California 4-year-old dies in washing machine

Braydens Mom said:
I feel bad for the family. It is very unfortunate. Though, a horrible accident, it is so easy to blame the mother. Let me tell you from experience... I have an autistic son. When he was almost three he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. He got into amonia and mixed it with hand cleaner. This all happened in less than a 3 minute period. I went to the bathroom. He opened the "CHILD lock" I had on the kitchen cabinet. Thats how fast it happened. He could open any and every type of lock. We had to eventually go to a magnetic lock and place the "key" way up high.
He was so good at problem solving, we had 6 different locks on the front door. So I can see how this tragedy could occur.
Click to expand...

Wow.. you caught your son on time and that you saved his life. :hug:
 
They even had it in the news today here in France... :(

I couldn't possibly blame the mother since I don't know her, plus kids sometimes do the craziest thing and everything goes so fast! My nephew burnt his left foot last summer and I was standing right next to him!!!! Awwwful... He screamed, I turned around and there he stood in the middle of the heat of the fire we had the previous night *argh*.
That was only a matter of seconds!!!!!!! I pulled him right up into my arms but it was too late... burned on second degree and one week hospital was the outcome of this!

My thoughts are with the entire family who have lost one of their children!

JamieLynn
 
Oh, yikes! My friend's neighbor has a very active son. He broke his left arm from bike accident. About one week later, when he opened the washing machine door immediately, he tried to get in for a "ride". He broke his right arm.
 
Hubby and I went to Lowes today, and while we were there we walked thru the appliance section. We looked at all the various front-load washing machines. None of them had buttons at the height of 20-in from the floor. But it looked like all the buttons could be reached by a toddler stretching his arm.
 
Braydens Mom said:
I feel bad for the family. It is very unfortunate. Though, a horrible accident, it is so easy to blame the mother. Let me tell you from experience... I have an autistic son. When he was almost three he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. He got into amonia and mixed it with hand cleaner. This all happened in less than a 3 minute period. I went to the bathroom. He opened the "CHILD lock" I had on the kitchen cabinet. Thats how fast it happened. He could open any and every type of lock. We had to eventually go to a magnetic lock and place the "key" way up high.
He was so good at problem solving, we had 6 different locks on the front door. So I can see how this tragedy could occur.
Click to expand...

Wow, That had to be scary but nevertheless, it's good to know your son came ok out of it. I also do have an autistic son as well, so I definitely can relate with you on that matter. My son is good at problem solving too. I even once had a doorknob handle lock and he was able to open it within less than 5 minutes.

Some kids are like that doing things the second one of us parents turns our back for a minute or two and it can be nerve racking as well.

Sosie said:
Possibility... but the question is : where are their parents? or a babysitter? like other aders said above. They are supposed to check on their small children once a while, to make sure they are OK.
Click to expand...

It didn't exactly explain where the mother was in the article but I am assuming the mother did check up on the kids from time to time; Only she didn't realize they were capable of doing that resulting the death of the boy. :dunno:
 
Reba said:
Hubby and I went to Lowes today, and while we were there we walked thru the appliance section. We looked at all the various front-load washing machines. None of them had buttons at the height of 20-in from the floor. But it looked like all the buttons could be reached by a toddler stretching his arm.
Click to expand...

Or a toddler that is an expert in climbing. My son was one of those. I stored cookies in the top cabinet over the counter, thinking he would not get to them. He figured out very quicky how to pull out the drawers to fashion a ladder on which he could climb to the counter, get on the counter, and grab the cookies. I actually watched him do it when he was about 2. Never unerestimate the inventiveness of a toddler.
 
Jolie77 said:
Wow, That had to be scary but nevertheless, it's good to know your son came ok out of it. I also do have an autistic son as well, so I definitely can relate with you on that matter. My son is good at problem solving too. I even once had a doorknob handle lock and he was able to open it within less than 5 minutes.

Some kids are like that doing things the second one of us parents turns our back for a minute or two and it can be nerve racking as well.



It didn't exactly explain where the mother was in the article but I am assuming the mother did check up on the kids from time to time; Only she didn't realize they were capable of doing that resulting the death of the boy. :dunno:
Click to expand...

