curtain cord - tragic death

[Honkyblues]

Dear all

some of you may not be aware, but last Tuesday an 18-mth-old little boy died in Discovery Bay, strangled by a curtain cord. There are conflicting reports as to how it happened (whether he was in his cot or whether he was left alone playing), but what is certain is that dangling curtain cords are a death-trap. I wrap mine around hooks, but I have to confess that sometimes I'm a bit lazy about it. Well, no more!

I just wanted to let everyone know about this potential lethal hazard in our homes. Get to Park n Shop today and buy stick on hooks to wrap your cords around! Ikea have cord shorteners, but they didn't work for my Roman blind cords (the cords were too thick).

My heart goes out to the poor parents.

Here are a couple of news reports. I haven't seen anything in the SCMP but I suppose it must have been in it.

Toddler Dies After Being Found With Cord Around His Neck On Family Yacht Off Hong Kong | World News | Sky News

British toddler dies after strangling himself with curtain cord on parents' luxury yacht | Mail Online

Take care, everyone.
Honkyblues

 

[rani]

Thanks HonkeyBlues for posting this. It's such a tragic story, and our thoughts are with the family.

We've published the Baby Proofing articles written by Yvonne Heavyside on the front page. Hope everyone will take a few minutes to read through them and take the necessary steps to baby proof their homes.

 

[joyofliving]

This is really tragic, my heart goes out for the parents. We never leave our daughter napping alone, always check up on her every 20- 30 mins to see she is alright. I think the helper should be charged with neglect in this case, the toddler would have cried for help when he was suffocating. How could she leave him alone for 90 mins????

 

[Neha]

Our son sleeps in his room we dont go in and check every 20 mins to see if he is ok. We have a monitor and when he is awake he calls us out and we go get him.

 

[kharel]

Slightly un-fair to blame the helper!! - its our responsibility as parents to ensure nothing is within reach of our chidlrens cots!!

 

[zac08]

totally agree with neha and kharel. if there is nothing dangerous within reach of the child, i don't see why the helper should have had to check him every whatever minutes. by that logic, are you up every 20 min in the middle of the night to check on your daughter?

 

[joyofliving]

Perhaps we are very cautious about our daughter's safety so check every now and then to make sure she is alright.
Of course I agree that its the parents resonsibility to make sure their child is safe and protected. But many people do pay their helpers to share this responsibility and trust them completely with their precious little ones. And in this case if the helper wasn't doing her job properly and it has resulted in a serious tragedy like this she should be charged with neglect.
Also things dangling about around the cot is not the only way a child can get hurt.
Zac08 I co sleep with my daughter at night and even if I wasnt I would still check on her every few hours. I know many mums who do the same. And as it is most kids nap for a short time during the day (Often unpredictable how long) and night time they sleep longer and deeper.

 

[Neha]

Nobody is saying that the helper should not be held responsible. But living on a boat with a small kid is a risk in itself according to me. I can just imagine how paranoid I would be on that boat.

 

[LeahH]

From reading this article, the circumstances of the poor little boy's death are unclear - therefore speculating about the helper being charged with neglect is unfair. The parents and police are the ones in possesion of all the facts.

This is an awful thing to have happened but it highlights how important it is to babyproof your home (as far as you can) and any environment in which you child spends time.

I don't have my eyes on my 19 month old every moment of the day around the house, nor do my helpers - we try of course, but inevitably when housework / cooking / work is required shes often wandering around rooms between us. We don't check on our daughter whilst napping, but this has made me relook at our house and any potential danger zones.

 

[joyofliving]

Nobody is saying that the helper should not be held responsible. But living on a boat with a small kid is a risk in itself according to me. I can just imagine how paranoid I would be on that boat.

I am afraid you should read the thread more carefully, some don't agree with me that the helper should be held responsible. They have a right to their opinion and I respect that entirely