Some People Need An App To Remember They Locked Their Baby In A Hot Car

Forgot that you locked your baby in a stifling hot car? Need to be reminded before that baby literally dies?

There's an app for that.

Every summer at least one (usually many more) tragic tales hits the headlines of a child who dies after being locked in a hot car. This is, of course, awful. Thankfully the more positive alternative scenario also makes headlines too - but the problem remains: locking babies in cars is a thing people do.

Several enterprising app developers appear ready to deal with that problem by solving what might be the wrong end of the equation.

Both Apple and Google's respective app stores contain apps designed -- apparently -- to give you a prod when your beloved child has been locked in the car "too long" - which is presumably "any time at all".

Our first indication that these apps might be a reality came courtesy of an intentionally funny Twitter account which has recently been in the news for trolling a bunch of nerds. It seemed possible that this was a joke:

But after a brief search we found that not only did the app exist, but that there are others.

One of these, named 'Dont Forget Your Baby' is available for Android and has been downloaded between 1,000 and 5,000 times. It has a bunch of highly suspicious positive reviews, and an interface that looks as though it was designed in MS Paint.

This particular app appears to work by alerting you when the Bluetooth connection between your phone and any Bluetooth device is broken. Leave the BT device on your baby, and it will alert you when your baby isn't there.

There are also hardware options, if you need them.

These apps raise an obvious point, which is that if you need an app to remind you that you're baby is locked in the car, you might have bigger issues.

On the other hand, they could theoretically save a life. This appears to be a real problem, given the statistically consistent incidence rate, and this is a response. So... Good thing?

Well, as that dispute plays itself out, we're left to ponder the possible tragedy implied in these short, but Hemmingway-esque reviews of 'Don't Forget The Kids'.

Do they contain dark humour or active grief in their few words?

We can but hope for the former.