. 99.9% of the time when these things happen, it’s because of a change in schedule. That change in schedule is brought on by Hashem for a reason. Thus all our Gashmiyus ideas have no standing as resolutions to the “problem”. Saying that one can fight Hashem plan, is Kefira. This wasn’t some psycho parent who set out to harm their dear child.

  6. Awareness, awareness awareness is the only thing that will help.

    Every alarm beep whistle type of idea won’t help because you got accustomed to it.

    But seeing a sign on every second store
    And a posting every few days, on Lakewood Scoop
    And WhatsApp reminders

  7. I cannot recommend enough the Evenflo shyft dualride over the Doona. Its safety features are rated better and the car seat includes a built in sensor that tracks a child left in the car, an unbuckled child and overheating. (It also has many other benefits over the Doona, but safety is always #1)
    https://a.co/d/1jLmz6o

  8. If you don’t normally take baby to Morah, leave your pocketbook, shoe, key, or anything that you need in the back seat. My car sends an Alert 5 min after the car is turned off. If you have Highlander enable this feature. What a tragedy may hashem bring a Nechama to all of klal yisrael.

  9. SafeDrop Solutions is a leading provider of child safety systems designed to offer peace of mind to parents, schools, and daycare centers. With an easy-to-use platform, SafeDrop Solutions helps caregivers set customized drop-off schedules, receive automated notifications for missed check-ins, and implement parental controls for added flexibility. Prioritizing safety, the system deactivates on weekends and holidays to minimize false alarms. For just $80 a month, SafeDrop Solutions provides an essential layer of protection, ensuring children’s safety—especially during critical situations like hot summer months.

    For more information, contact SafeDrop Solutions at:
    Call: 732-633-7554
    Text/WhatsApp: 848-469-3059
    Email: Sales@safedropsolution.com

  10. Why are bells whistles and gadgets needed to remind you that there is precious cargo aboard ? You loaded the child in, you forget so fast to unload ?

  13. I appreciate the conscientious chevra locking the door after the escape. The only answer is we need to do teshuva. The gemara says that Achashvairosh giving Haman his ring had a greater effect than 48 neviim, if we roll over and go back to sleep, the alarm clock will keep ringing…

    • I know exactly where my children, where my wife left them. There, the answer of 99% of kollel members. Even if they drop off at the sitter, it’s by rote following the directions and plans of the wife.

  15. BmG phone ,Shmone . Use your Seichel (that the eibishter gave u ) & be alert & be responsible ! If u need to be told how to be alert & responsible,…………nothing will help !!!! A gitten pirim !!!

  16. I know everything is yad Hashem & I’m not chas v’shalom mitigating this tragedy but we are also given hishtadlus.

    Last year I sent my baby in a carpool to the babysitter. Every day I called the morah to make sure my baby got to her. I didn’t care how annoying I was. All she had to do was text me back that my baby arrived. I called vs texting so she would hear my call & I wouldn’t have to wait anxiously for her to see my text and then respond.

  17. I heard from the Morah of this child a”h that she was frantically calling the father. The mother was out of town and unreachable. There was no way to reach the father in the beis medrash. There is no foolproof safety measure but in this case if there was a known way to alert the father…

    This could prevent something bad in the future r”l if there was a way for a Morah to alert BMG in a timely way to track down the parent.

    • As I said a few times already this time and other times, these tragedies are almost always due to Hashem orchestrating a change in schedule. Thus everyone is out of routine and no one knows what is happening. As to being able to track down someone in BMG, that might be quite difficult as well. Call a central number, then someone has to figure which of the10 Batei Midrash the member is learning in. Find someone to track him down, etc. That alone can take 15 minutes. Again, not a bad idea, but too many scenarios to be sounding so simple.

  19. The backseat reminder does not work as it beeps every time you shut off the car before taking out a child which is every time so you get used to the noise. Is there anything that works with a flip phone?

