Something you need at the next stop so you have to go back for it.
Edit:
Autopilot takes over.
This does need more awareness. I would never have thought of it happening, but it happened to me when I went back to work. The daycare is on the way. But autopilot takes over, after rushing to pack everything, and having an important presentation going over in my head, I drove past the daycare and into the spot at work. Fortunately there was a snowbank in front so I turned to walk behind, and OH MY GOD, YOU'RE STILL THERE!! So I put my briefcase and purse with him from then on.
But in all the "baby training" they gave at the hospital, they never once mentioned this happens to people on the regular.
I always used my purse. I was so sleep deprived that I was having hallucinations and couldn’t remember if I had dropped my kids off at daycare, so I’d go back on my breaks to check the back of my car. I had a habit of trying to replay my mornings in my head “just to make sure” I took my kids to daycare. But then I started hallucinating that what if I was just imagining that I took them but never did? It was awful.
I get what they might mean, though. If you make a habit of putting something you need in the backseat, like a wallet or your cell phone, then you won't get very far without it.
The potential problem with the advice is, in the circumstances where you're likely to forget your child, you might be equally likely to forget to do this. You're in a rush, you're seep deprived, you're thinking about a million other things, and you're running on autopilot.
If you want to improve your chances, don't just do it when you have a child in the backseat and you're concerned about forgetting. Put your wallet and cell phone in the back seat every time you get in the car. Make it such a strong habit that you'll do it even when running on autopilot.
whydyounamemethat on October 12nd, 2020 at 12:34 UTC »
Something you need at the next stop so you have to go back for it.
Edit:
Autopilot takes over.
This does need more awareness. I would never have thought of it happening, but it happened to me when I went back to work. The daycare is on the way. But autopilot takes over, after rushing to pack everything, and having an important presentation going over in my head, I drove past the daycare and into the spot at work. Fortunately there was a snowbank in front so I turned to walk behind, and OH MY GOD, YOU'RE STILL THERE!! So I put my briefcase and purse with him from then on.
But in all the "baby training" they gave at the hospital, they never once mentioned this happens to people on the regular.
MagicCoffeeBeanSpaz on October 12nd, 2020 at 13:20 UTC »
I always used my purse. I was so sleep deprived that I was having hallucinations and couldn’t remember if I had dropped my kids off at daycare, so I’d go back on my breaks to check the back of my car. I had a habit of trying to replay my mornings in my head “just to make sure” I took my kids to daycare. But then I started hallucinating that what if I was just imagining that I took them but never did? It was awful.
fence_neighbour on October 12nd, 2020 at 13:27 UTC »
I get what they might mean, though. If you make a habit of putting something you need in the backseat, like a wallet or your cell phone, then you won't get very far without it.
The potential problem with the advice is, in the circumstances where you're likely to forget your child, you might be equally likely to forget to do this. You're in a rush, you're seep deprived, you're thinking about a million other things, and you're running on autopilot.
If you want to improve your chances, don't just do it when you have a child in the backseat and you're concerned about forgetting. Put your wallet and cell phone in the back seat every time you get in the car. Make it such a strong habit that you'll do it even when running on autopilot.