Area Lawmakers: Applaud “Slow Down Baby” Product to Prevent Hot Car Child Deaths
Old Lyme – On Friday, July 8, State Rep. Devin Carney and Sens. Art Linares, Paul Formica and Cathy Osten along with Old Lyme’s First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder praised the launch of a new product by a Connecticut startup in hopes of curing a recent trend of children being left in hot cars and consequently dying.
At the Bowerbird in Old Lyme, founder and CEO of SDB, LLC, Julianne Godwin was joined by state and local officials along with Bowerbird owner Chris Kitchings to reveal “Slow Down Baby” – a product she describes as an affordable, low-tech solution that will remind parents to check their car seat before or after exiting their vehicle.
The Slow Down Baby product consists of a bright yellow placard clipped by a carabiner to a lanyard of the same color. When a car seat is not in use, parents clip the placard directly to the seat’s strap. When a baby is placed in the car seat, the placard is unclipped from the seat and attached to the driver’s car keys or worn around the neck by the lanyard. This system is meant to be a physical and visual reminder for the caregiver to check the car seat before or after exiting the vehicle.
Godwin, the developer of the product, said she was inspired to create the Slow Down Baby tags after reading a news report about a toddler who dies in a hot car after being forgotten in his car seat by his caregiver.
“After reading the newspaper article and about how this baby suffered, I cried my eyes out for this baby and his caregiver – after all, it was an accident” said Godwin. “I believed that there was an answer to be found to prevent these horrific deaths and help caregivers remember that their child is in the back seat of the car with them. Peoples’ lives are crazy these days and their routines can change. If you think this cannot happen to you, think again – your lives can change in a split second. This is just another layer of protection for our children.”
Rep. Carney said, “I want to commend Julianne for her innovation and hard work in creating this much-needed product to prevent tragedies. I am especially thrilled that the Bowerbird of Old Lyme has partnered with her to be the first store to sell her product and I thank them for their support.”
Sen. Formica and Sen. Linares said they were proud to join with friends at Bowerbird to help unveil the new product, noting that “Slow Down Baby can help prevent tragedies.”
For more information, visit www.slowdownbaby.com.