"Fatal Distraction"

I read “Fatal Distraction”, by Gene Weingarten. It is the story of women and men who forgot their children in their cars, and as a result the children all passed away. They died of hyperthermia. When I first heard that term I thought “hypothermia”, which is an abnormally low body temperature, however HYPERthermia is the opposite, it is an abnormally high body temperature. When a child is left in a hot car, for an extended period of time, it causes their body temperature to go up, which ensues in death. The subject itself made the article a perfect “feature article”. Parents are becoming busier, in many homes both parents work, and this contributes to the stress level. In high stress situations, our brains go into autopilot, and that is when the baby gets forgotten. We think we dropped them off at day care, when in reality; they are sitting in the back seat the whole time. This is becoming something that happens more and more often, so it is a hot topic. It’s something of interest, and it’s something people need to read so they are aware of the dangers! I read the entire article from start to finish, the author kept me interested with the way he told the story of each person. I even got choked up as I read, heartbroken by the way the children died, and the misery and guilt their parents must be feeling! I feel as though the author posed a question without out right saying it, should parents that forget their children be prosecuted to the extent of the law, or is the death of their child and the grief and guilt that goes with that, punishment enough? That is another reason it is such a great feature! It leaves you asking yourself questions, and searching for your own answers! By the end of the article I came to this conclusion: Gene Weingarten is an amazing writer, and completely worthy of his Pulitzer Prize!