As Summer Approaches, Take Time To Ensure Children Aren’t Left Behind

 

FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – As we all get ready for the summer months, once again protecting our children comes to the forefront of our minds.  Every year it seems we hear stories of families who suffer the most horrible of tragedies – the death of a child left in a hot car. What makes these terrible situations even worse is that they are 100 percent preventable.

As father, grandfather and President and CEO of a university charged with the education and care of over 25,000 students – many of whom are parents themselves – I am compelled to lend my support to a novel plan that has come to my attention.

A columnist for The News-Press newspaper in Fort Myers, Florida, has created an incredibly easy way to protect our children from accidentally being locked and forgotten in the family car and being stricken by heatstroke. Dubbed the #NeverLeft campaign, it consists simply of the driver removing his/her left shoe and putting it in the car’s back seat when the child is strapped into the car seat. This way the driver will assuredly be reminded of the infant’s presence as they attempt to leave – after all, you won’t go far walking with only one shoe! Other experts agree that leaving a needed object (purse, cell phone, briefcase, etc.) in the backseat with the child is a good method of guarding against leaving your child behind.

Too often, children are forgotten in the rear of the car, not from willful or benign neglect, but simply because the distraction of routine behaviors dominates the awareness of the little one’s presence. A study by the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science at San Jose State University looked at more than 600 child heatstroke deaths from being left in hot cars, trucks, vans and SUVs. The research showed that 53 percent were due to the parent simply forgetting the child was with them. This phenomenon, known as Forgotten Baby Syndrome (FBS,) has increased in recent years with the advent of airbags in cars, as children are put in the back seat instead of up front. No clearer and more tragic example of “out of sight, out of mind” exists.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

That’s why it’s a good idea to put something else in the back seat that forces parents to look behind them after they arrive at their destination. It’s a simple act that can save families a lifetime of heartache.

At NSU, our Mailman Segal Center for Human Development, where nearly 1,000 children are enrolled, includes this topic in their safety instructions to parents. Along with all the other yearly safety reminders, parents are also urged to never leave anything or anyone unattended in their vehicles, whether they are on campus or elsewhere in the community. They’ve also turned to social media to continue spreading the word, posing information on their Facebook page that tells parents and guardians to leave something in the back seat next to their child before heading out on the road – all with the goal of avoiding a senseless tragedy.

That’s why I’m urging all parents, grandparents and guardians to adopt this plan. After all, aren’t our children worth the time and effort it takes to leave something else in the backseat? Please share the hashtag #NeverLeft on your social media accounts and participate if you have a young child – the more people who receive the word, the better chance we have of avoiding this senseless tragedy from ever happening again.

 

George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D.
President, CEO, Nova Southeastern University

 

Nova Southeastern University fully supports an individual’s right to express their viewpoint and opinions. The views expressed in this guest editorial are that of George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., President and CEO of NSU and not necessarily those of NSU’s Board of Trustees.

 

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About the Author
George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D. is the sixth president of Nova Southeastern University (NSU) the largest, not-for-profit, private university in Florida. He assumed the role of President and CEO in July 2011.

One of his first accomplishments as president was to refocus the university’s mission and vision, and lay out eight core values to guide the university into 2020 and beyond: Academic Excellence, Student Centered, Integrity, Innovation, Opportunity, Scholarship/Research, Diversity and Community. One early sign of success is that under Dr. Hanbury’s leadership, NSU became one of only 37 universities in the nation to hold the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s dual designation of both “Community Engaged” and “High Research Activity.”

Prior to his appointment as President, Dr. Hanbury served NSU for 12 years as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Before entering higher education administration, Dr. Hanbury led a successful 30-year career as City Manager of the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Portsmouth, Virginia; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and as Assistant City Manager in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Hanbury holds a B.S. from Virginia Tech, an M.S. in Public Administration from Old Dominion and a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Florida Atlantic University.

For more information about Dr. Hanbury, please visit us ONLINE.

 

About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, NSU is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and first-professional degrees levels.  An independent, not-for-profit institution with approximately 25,000 students, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach and Tampa, Florida as well as  San Juan, Puerto Rico and online globally.  For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification. For more information, please visit www.nova.edu

 

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