There was another time that Brayden problem solved... We had a dog that got hit by a car. So during her recovery her crate was in our room. He pushed the crate over to the linen cabinet, climbed on top of it. Climbed up three shelves and got my husbands heart meds. He opened the childproof bottle.. Yup, another ride by ambulance to the hospital. He keeps me on my toes!!
 
Byrdie714 said:
That was what I was thinking! What washing machine has controls that 20 inches from the floor?

How horrible this tragedy is!
Click to expand...

And they should have made the controls more complicated to use so children can't simply bump or press them! Maybe make it so it has to be two different buttons that has to be turned and pressed or something in order to operate the washing machine?
 
VamPyroX said:
Some companies do it for a reason... easier use. So, don't blame the company... blame the mother or whoever bought it.

It's like those pill bottles. They have child-proof caps. But some companies sell pill bottles with easy-open caps for old people or people who are too weak to open the child-proof caps.

Back to the machine... having that button that low was probably intended for those who were handicapped. :dunno:
Click to expand...

If the mother wasn't disabled in any way, then why did she buy that washing machine? If that machine was intended for the disabled? Obviously she wasn't functioning with a full brain. If I was a mother and I was not disabled and I had children, I would be looking at various machines and asking questions and making sure that it is difficult for the children to start/operate them themselves, and that there was some type of lock on the machine as well.. Also, I would teach the children NEVER to touch the machine.

I do have easy-open bottles as my hands hurt and it hurts to fight to get the child-proof bottles open. Since I do not have children, I went ahead and switched to the easy-open bottles about two weeks ago. If I ever have children, I will switch back to the child-proof bottles and have my fiance or someone else open them for me. Or, if I have no one to help me with the bottles, I will get a locked cabinet and put the easy-open bottles in them so that the children will not be able to get to them, and I would always ensure that I NEVER leave the bottles out on the counter, that I would put the bottle back in the cabinet very high up and lock it immediately after taking my medications. I would still lock my medications even if the bottles were child-proof, too. It's my responsibility to ensure the safety of my children with EVERYTHING that I buy.
 
I did a search for Madrid Apartment Homes, where the woman and her children lived, which is the apartment name showed in the video on MSNBC in the link provided by the OP. Looks like the management provides a washer and a dryer in each apartment. If that is so, then the management office is going to be liable for this since they were the ones who provided the appliances.

Mission Viejo Apartments - Search Apartments Mission Viejo, California - ForRent.com


Madrid in Mission Viejo, CA 92692
Apartment Virtual Tour for Madrid
Apartment Community Clip for Madrid
Features

* Townhome Style with Attached Garages
* Refrigerator and W/D available
* Oval Garden Bathtubs
* Whirlpool Appliances
* Wired for Master Bedroom Ceiling Fan
* Digital TV and High-Speed Internet Available

* Huge Private Patio or Balcony
* Resort-style Pool and Spa with free Wi-Fi
* Business Center
* Playground, Picnic, And BBQ Areas
* Planned Resident Activities
* Central Heat and Air Conditioning


(866) 331-3270
 
Braydens Mom said:
There was another time that Brayden problem solved... We had a dog that got hit by a car. So during her recovery her crate was in our room. He pushed the crate over to the linen cabinet, climbed on top of it. Climbed up three shelves and got my husbands heart meds. He opened the childproof bottle.. Yup, another ride by ambulance to the hospital. He keeps me on my toes!!
Click to expand...

Oh my! I swear, my son was a monkey in every sense when he was little. He would try to pull up the chair and climb it on top of the stove to reach into the cabinet where my stepfather was keeping his blood thinner medicine. I was in the living room with my other son and it was at the right timing when my sister just happened to walk into the kitchen and saw him putting the blood thinner medicine in his mouth. So, my sister immediately grabbed him and had to put her finger in his mouth to get the medicine out of his mouth. It gave us all a good scare.

Since he is getting a bit older now, He knows how to ask for getting things than climbing over the shelves or counter which is a good thing. :)
 
Oh no! That's tragic. I am not ready to blame anyone cuz I dont know the full story but I can undy why a kid would do that. My brother tried to hide in the washing machine once during a game of hide and seek. Kids are curious and adventurous.

As for the comments about where the parents were...pls dont be quick to blame them because we werent there. The mother could be doing something ...impossible to watch children every second of the day especially if a parent is alone with them. From my understanding, it only took 2 minutes..
 
Back
Top