Keep Kids Safe: Toddler’s near-tragedy raises awareness for dangers in the home.
Wednesday, 10 February 2016
By Lauren - Gold Coast Mum
Maria [surname known to author] told Gold Coast Mum that her son Mason, who turns 2 next month, managed to pull a set of drawers and other furniture onto himself and was lucky to escape unharmed.
She said she hoped that sharing her story will help prevent serious injury elsewhere.
“Masey & I had a massive scare this morning,” Maria told family, friends via social media.
Tens of thousands of children, around the world, under the age of 10 are injured by toppled furniture every year, many by older TVs, book cases and tallboys.
TIPS:
* Fasten furniture such as book cases, appliances and items such as TVs to the wall. Washing machines/dryers can also pose a danger to children.
(Anchor points are available in stores such as Bunnings or Masters).
* Renters – seek permission from landlords to attach items to the walls and /or consider whether the cost of patching up any holes/repainting at the end of your tenancy is really that much to worry about when it comes to the safety of your children.
* Get down to the same level as your children and look around to discover any other potential hazards and make any necessary changes to your every room in your home if required (eg remove book cases, heavy loose items/appliances, or unstable shelves/drawers etc).
VIDEO:
This hard-hitting video is a must-see for parents of youngsters.
CLICK HERE.
A Gold Coast mum is breathing a sigh
of relief today, thankful her 23-month-old son is uninjured after being
involved in an accident in the family home that has tragically proven fatal for
numerous other youngsters.
Maria [surname known to author] told Gold Coast Mum that her son Mason, who turns 2 next month, managed to pull a set of drawers and other furniture onto himself and was lucky to escape unharmed.
She said she hoped that sharing her story will help prevent serious injury elsewhere.
“Masey & I had a massive scare this morning,” Maria told family, friends via social media.
 |
| Mason, almost 2, was lucky to escape injury after pulling down this set of drawers. |
“He turns 2 next month. We were getting ready to leave the house this morning.
He was all dressed and played by himself while I was getting everything
together. Next thing I hear this massive BAM & instant cry. I run in his
room, can't see Mason but seeing THIS instead!!
“He was obviously trying to climb the draws to get his dummy, which we are slowly trying to get rid [of]. He [has] never attempted this before. Mason was very lucky, [the drawers] landed on top of him, but he got [buried] in between everything in an open space. Didn’t even get a [scratch], just got very scared.
“I feel horrible he managed to do [something] like this on my watch. Could [have] been a trip to [the] Emergency Department.
We are so very lucky. So many serious injuries and even death each year, after furniture falling down on children.”
“He was obviously trying to climb the draws to get his dummy, which we are slowly trying to get rid [of]. He [has] never attempted this before. Mason was very lucky, [the drawers] landed on top of him, but he got [buried] in between everything in an open space. Didn’t even get a [scratch], just got very scared.
“I feel horrible he managed to do [something] like this on my watch. Could [have] been a trip to [the] Emergency Department.
We are so very lucky. So many serious injuries and even death each year, after furniture falling down on children.”
 | |
|
Unfortunately, accidents around the family home are all too common.
Tens of thousands of children, around the world, under the age of 10 are injured by toppled furniture every year, many by older TVs, book cases and tallboys.
In many cases, the youngsters, grab
hold of the sides of a television or attempted to climb drawers, causing the
item to topple over.
Heather Poole, from Arizona, USA,
faced the horrific reality of losing a child when her three-year-old son,
Brayden, was killed by a falling television in his bedroom in 2011.
Ms Poole believes her 'independent'
child was pulling on the dresser his television was perched on in a bid to
restart his favourite movie when the large gadget overbalanced, ABC reported.
Ms Poole discovered her son's body
after returning from work.
Her boyfriend, Tyler Rodgers, was not aware of the tragedy as the bedroom's carpet floor muffled the sound of the furniture toppling over and hitting the ground.
Her boyfriend, Tyler Rodgers, was not aware of the tragedy as the bedroom's carpet floor muffled the sound of the furniture toppling over and hitting the ground.
Ms Poole explained how she often
advises parents she encounters to drill a hole into their child's bedroom wall
so heavy items of furniture can be attached to it.
“There’s the people who tell you they
can’t afford to put a hole in their wall. I want to punch them in the face,”
she said. “I’m just like, ‘You can’t afford to put a hole in your wall?’ That’s
a good excuse.”
