Never leave children in cars

Wodonga Council is urging parents and carers to take their most precious valuables - their children - with them and never leave them alone in a car.

Children can and do die in hot cars — and the risk is highest in summer. 

Even on mild days the temperature inside a parked car can be 20-30 degrees hotter than the temperature outside.

When it’s 30 degrees outside, a child could be suffering in up to 60-degree heat. 

With temperatures expected to reach more than 40 degrees this week, RACV has released statistics which put Wodonga at number 11 in Victoria for call outs this year.

RACV were called to rescue eight Wodonga children from locked cars in the past 12 months, just six below Frankston who topped the list.

By leaving children in cars, the risk of heatstroke and dehydration is very real.

As a child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adults, the impact of this heat on a child’s body is almost immediate.

This puts them at greater risk of life-threatening heat stroke, brain injury, heart and lung failure, and dehydration.

Large cars heat up just as fast as smaller ones. Leaving the windows down slightly has little effect on the inside temperature.

Tests have shown that when windows are left open by 10cm, it reduces the inside temperature by only five degrees.

The State Government's Never Leave Kids in Cars campaign prompts parents to take their kids with them whenever they get out of the car, just as they do their everyday valuables, to avoid potentially tragic consequences. 

To find out more about the campaign and how you can keep your kids safe, head to the Kidsafe website.