Unexpected Dangers in the Laundry Room; Because Consumer Safety Issues ARE Important

The Value of My Words

Someone recently told me that parents don't care about laws and consumer safety issues. It may have been well-meaning, but the words stung like poison darts. I didn't let on that my skin had been pricked as I let those words settle in the wound.

I stewed about it for a short while; felt a little silly for ever thinking people would or did care about these important {at least to me} issues and had hurt feelings.

And then, I realized this person is just plain wrong. You do care what I have to say about legal issues that affect families; and you do most certainly care about consumer safety issues and societal issues.

I know this is true because you read my words when I write about these important issues. I know this is true because I get hundreds of hits from search engines from people across the country looking for information about the issues I write about. I know.

Learning a Lesson from YouTube

And this is why when I see a headline about a child who was trapped in a washing machine and came close to drowning because his parents, or perhaps a babysitter, placed him there as a joke, I seize the opportunity and write about it, expound upon it and alert parents to potential dangers.

Here's what happened: A surveillance camera in a Laundromat caught a man putting a toddler inside a front loading washer. He closed the door and stood back laughing. But to his surprise the machine turned on and began to fill with water.

The video shows the man frantically trying to open the locked washer door. A woman, apparently a babysitter, rushes over to help. Finally, an attendant pulls the plug behind the machine, turning the machine off. Thankfully, the toddler sustained only minor injuries in this terribly unfunny incident that rapidly spread through online media once it was uploaded to YouTube.

The county prosecutor was investigating this situation to ensure that the child was safe and to decide whether criminal charges should be filed in this case.

So, you're saying to yourself that you'd never put your child in a washing machine because it certainly isn't funny or safe. Case closed, right?

Not so fast. What about this scenario. Could this ever happen in your house?

An Inquisitive Toddler

We know how inquisitive our children can be. They love to learn by watching and doing just like mom or dad, a big brother or sister or a baby sitter or grandma. Toddlers are big enough to follow along behind us, testing boundaries and trying new things. Well, this is exactly what happened when 21 month old Ollie was trying to help his mom with the laundry. After his mom had left the room for a moment, Ollie climbed into the washing machine and drowned.

The family was devastated, as one can imagine. Ollie's mom said of all the hazards she had carefully guarded against, drowning in the washing machine had never crossed her mind.

I think this is probably true for most of us, until we read of such a tragic incident, such as this. The thing about a toddler is that they're heads are heavy, but they don't have the upper body strength to hoist themselves out of something like a washing machine. And it's important to remember that it takes only a couple of inches of water for someone to drown.

While there are very few actual deaths related to washing machines, there are a number of injuries reported each year. Most of the injuries involve 1 to 2 year olds and include fractures, amputations and other injuries from playing in, on and around washers and dryers.

The Scoop

So, when you are child-proofing your home, remember to include the laundry room and more specifically, the washer in your plan. It only takes a second of turning your back, walking away for a few minutes or putting something up for a child to get in trouble.

In fact, after I had started writing this article, I was in my basement doing some tasks. I didn't even know my 3 year-old had followed me downstairs. Lo and behold, where did I find him? Sitting on the washing machine as it was running.

I sat him down and told him the story of poor Ollie. He immediately went upstairs and told his 5 year-old brother about the boy who got trapped in the washer. I hope they think of this story and this boy every time they go into the laundry room. Over and out...

Anna

Comments

[Julie H]

Here's another laundry room problem. Have you heard of the kids eating the gel packs of laundry detergent? Kids are thinking it looks like candy. I'm glad my detergent is not in gel packs.

[mommylisa]

My cat one time jumped into the dryer when I was not looking. I shut the door, turned it on, and heard a weird bumpity sound so I opened the door and found the cat - dazed and looking at me.