Officials offer tips for preventing heatstroke in kids

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - Last year, over 20 children died after being left in hot cars across the nation and with temperatures hitting extreme highs this week, it’s more important than ever to take caution.

Outside of car crashes, heatstroke is the leading cause of vehicle-related deaths for children. More than 900 children have died of heatstroke since 1998 because they were left or became trapped in a hot car.

Children are more vulnerable to heatstroke because their bodies heat up three to five times faster than an adult’s. So even if you think you’ll be in and out of the store in two minutes, it’s best to take your child with you instead of leaving them in the car.

“Anybody responsible for a child, parents, anybody supervising a child, is to have that awareness to never leave a child in a car,” Randy Neff, 2INgage vice president of permanency, said. “Their body temperature can rise rapidly, a lot more rapidly than adults. We just want to make sure that we take precautions to make sure we don’t leave kids in cars even for a few minutes because it can be very dangerous.”

Officials said a car can heat up 19 degrees in just 10 minutes, and cracking the windows will not do much to help.

These guidelines also apply for animals. Our furry friends can die of a heatstroke if left in a vehicle, even if the windows are down. So this summer, make sure to take extra care.

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