posted
I wouldn't exactly classify this story as "positive." Especially the part about the kid almost getting killed because the mother wasn't watching it.
Posts: 3056 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
jehovoid: Yes, but there is at least one decent soul out there.
Storm Saxon: I was speaking PURELY in the hypothetical. I mean, I'd never imagine something like that possibly occurring... Yet it's better to be prepared.
posted
As the parent of an energetic and fearless 2 yr old, I gotta step in on the woman's side here.... these little creatures move amazingly fast and start doing things like opening doors that they couldn't open 2 days ago... all it takes is a few seconds for something like this to happen. With 3 other kids, I often find that my 2 yr old has ample time to kill himself trying to learn things the hard way and it is NOT because I am a neglectful parent.
True story:
Kids were being babysat and the sitter went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. She heard the front door open and went out to investigate. It was the 2 yr old (then about 2weeks shy of it) who had managed to open the *deadbolt* lock on the front door of the sitter's house (he's a strong little son of a gun). In the time it took her to get to the front door, My 2 yr old had made it to the edge of the street-- a four lane divided major thoroughfare. We came back from our date to find her installing a chain on her front door.
There was no neglect on her part...just a very curious, unusually strong and fearless toddler.
Before you start charging people with criminal neglect, spend a few weeks around kids like Robby.
I should also point out that nobody arrested Eric Clapton for the death of his son under similar circumstances. In fact I never once heard anything other than "poor Eric, what a beautiful song he wrote."
Posts: 2112 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
I was thinking this myself---why did the woman get arrested? I mean, she went out on the balcony, and just b/c the kid almost fell doesn't mean she's neglectful.
Having two younger brothers who were both toddlers when I was a teenager, I have to agree with T. Analog Kid.
Posts: 463 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I didn't mean to imply that it was completely the mother's fault or that she's a criminal, just that that part of the story is tragic. Clearly things like this will happen and it's nobody's fault.
Edit:
quote:The baby's mother showed up several minutes later
This part is really ambiguous. Showed up from where?
posted
I didn't think you did mean that it was her fault--you're right, things like this happen and it's nobody's fault. It just happens.
Posts: 463 | Registered: Oct 2003
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My 4 year old was sitting next to me on a bench in the eating area at Costco just the other night. One second he was on the bench, the next he was flat on his back on the concrete. It was literally that fast. He got a headache, turned a bit green and has been fine since, but it was unbelievably fast. I was no more than 6 inches from him when he slipped backwards.
Posts: 995 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
A railing surmountable by a toddler is almost definitely not up to life safety code. The standard is that a 6" ball cannot be pushed throught it anywhere below 30" of height (maybe 36", can't remember).
Some states also have requirements that there be no footholds on the railing more than 6" height - hence the vertical bars look so common on railings. There should also not be chairs, benches, or planters near the railing.
posted
This got me to thinking about how I haven't had a scraped knee in years. I got scrapes and cuts alot when I was a kid (in retrospect, probably because the schoolyard where we ran around and played was all blacktop) but nowadays I only do that sorta stuff when I'm really drunk. I still run around and play sports and all (probably not as often), but it seems as if I've gotten better at staying on my feet and at falling down. Funny how that happens.
Posts: 3056 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
The worst knee scrape I ever got came when I was about eight, and had one foot on the seat of a Big Wheel and was pushing myself ever-faster forward with the other.
I was getting quite speedy, and decided to Slow Down. So I put my knee to the road.
It was sort of topic, too - I was responding to jehovoid that I know the reason I don't get as many bruises is because, hopefully, I'm not quite as much of an idiot as I was as a kid.
The worst wince-inducing passage I ever read was in Vonnegut's Jailbird, where he described how a guy dropped his watch into a deep-fryer and thoughtlessy reached in to the boiling oil to retreive it. I've read about worse injuries, but that one really took me by surprise.
I cannot tell you how many times Liam has tried to kill himself (or me, if a mother can be scared to death) since he started walking. Fully two years of my life was spent on Toddler Watch. Climbing out windows, winding blind chords around his neck. stuff like that . Oy.
Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I still have bruises all the time. I'm just a klutz. The problem is my skin turns days after the incident that cause them so I almost never have a good idea what it is from.
I have a couple places (one on my thigh) that I have bruised so frequently that the veins are totally to the surface and purple. It is made worse by my glow in the dark pale-white skin. I also have a dark reddish spot that used to be a horrid bruise that appears that it will be permanent, It is at the spot where they injected the anesthesia in December when I had warts removed from my foot.
I guess the actual scrapes and skinned knees have decreased though. I don't climb trees as much now.
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