I recently read about a tragedy that struck a family just one month ago. Their little boy was killed by a dresser falling him. Read the full story here – What Happened.
As parents, we try to protect our kids. We cut up their food into tiny pieces. We childproof our outlets and cabinets. We keep the bathroom door closed. We do everything we can to keep them safe but sometimes the deadliest objects could be sitting right in front of us.
I have been telling my husband ever since we moved in (one year ago!) that I wanted the bookshelf in Natalie’s room screwed to the wall. It’s not a heavy shelf but it would do some damage if it fell on her.
I am now beginning to look around the house at other things that might be a danger to a rambunctious, climbing toddler. Just yesterday I turned around and there Natalie is standing on the coffee table! She loves to climb into our filing cabinets and I’m always worried about them tipping over on her. I couldn’t imagine losing her over something that could be prevented. I encourage each of you to check your house for potential dangers. We can’t all live in a bubble, but we can try. 🙂
That was the first thing I made Chris do when we set up the nursery before Blaze was born was screw all the furniture into the wall.
Haha I said that to my husband before Natalie was born. He said “Well we don’t need to do it yet, she’s won’t be walking or crawling for a long time.” Now she’s 14 months old… 🙂
This is not only good to do to protect your children, but if you ever have an elderly parent or grandparent come to live with you.
If they fall and hit their head they may become confused and try and use something to pull themselves up with. Example pulling open a dresser drawer to try and gain leverage to stand back up. Well, dressers can fall over on them too, and hurt them as badly if not more so.
Also area rugs and small throw rugs for the elderly are a bad thing and trip them up often. Just a little F.Y.I. from someone who used to do home health care visits.
Also for grandparents that have grandchildren visiting, remember to turn the thermostat on your water heaters back to a level that won’t result in a child accidentally be scalded. Often once the children are grown and out of the home, many adults turn the water heater levels up a bit, but once grandkids are in the picture, it might be wise when they visit to turn the thermostat on the water heater back down again.
That’s so true! Never thought about that!
Oh, I just remembered stoves often come with anti-tip devices you can use now, in the event a child opens a oven door and stands on it to climb up on a cabinet. So if you have children in the home and you get a stove it is best to install the anti-tip product that comes with the appliance.
I hear ya!! I learned this lesson the hard way. My son had a dresser fall on him but LUCKILY, the room was arranged in such a way that when the dresser fell forward, the top hit the bed, so it stayed on a slight angle instead of falling flat on the floor. My son was right in the gap on the floor, next to the bed, with the dresser looming over his head. Whew!!
P.S. I meant to tell you I stumbled this post!!! LOL.
OMGoodness that’s so scary! Glad he was ok! Thanks for the Stumble!
I stumbled this.
http://nurturedfamilylife.blogspot.com/2011/01/alpine-weight-loss-secrets-book.html
My sister had her dresser fall on her when we were children. Fortunately, she wasn’t hurt, but I always remember that. It was terrifying as a child to watch my sister and the dresser come tumbling down. Our daughters’ dressers are designed with a lower center of gravity and are less likely to tip, thanks goodness!
Hi, I am stumbiling on you from http://www.madamedeals.com
I made my husband screw all of ours to the wall when my daughter was little
As a parent, I understand how you feel about those harmful things for our child. I heard about this specific team that inspects your house for dangerous things that children might be dealing or using. If a parent don’t know about it, try to look them up at your directory. They can help you and saving your child’s life.