Yesterday, I wrote an article about common myths and facts about safety. One tip was to learn how to use the trunk release tab that can be found on the inside of locked trunks. In short, a child who was kidnapped or accidentally locked in a trunk of a car (as happens when children play hide and seek and make the mistake of going into the trunk of the car and shutting the lid) could escape if he or she knew how to pop the latch. It usually glows in the dark. See if you can find it in your car - if you have a newer model - and if it works.
But here's the dilemna I have and I'd really appreciate hearing from parents, grandparents, caretakers or anyone about this: When is a child old enough to learn about this? Will the child be tempted to try this when you aren't nearby? If a child is in a locked trunk of a car sitting in a hot driveway, they are at risk of death from suffocation or overheating.
So I confess to feeling ambivalent: On one hand, knowing how to do this could help save a child's life, especially if taken by a predator. On the other hand, I worry about how tempted a child would be to "practice" when a parent wasn't around or when at a friend's house.
So, here's my question: would you teach your child how to escape from a locked trunk and, if so at what age?
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Comments: 17
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Pat
It might be obsessive or silly but I have been wondering whether to teach a cousin about this. He is the type who might want to "teach" other kids and practice. It kind of reminds me of the "safe" trampoline we had, which we mistakenly believed was safe because it had a fence around it made of soft netting. The trampoline was still dangerous, even if kids couldn't fall off of it. Our son slipped and broke his arm on that "safer" trampoline and it was an attractive nuisance to neighborhood kids. We finally got rid of it. I'm not saying that would be the right choice for everyone. Lots of people love trampolines but I could not rest easy with it being in our yard, plus our insurance premiums were going to jump, too.
I could have learned this very early.*maybe 4-5
But each of my children were different.
Either way, this is something I want to look into now.
(find out if my cars have them)
My daughter is 10. It's never too late to teach them.
But there can't be any harm in them knowing this. As for age its a real tough call, because last thing you want is a child messing around after learning about "being locked in a trunk"...kids are impressionable and very imaginative ( I was !)