It's impossible to keep our little ones safe 100% of the time, no matter how hard we try. Today we are talking about kid safety, and how one seemingly innocuous detail can blossom into a waking nightmare within mere seconds. When it comes to children's safety, diligence is the name of the game.
There tales aren't meant to scare you into inaction, quite the opposite in fact. My hope is that my telling of these short stories can spur you toward kid safety, and perhaps even help you to foresee danger before it presents itself. With that in mind, let's dive into our first kid safety story.
Lost Little Finger
Idle hands are the devil's plaything. Curiosity killed the cat. Go ahead and pick your platitude. Little fingers will go anywhere they can possibly fit. Some spaces are safe if not a little gross, the nose is an all-time classic for instance. Other spaces though? They can be downright dangerous.
Fingers slammed in doors and containers, pinched between the jointed mechanisms of your child's favorite plaything, the danger of a little finger becoming permanently lost is very real. This week I added another hungry finger-munching monster to the roster, the rolling tray of my keyboard.
As I sat to write a little boy crept close to the desk where his loving parent was working away. Carefully, silently, he slid a finger into one of the holes on the rolling keyboard tray that was directly at his eye level. His other hand came crashing down on the keys, and what happened next was pure chaos.
I stood quickly and pushed the keyboard tray in, trapping the lost little finger in a guillotine grip. The little boy ripped his finger away and looked in horror at the sanguine flow that was consuming his hand. The scream became a shriek as the crimson crawled down his arm.
Luckily, my son's little finger didn't become lost forever. A few stitches and some iodine began the healing process, but the amount of blood definitely scared the life out of me. What makes it worse is that my actions caused his pain. Always be aware of what your children are up to and where they are, specifically their fingers. Your kids safety depends on it.
Ravaged by Running
Running is great for the cardiovascular system, but not so good for kid safety. Depending particularly on what your children choose to run around on. Personally, I've only ever chosen to run in extreme emergencies but my cousin was definitely a different breed when we were growing up.
She would get out and about daily, putting in at least three miles before high school. That is some kind of motivation! Unfortunately, her love of running ended up turning on her. While out on a run what could've been a small stumble turned into an injury that altered what was left of her schooling years.
When she didn't show up one day, I didn't think much of it. We normally hung out during lunch but every member of a friend circle had missed a day or two. After another absence I decided to go visit my aunt and ask what the deal was... I was absolutely shocked by what I found.
My cousin's face looked obliterated. Broken nose, two black eyes, stitches on her lower lip from where her front teeth smashed through it. Turns out she took a spill off the curb and face planted in the gutter. Was she just being a klutz or were her shoes untied? We never got the full story.
Obviously not an experience she'd choose to relive. Her face did recover, but anyone who went to high school with her still remembers that bludgeoned look. Situational awareness is important, but your other option is just to ensure kid safety by default with a set of curly no-tie shoelaces!
Shoelace Stranglehold
Have you ever ridden an escalator? When I was young I'd go absolutely nuts for a ride on the escalator. More than once I gave my parents the slip. They'd be whipped into a panicked frenzy searching for their lost child, and they'd find me clueless and happily riding up and down the escalators.
Kid safety isn't a concern for most children. There wasn't a thought in my mind that I might be whisked away to a windowless minivan and driven away, never to be seen again. The only thing that consumed me was the thought of another ride on those perfect people-movers.
That is until I saw a girl of about 12 almost lose her foot. She hadn't caught my attention at all until she started shouting for help. I clearly remember the panic on her face, and on the faces of everyone else. One of her shoelaces was slowly being wound into the mysterious innards of the escalator.
She threw herself to the floor at the top and tried to pull her leg free, howling like an animal as she did so. The shoelace held tight though, and the instant before the shoe itself became consumed she slipped her foot out. The escalator ate about half of her shoe before someone hit the emergency stop button.
They shut down the escalator for the rest of that shopping trip but I didn't mind it. After witnessing that I never took another joyride on an escalator ever again. Maybe if she had a sturdy metal shoehorn or two she could've popped those shoes off before almost losing her leg...
Kid Safety Tales Conclusion
Alright, the tales weren't as scary and horrific as they were cautionary. While these horror stories might not have scared the pants off you, they definitely demonstrate the importance of kid safety. These instances could've all been prevented with a bit of extra situational awareness. Never take risks when considering kid safety.