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I disagree!

Many years ago, I used to drop my daughter off on a sporadic basis at my Mother In Law’s house on the way to work. A couple of times my mind wondered and I got almost all the way to work before I realized she was still back there. It still makes my heart race to think about how close I may have come to parking at work and leaving her in the car.

It is amazing how quiet a baby/toddler can be at times. On top of thinking about things work related on the way in, I can definitely see it happening.

I am glad everything is so simple for you, and that you are perfect.

When we were young, there were no child seats. Kids would sit in the front seat with mom or dad, or whomever was driving. If both adults were in the car, they sat in the back, but facing forward. Sometimes on mom's lap in the passenger seat. The interactions with the kids in the car were constant, and even the subject of jokes, both in family and in popular entertainment. Then came the safety Nazi's. Child seats, kids not allowed in the front seat, kids need to be facing backwards. Now, the kids are in their seats, with no interactions, the gentle sway of the car … and they go to sleep.

Now, think about modern stresses. You are on your way to work. You are thinking about what you have to do today, you saw emails on your phone before you left for work that are crisis' that you will have to deal with, you have ungodly traffic no matter where you live, and you develop a routine that allows for you to keep your sanity every day that essentially tunes you out during your commute. You are on autopilot.

Next, something happens … the parent that normally drives the kids has to go in early, or go to a Dr … whatever. Put a parent that is not used to driving the kids to wherever in charge of transporting the kids for the day and the kids, used to the routine are on autopilot as well. They go to sleep. Maybe someone cuts him off, or he has issues merging on the freeway … but Dad gets focused on the issue at hand, not the temporary duty of being kid chauffer. Crisis resolves, and Dad's natural reaction is he goes on autopilot, just like he does any other day of the week. The kids are silent, they are asleep … nothing to wake him out of his autopilot. He is thinking about the emails he has to respond to. He gets to work, the kids don't wake up. The back of the car is dark, he does not normally look there, and being focused on work, it does not occur to him to do it today. It is just another day, just another commute, just another tragedy about to happen, not because Dad intended to murder his kids, but because being "safe" means putting the kids out of sight … and subsequently, out of mind.