Some cautionary tales, thankfully, avoid heartbreaking endings.
An alert pedestrian on Wednesday morning removed an unattended 3-year-old from a parked vehicle and called police.
The preschooler is fine, the adult group leader is apologetic and tragedy was averted.
Despite publicity about the dangers of leaving children in vehicles where temperatures soar quickly, more than 600 children have died in hot cars since 1990, according to Kids and Cars, a nonprofit safety group.
A parent or supervising adult may think a stop will be brief or - in some cases - forget or overlook that a child is in the car.
Following Wednesday's episode, the Jefferson City Fire Department conducted an experiment to call attention to the danger.
When a digital thermometer was placed in a parked vehicle, the temperature rose from an initial 80 degrees to 130 degrees in 10 minutes, according to Jason Turner, division chief. In a second test, the temperature rose from 80 degrees to 150 degrees in 14 minutes.
"It is never OK to leave kids or pets in a car - even with the windows down," emergency room physician Dr. Christopher McStay said on WebMD. "It is an absolute no-no."
To guard against forgetting or overlooking a child, Kids and Cars offers these tips:
• Put something you'll need like your cell phone, handbag, employee ID or brief case, etc., on the floor board in the back seat.
• Get in the habit of always opening the back door of your vehicle when you reach your destination to make sure no child has been left behind. This will soon become a habit. We call this the "Look Before You Lock" campaign.
• Keep a large stuffed animal in the child's car seat when it's not occupied. When the child is placed in the seat, put the stuffed animal in the front passenger seat. It's a visual reminder that anytime the stuffed animal is up front you know the child is in the back seat in a child safety seat.
• Make arrangements with your child's day care center or babysitter that you will always call if your child will not be there on a particular day as scheduled.
Wednesday's episode is a vivid reminder that children left unattended in hot vehicles can and does happen. We encourage everyone to redouble efforts and adopt habits to ensure a preventable, heartbreaking loss does not occur.