4 ms·

I think you're thinking of this from a purely "statistical scope of the problem" perspective and underestimating the value of "emotional commitment of a parent

I think you're thinking of this from a purely "statistical scope of the problem" perspective and underestimating the value of "emotional commitment of a parent for their children". If there was an app (would require hardware...some sortof linkup with the child seat) I'd imagine if it was marketed right and there were studies supporting it's effectiveness you could charge an awful lot for it and virtually every parent would buy one. That's gotta be a substantial market. And it's a universal (global) problem. Car seats are incredibly expensive (actually it's not just car seats...pretty much any 'technology' associated with infants). Every parent wants peace of mind and I'd venture most would be willing to pay heavily for it. Edit: On mobile and probably worded this poorly but TLDR: Parents aren't making rational decisions here w/ safety purchases for their kids. They'll spend a lot on something that eliminates a potential life-threatening issue...even if it's statistically rare.

wongarsu 9y ago
I don't know the American market, but from a Western European perspective that sounds hard to market right. Everyone thinks of mistakes as something other people make (as opposed to accidents, the selling point of good car seats). Nobody is going to think "hopefully I don't forget my child in the car", or at least won't buy anything that gives away that thought.
- mcguire 9y ago
  From the article: "In 2000, Chris Edwards, Terry Mack and Edward Modlin began to work on just such a product after one of their colleagues, Kevin Shelton, accidentally left his 9-month-old son to die in the parking lot of NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. The inventors patented a device with weight sensors and a keychain alarm. Based on aerospace technology, it was easy to use; it was relatively cheap, and it worked. "Janette Fennell had high hopes for this product: The dramatic narrative behind it, she felt, and the fact that it came from NASA, created a likelihood of widespread publicity and public acceptance. "That was five years ago. The device still isn't on the shelves. The inventors could not find a commercial partner willing to manufacture it. One big problem was liability. If you made it, you could face enormous lawsuits if it malfunctioned and a child died. But another big problem was psychological: Marketing studies suggested it wouldn't sell well. "The problem is this simple: People think this could never happen to them."
balls187 9y ago
> Car seats are incredibly expensive Not in the US. All carseats undergo strict testing under stringent regulations. While there are some real fancy seats out there, base level models ($50-100) range are safe. More expensive seats have easier adjustments, easy to clean fabric, front/rear-facing modes, and other bells and whistles for parents. For any first time parents in the US, I recommend picking up the latest copy of Baby Bargins (http://www.babybargains.com/ http://www.babybargains.com/). Lots of information about all the items you'll need for Baby, as well as safety ratings, and price considerations. > Every parent wants peace of mind and I'd venture most would be willing to pay heavily for it. That is very true. That's what gives rise to so-called SIDS motion monitors. Things that are supposed to alert you to an infant in distress, but in reality has not proven to decrease the risk of SIDS.
- m_mueller 9y ago
  For anyone worried about SIDS I'd suggest looking into [1][2]. The counterarguments summed up in [3] seem rather weak to me. If the claim is true that in 10 years no parent following Sprott's method have had a case of SIDS (which no-one seemed to follow up on, even though the study seems quite solid to me), then the counter would have to explain why one should wait instead of just adopting that method. It seems a similar story to Beri-Beri in the Japanese Navy pre-WW2 - one doctor just went and found a cure in the field and everyone else just ignored it because his methods were not proven in a clinical study and because the cure required a change of traditional warrior behaviour. [1] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13590840400016836 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13590840400016836 [2] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13590840400017875 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13590840400017875 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC500741/pdf/jclinpath00267-0003.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC500741/pdf/jcli...
  - comstock 9y ago
    Interesting, but it concerns me that the first two citations are not in a very reputable journal: Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine In particular it's on this list: http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecperiodicals.html http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecperiodic... It also seems that the author of the first article is selling products to prevent SIDS, which is worrying. Not saying it's without merit. But these things make me want to investigate further...
sudhirj 9y ago
If there was an app, it might not require any integration at all - just a vibration or beep pattern with a notification every time I step out should be more than enough. If I have my child I'll ignore it the way I would any message, if I don't the distinctive pattern should be enough of a memory jog.
jliptzin 9y ago
Don't really need a fancy app with hardware...could just send the following text every hour on the hour from let's say 7am to 5pm: Is your child in your car?
- URSpider94 9y ago
  The problem is, many of these parents think that they have dropped their child off at day care. Parents will either be constantly running out to their cars to check for their child, or will start ignoring these texts. It's basic human neurophysiology that we learn to mute meaningless data.

