Devices to Prevent Leaving Kids in the Car

While we researched car seat alarms and devices to prevent parents from leaving their children in the car, the Ride N Remind Back Seat Reminder System stood out as the most reliable solution. Though it’s pricey, it doesn’t need maintenance or hassle. It just works.

In 2020, 24 children died of heatstroke from being left in a hot car.¹ So using a device that can remind you when your kiddo is in the backseat is a good backup when your mind is frazzled. These are our top picks for all budgets and needs.

Are you intrigued yet?

We really liked the simple concept too. The Ride N Remind sounds a chime to remind you to bring your child or pet.

For those lost in a cloud of stress, sleeplessness, or an extreme case of the Mondays, a chime may not be enough of a warning. Not to worry; the alerts escalate quickly. Here’s how the whole process works:

1. Door detection: The Ride N Remind detects when you open a back door before starting the engine.
2. Initial chime: Then, when you get out of the car, it sounds a chime to remind you that you put something (or someone) in the backseat.
3. Stop the chime: To stop the chime, you open the back door and press a button.
4. Voice alert: If you don’t press the button after the first chime, a voice alert will sound, instructing you to press the button.
5. Car horn: After 40 seconds, the device will trigger the car’s horn to honk in an SOS pattern. That will get your attention.

Here’s why Ride n Remind tops our list. First, it doesn’t need an app, which means you don’t need to worry about the device losing connection due to Bluetooth issues. Second, there aren’t any pieces to lose or for your kid or fur baby to grab and toss around the car while you’re driving. Third, the chime isn’t loud enough to wake up a sleeping baby.

The pad under the car seat detects if there is a baby or child in the car. When you unbuckle your seatbelt or turn off the AC, the device plugged into the cigarette lighter will flash its red and green lights and make an annoying beeping noise to remind you someone is in the rear seat.

This product is pretty cool, but it doesn’t work for every family. Most importantly, it doesn’t work with more than one baby seat or child seat, and it won’t work if your car doesn’t have a cigarette lighter. Plus, it won’t work if your baby is the furry kind.

The plug-and-play installation is fast with no fuss. You strap a small camera to the backseat headrest, pointed at your bundle of joy. Then you place the screen beside the camera so the live footage is easily seen when you look in the rearview mirror. Then, you just plug the monitor into your car’s lighter adapter.

You can also mount the screen on your dash for better viewing, which would make more sense if you're afraid of leaving your baby in the car. Having your baby right in front of you as you drive and get out of the car is an excellent way to remember them.

This mirror straps to the headrest above your child. When you glance in the rearview mirror, you’ll be able to see the occupants in the backseat. This simple visual reminder may be just what you need to prevent a child-left-behind situation.

This mirror is so beloved by parents that it has a 4.8-star rating on Amazon from more than 24,000 reviewers. What makes it different from the dozens of baby car mirrors out there? It doesn’t just sit in one position. You can adjust it to get optimal viewing of your precious one. Plus, the mirror doesn’t vibrate as you drive, so looking at your tike won’t give you a headache.

There are a few brands that we researched that just didn’t make the cut. While they’re not our top picks, they may work well for particular situations.

While the Ride N Remind Back Seat Reminder System needs professional installation and costs quite a bit more than its competitors, we think it’s the most reliable choice for keeping your children from being left inside of the car.

We also like that you can use it for fur babies and, well, anything you may forget in the backseat. So, even after your children become too loud to forget, the device is still useful for years to come.

• Ride N Remind: Best pick for multiple children, pets, and babies
• Steel Mate Baby Car Seat Reminder: The best option for visual and sound notifications
• Itomoro Baby Car Mirror: The best option for watching your kiddo
• Shynerk Baby Car Mirror: An easy, low-tech solution for frazzled parents

To create this list, we first took inventory of all the products on the market to help prevent hot car deaths. While there are often news stories about people creating new car seat alarms and devices to prevent leaving kids in cars, we found that very few make it to market or stay in business very long. This gave us a very narrow selection.

Once we knew what was out there, we:

• Noted the products’ ratings on various websites
• Read instructional diagrams
• Watched product videos
• Read hundreds of customer reviews.

We also drew from our own experience as parents to pick the most useful products.

Some points we considered include price, installation, usability, and features.

You can read more about our process on our methodology page.

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• If My Child and I Were in an Accident, Should I Replace the Car Seat?
• When Is the Best Time to Babyproof My House, and How Do I Do It?
• Best Baby Monitors
• Best Baby Cribs

1. National Safety Council, Injury Facts, “Hot Car Deaths.” Accessed April 19, 2021.
2. American Academy of Pediatrics Healthy Children.org, “Prevent Child Deaths in Hot Cars.” Accessed April 21, 2021.