Lisa Siefert, lost her two-year-old son Shane when a dresser fell on top of him.
"It's the most awful thing. You can't heal from that," said Ms Siefert who set up Shane's Foundation to raise awareness.
"I have to speak for Shane," said Ms Siefert. "I do not want another family to suffer what we've been through and what we are going through every day."
According to the Daily Mail, another mother who is campaigning to raise awareness of the dangers of falling furniture is Jackie Collas, from Pennsylvania, who lost her son, Curren, at the age of two.
Lisa Siefert, lost her two-year-old son Shane when a dresser fell on top of him.
"It's the most awful thing. You can't heal from that," said Ms Siefert who set up Shane's Foundation to raise awareness.
"I have to speak for Shane," said Ms Siefert. "I do not want another family to suffer what we've been through and what we are going through every day."
According to the Daily Mail, another mother who is campaigning to raise awareness of the dangers of falling furniture is Jackie Collas, from Pennsylvania, who lost her son, Curren, at the age of two.
The Daily Mail reported:
Ms Collas walked into Curren's bedroom on the morning of February 25 last year, to dress him, and discovered the toddler's five-drawer dresser had completely overturned. His body was lying under it.
'I started screaming. His head was trapped between the edge of the bed and all of the weight of the dresser was laying across his neck,' the distraught mother wrote on a dedicated Facebook page.
Ms Collas walked into Curren's bedroom on the morning of February 25 last year, to dress him, and discovered the toddler's five-drawer dresser had completely overturned. His body was lying under it.
'I started screaming. His head was trapped between the edge of the bed and all of the weight of the dresser was laying across his neck,' the distraught mother wrote on a dedicated Facebook page.
'I tried ripping
the dresser off of him. It took me a couple of tries to pick it up. I tried to
pick him up like I normally do, but his little body and neck was so floppy.'
Ms Collas started
to frantically perform CPR on her son's body, before paramedics rushed him to
hospital. There, Curren was declared dead, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
His mother later
learned there was no way he could have been saved. She said she greatly regrets
not having stopped her lifesaving efforts on that horrific day and rocking her
son one last time.
'I would have held
him a little longer,' she said. 'While he was warm.'
On the Facebook
page, named 'In Memory of Cullen Collas', Ms Collas described the pain of
losing a child as 'nothing you can ever imagine' and something that 'actually
hurts physically'.
She urged other
parents to 'learn from my mistakes', writing:
'Bolt EVERYTHING down. Dressers, book shelves, TVs, anything that could possibly fall'.
'Bolt EVERYTHING down. Dressers, book shelves, TVs, anything that could possibly fall'.
TIPS:
* Fasten furniture such as book cases, appliances and items such as TVs to the wall. Washing machines/dryers can also pose a danger to children.
(Anchor points are available in stores such as Bunnings or Masters).
* Renters – seek permission from landlords to attach items to the walls and /or consider whether the cost of patching up any holes/repainting at the end of your tenancy is really that much to worry about when it comes to the safety of your children.
* Get down to the same level as your children and look around to discover any other potential hazards and make any necessary changes to your every room in your home if required (eg remove book cases, heavy loose items/appliances, or unstable shelves/drawers etc).
VIDEO:
This hard-hitting video is a must-see for parents of youngsters.
CLICK HERE.
It
shows how shockingly easy it is for a toddler to be killed by falling furniture
while they innocent play around the home.
Have you experienced a tip-over incident?
How are you ensuring your furniture/appliances are kept secure, away from youngsters?
LET’S CONNECT:
www.facebook.com/goldcoastmum
www.instagram.com/goldcoastmumblog
Additional information:
Kidsafe: The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia
http://www.kidsafe.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/ShanesFoundation
http://katieeliselambert.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Katies-Foundation-For-Child-Safety/169631609744961?sk=timeline
Have you experienced a tip-over incident?
How are you ensuring your furniture/appliances are kept secure, away from youngsters?
LET’S CONNECT:
www.facebook.com/goldcoastmum
www.instagram.com/goldcoastmumblog
Additional information:
Kidsafe: The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia
http://www.kidsafe.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/ShanesFoundation
http://katieeliselambert.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Katies-Foundation-For-Child-Safety/169631609744961?sk=timeline
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