It can happen to anyone. And it does. An average of 40 kids die in hot cars every year in the US—a stat so tragic and avoidable that Matthew Sheets couldn’t stand by and watch anymore. So, Sheets created Starfish—a weight-activated car seat sensor that alerts your smartphone if you happen to leave the car without your child.
Using Bluetooth technology, Starfish connects to your iPhone or Android and “fits snugly in your child’s car seat.” How handy. How clever.
Really, what will people cook up next? A gizmo that spoons peas directly into your son’s mouth... An e-book that reads your daughter her bedtime story so you don’t have to...
Parents are busy, man do I get it. Our To Do lists grow exponentially and seldom get Done. Our hamster wheels spin faster than that of previous generations ever did.
Would I ever leave my kid in the car? I’d like to think I would never be so tired/distracted/preoccupied that I would forget him in the backseat. But if there is one thing I’ve learned about parenting, it’s that words like "never" never apply.
If I was that mom stuck reliving the worst possible day—the day I lost my child through my own doing—you can bet if there was a gadget out there that could have saved him, I’d buy twenty of them.
Still, tech is no cure for common sense. Parents who deliberately leave their babes in the car while they dash out on errands won’t be the ones buying this device. And no matter how many PSAs tell them not to, some parents will still take that gamble time and again. Because nine times out of ten their kids will be just fine.
But if Starfish saves that one young life, then who can put a price on that?
Learn more about the Kickstarter campaign for Starfish’s first production run.
You tell me: should we be relying on technology to help us parent? Are products like Starfish convenient, or are they simply making us lazy and paranoid?
Check out this Dad's viral safety video on leaving kids in the car.
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