A Whitby woman has started a petition for a new daycare policy she says would help prevent children dying in hot cars.
Alicia Wilson spearheaded the petition for a policy she calls a Safe Arrivals programs, where a daycare would be obligated to call parents if a child didn’t show up as planned.
Ontario school boards already have policies in place where a parent or child care giver are called if the child doesn’t show up at school and the school wasn’t given notice there would be an absence.
This proposed policy and petition comes after 23-month-old Everett Smith died in a hot car in Bancroft last month.
Everett was mistakenly left in a car in a school parking lot while his mother taught classes inside.
The intent was for the mother to drop Everett off a daycare before going to work.
“Each year, children die from being unintentionally forgotten in their families’ vehicle. This is a horrible tragedy for the infant and has significate repercussions on the parent, family and society,” Wilson wrote in her petition, which has thousands of signatures.
“Recently, this horrible situation took the life of Everett Smith. While I didn’t know this young boy, my heart goes out to him and his family and I’m so sorry for their loss. We need a change to help protect our children and families.”
If the daycares or child care centres were to call an absenteeism, it would alert the parents that something is wrong.
“If notified in time, this could save a child’s life,” Wilson said.
The Ministry of Education says licensees can implement safe arrival or safe dismissal policies and procedures as long as they don’t contravene any requirements in the Child Care and Early Years Act.
The Ministry says it continually assesses policies and that would include feedback from patients and experts on the best practices for licensed day care.
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