BURRILLVILLE – It’s Memorial Day weekend, and this weekend is the unofficial start of the summer season here in New England. With the hot summer months quickly approaching, it is very important to remind everyone about the hazards and dangers that arrive along with the summer sun and heat with these safety coloring cartoons.
Do not leave kids alone inside hot cars and trucks over the next four to five months to help keep them safer. It only takes a few minutes for a child to suffer from heat exposure and suffer harm, or even death, due to being left alone in a hot vehicle. Only a few minutes in extreme heat can cause irreversible damage to a child.
Hasbro Children’s Hospital and LifeSpan Hospital Network requested that I create these Kids In Hot Cars Safety Coloring Cartoons that will be passed out to kids and adults all summer long across the state of Rhode Island, and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut, hoping to prevent injuries and potentially save a child’s life this year. See a child alone in a hot car? Take action. Call 911! It could save a life. Avoid heat stroke. Never leave kids alone in vehicles. If you are a police officer, firefighter, rescue personnel, pediatrician, nurse, teacher, daycare educator, librarian or child safety advocate group, then print these out and then pass them out to kids in your own city, town and community during the hot summer months. Discuss the hazards and dangers with your family and friends. It could help save a child’s life.
Jim Weicherding is a Burrillville resident, and the founder and creator of an award-winning traffic safety effort Seasons of Safety. Weicherding contributes kids’ coloring cartoons, which can be printed and used to help parents discuss safety issues with their children. He has a long list of police officers and firefighters in his family and has worked with law enforcement and firefighters in a creative public safety capacity for more than two decades.