The holiday season is here and families are preparing to spend big. The National Retail Federation (NRF) says annual holiday spending could reach almost $1 trillion. This is because more people have jobs and are making more money. But while shoppers fill their carts and check items off their lists, a child safety group is urging parents to stay vigilant after a troubling Thanksgiving weekend.
Kids and Car Safety, an organization focused on preventing car-related child tragedies, reported that nearly a dozen cars were stolen during Thanksgiving with children left inside. These incidents affected 17 kids under 14, highlighting the risks of leaving little ones unattended for just a moment.
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Janette Fennell, president of Kids and Car Safety, said, “With colder weather, we see a sharp rise in car thefts involving children left unattended in vehicles.” Parents often underestimate how quickly these preventable tragedies can occur. The organization’s data shows this trend has escalated over the past decade, peaking in 2022, when 265 such cases were recorded.
Fennell emphasized the emotional toll these incidents can take on families. The stress of being taken and the risks children encounter leave long-lasting scars, even if the majority of kids are subsequently reunited with their loved ones. Tragically, parents who attempted to stop burglars from driving off with their children on two occasions this year lost their lives.
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Kids and Car Safety’s message is to never leave your child alone in a car, even for a few minutes. With the hustle and bustle of holiday errands, making a quick dash into a store can be tempting. But that’s often all it takes for a thief to strike. Most thefts happen at convenience stores, driveways or other locations where parents may feel temporarily safe.
To help prevent these tragedies, the group advises parents to keep car doors locked and keys with them, even when pumping gas, to use drive-thru or curbside pickup services whenever possible and to plan for errands by calling ahead to see if staff can assist when shopping with children. These simple precautions can save lives and keep your holiday season joyful and safe.
