Ruth to the Rescue: Preventing hot car tragedies

Gadgets designed to protect children put to the test

You've heard the heartbreaking stories about parents mistakenly leaving their young children alone in hot cars.

Child safety experts say about 38 children die each year in that situation. There are products on the market designed to help prevent parents from forgetting their children, and the Ruth to the Rescue consumer unit decided to put two of them to the test.

Kelly Allen of Rochester Hills is a busy working mom to 22-month-old son Cooper.

"Being a mom is the greatest thing I've ever done," she said.

However, she admits life with a little one is certainly more hectic. "Getting him from point A to point B isn't always easy," Allen said.

First test: a car seat clip

Allen volunteered to put two products from Baby Alert International to the test.

First, she tried the Child Minder Softclip.

This gadget attaches to the harness of your child's safety seat. The clip needs to be opened to remove your child. If the clip remains locked and you walk 15 feet away from your car, it sends an alert to a key fob that reminds you that you left your child behind.

Allen started by looking over the product and directions. Once she thought she had the clip set, she gave it a try. She left the clip locked in the car and walked away. At first, it didn't seem to be working. Allen kept trying and eventually called customer service.

She suspected there was some kind of issue with syncing the clip to the fob. Unfortunately, she could not get someone one the phone at Baby Alert International. Instead, she was told to leave a message and someone would call back.

Allen kept trying to get the clip to work, and, on the fourth attempt, it did. She said the beeping was definitely loud enough to get her attention, and would give her a startling reminder.

Second test: monitor checks for weight

Our product test continued when we shifted to the Child Minder Elite Pad. This model uses a pad placed under the child in his safety seat. The pad is connected to a base that monitors your child's weight. If that weight is not removed, and you walk away from the car, the alarm will sound on a key fob.

Again, it took a few tries to make it work correctly.

It took customer service more than 90 minutes to call back, and at that point, the time allotted for our test had expired. However, once Allen heard from customer service, we learned something very important. When Allen (and the consumer team) read the directions, we thought the devices needed to be synced before using them. It turns out they come pre-synced, but it was something Allen struggled with.

"I think that's the tricky part. There's a lot of beeping. There's beeping when you plug it in when you unplug it. Both things are beeping," said Allen.

Once we re-synced the devices, they did what they were supposed to do. The directions for synchronizing the devices is meant for additional key fobs, but we thought there was still some initial synchronization needed. A representative for Baby Alert International says the software and key fobs were just updated for maximum effectiveness in October of 2014, and when used properly the devices work 100 percent of the time. 

Overall impressions from our mom

In spite of that glitch, Allen liked some other things about the devices. She said the installation was actually quite easy.

"I had taken the car seat out of the car thinking I would need to, and I didn't," she said.

Of the two devices, Allen preferred the Softclip." That's also the less expensive option, currently priced at $49.95 on the Baby International Website.

The Elite Pad version costs $56.95. Both have been marked down, so those prices are lower than usual.

"I think the prices are reasonable. If you ask any mom you start spending a lot of money to make sure your kids are always safe," Allen said.

Overall, Allen was intrigued by the products, but frustrated she didn't get them to work right off the bat. She does think, once they're synched up, they should work and could help parents avoid a tragic mistake.

"I think over time it's going to get better, but I'm certainly not going to put a 100 percent seal of approval, 'Yes this this is going to work no matter what.'" Allen said.

Regarding the customer service response, Baby Alert International Marketing/Sales Director Pam Dangio said, "Response varies depending on the availability of the customer or potential customers. Response has been anywhere from four minutes to 15 minutes."

She couldn't say why it took so long for Allen to hear back.

If you'd like to learn more about the products, visit: https://www.babyalert.info.