  20. I think yeshivas need to have a number that is always available
    When signing up for morah you should give this number as an emergency contact in case child doesn’t show up.
    Also, all morahs should have other emergency contacts such as a grandparent or neighbor.

  21. Someone should manufacture caps that say “There’s a kid in my car”. The cap should stay in the car seat all the time (or strapped onto the doona if youre using one). When you put a kid in your car, you see cap and put it on. If you forget the kid c”v, everyone will notice the cap and let you know right away. I dont think this is foolproof because the cap can fall onto the floor in the car, or someone might pull it off the doona but if someone has ideas to build off of this, suggestions are more than welcome.

  22. Although not foolproof, perhaps writing on an index card in red pen or marker & taping it on the dashboard to check rear seat before exiting & locking up vehicle would be more effective.

  23. Whether you’re a Jew or gentile (Goyim) . Slow down and take that extra 5-10 seconds to check your car . Whether you think your child is there or not . Make it a 5-10 second ritual done whenever you leave your vehicle . It’s easy enough to do. My prayers go out to the child and family 🙏

  25. Since we are not supposed to be on phone when driving i suggest putting phone in back seat. Or if not possible, purse, briefcase or books that one needs at the destination.

  26. This conversation is insane! Why would any parent need an “idea or a product” to remind them their child is in the car with them?

  27. My husband and I established that whoever did the drop off must ALWAYS text a confirmation that they dropped off the kids at their Morahs. If we don’t get the text, we will check in if the drop offs were done.

    • Probably the only reliable, realistic suggestion here. Though if as it appears happened this time, the mother was out of town, possible unreachable, it may not work.

  29. To the person who said that the backseat reminder beeps every time. The Ride N Remind System does not work this way. It only beeps if someone or something was left in the back seat as it monitors the rear doors.

  30. No mother ever forgot her kide in her car if the husband taking the kids to the daycare …. the mother have to make sure they got there either way calling her husband or with daycare morah DAILY

    • Unfortunately, not true. I remember at least one story where the parent who R”L left the baby in the car was the mother. No finger pointing. These incidents are so out of the ordinary and inexplicable.

  31. I had a chance to shmooze with the owner of CSO Radio about this topic. He is an expert not only in the solution but he researched the topic extensively. He told me it can happen to anyone at any time.

    I shared with him the following story that happened to someone I know will to be a very responsible parent. I heard it first hand.
    The parent parked the car and needed to take their older kids (probably ages apx 5-10) across a fairly busy street. They were only going out for that few seconds and were not leaving the baby alone at all. But just then an askan they had been trying to reach and critically needed to speak to walked by. The parent tried to ask, for just a moment, when they can speak. They got immediately interrupted by the hard to reach askan taking a call for a moment. By the time the call was over, the askan who knew there were many attempts to reach him tried to be friendly and asked for basic details. The parent was distracted enough to start answering. They ended up talking and walking a little bit further down the block for over 30 minutes. The kid was crying hysterical amd the parent was hysterical but the windows were B”H open a little and they got off without a tragedy!

    He told me all the stories have the same factors with something happening out of the usual routine and a slight distraction and then without realizing it’s out of the heat of the parent and r”l happens. It’s very rarely due to poor parenting.

    The truth is we have all kinds of suffering and tragedy in golus. This is part of it. We need to do any hishtadlus we can to prevent and protect. But when there’s a gezeira, then being angry, posting negative comments online, and pointing fingers just makes you distracted too. Distracted from what Hashem gave you the opportunity to do that has any positive impact. If only to immediately say a kapitel of Tehillim for the parents and family of the baby who are for sure going through a horrible traumatic time. That would be a very good reaction that actually makes a difference.

  33. Set a daily alarm on your phone 5-10 minutes after you normally drop off the baby. On a day you are running late you can snooze it till you drop off

Comments are closed.


© Copyright | The Lakewood Scoop. All Rights Reserved