wongarsu 9y ago

I don't know the American market, but from a Western European perspective that sounds hard to market right. Everyone thinks of mistakes as something other people make (as opposed to accidents, the selling point of good car seats). Nobody is going to think "hopefully I don't forget my child in the car", or at least won't buy anything that gives away that thought.

mcguire 9y ago
From the article: "In 2000, Chris Edwards, Terry Mack and Edward Modlin began to work on just such a product after one of their colleagues, Kevin Shelton, accidentally left his 9-month-old son to die in the parking lot of NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. The inventors patented a device with weight sensors and a keychain alarm. Based on aerospace technology, it was easy to use; it was relatively cheap, and it worked. "Janette Fennell had high hopes for this product: The dramatic narrative behind it, she felt, and the fact that it came from NASA, created a likelihood of widespread publicity and public acceptance. "That was five years ago. The device still isn't on the shelves. The inventors could not find a commercial partner willing to manufacture it. One big problem was liability. If you made it, you could face enormous lawsuits if it malfunctioned and a child died. But another big problem was psychological: Marketing studies suggested it wouldn't sell well. "The problem is this simple: People think this could never happen to them."

balls187 9y ago

> Car seats are incredibly expensive Not in the US. All carseats undergo strict testing under stringent regulations. While there are some real fancy seats out there, base level models ($50-100) range are safe. More expensive seats have easier adjustments, easy to clean fabric, front/rear-facing modes, and other bells and whistles for parents. For any first time parents in the US, I recommend picking up the latest copy of Baby Bargins (http://www.babybargains.com/ http://www.babybargains.com/). Lots of information about all the items you'll need for Baby, as well as safety ratings, and price considerations. > Every parent wants peace of mind and I'd venture most would be willing to pay heavily for it. That is very true. That's what gives rise to so-called SIDS motion monitors. Things that are supposed to alert you to an infant in distress, but in reality has not proven to decrease the risk of SIDS.

m_mueller 9y ago
For anyone worried about SIDS I'd suggest looking into [1][2]. The counterarguments summed up in [3] seem rather weak to me. If the claim is true that in 10 years no parent following Sprott's method have had a case of SIDS (which no-one seemed to follow up on, even though the study seems quite solid to me), then the counter would have to explain why one should wait instead of just adopting that method. It seems a similar story to Beri-Beri in the Japanese Navy pre-WW2 - one doctor just went and found a cure in the field and everyone else just ignored it because his methods were not proven in a clinical study and because the cure required a change of traditional warrior behaviour. [1] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13590840400016836 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13590840400016836 [2] http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13590840400017875 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13590840400017875 [3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC500741/pdf/jclinpath00267-0003.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC500741/pdf/jcli...
- comstock 9y ago
  Interesting, but it concerns me that the first two citations are not in a very reputable journal: Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine In particular it's on this list: http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecperiodicals.html http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecperiodic... It also seems that the author of the first article is selling products to prevent SIDS, which is worrying. Not saying it's without merit. But these things make me want to investigate further...

sudhirj 9y ago

If there was an app, it might not require any integration at all - just a vibration or beep pattern with a notification every time I step out should be more than enough. If I have my child I'll ignore it the way I would any message, if I don't the distinctive pattern should be enough of a memory jog.

jliptzin 9y ago

Don't really need a fancy app with hardware...could just send the following text every hour on the hour from let's say 7am to 5pm: Is your child in your car?

URSpider94 9y ago
The problem is, many of these parents think that they have dropped their child off at day care. Parents will either be constantly running out to their cars to check for their child, or will start ignoring these texts. It's basic human neurophysiology that we learn to mute meaningless data.