Monday, April 12, 2010

What If I Were Not There?

A few weeks ago...the most freakishly scary accident almost happened involving my 13 month old son. For the most part, I thought my husband and I did a fair job of childproofing our home and would've never thought of what happened on this day.

As I were straightening up one side of my bedroom and my son played on the other, I heard a sudden cry and what sounded like my son's normal frustration about a toy he couldn't reach. After walking around my bed, I found my son's head and neck caught in the shoulder strap of one of my handbags hanging from the door! I'm sure you could imagine the panic and rush of adrenaline that took control of what I normally call my body! Rushing to detangle him...in typical mother fashion...blamed myself for not considering the strangulation risk a handbag that previously hung from the door by both straps would cause. Then I thought "What if I were not there?" With the associated risks of window blind and electric cords...how did I not think of my handbag?

I am sharing this because if you are anything like me you may never think that something like this could threaten your child's safety. You likely run your typical safety audits with some checklist that you found in a book or other source and never in a million years consider your favorite handbag a culprit for harming your child.

2 comments:

  1. Sometimes I wonder how so many of us actually make it to adulthood. I am always on the look out for safety issues and yet my sons always seem to find the most dangerous thing in whatever room they are in. Not to mention, how easily they seem to get around safety devices. Your post reinforces my belief that good old fashioned supervision is the best safety. Thanks for this warning. I wouldn't have thought of this.

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  2. And did I mention the dog collar and leash!!! Thanks God its a chain leash so I/my dog can hear it and get it from off my 2 yr olds neck! The things these kids get into! Thank God he is okay and you caught him in time!

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