To think that my son should not have been able to trap his hand in the Next lift?

[maggiethemagpie]

I was shopping at the big Next store in Manchester city centre today. We were coming down in the lift from the children's department to street level and my three year old son put his hand in the gap between the doors and the wall, when the lift stopped the doors opened and squashed his hand - I had to pull it out. I didn't see what he was doing as I was preoccupied with my other child.

Although I can understand that the door has to go somewhere when it opens am I right in thinking that a lift in a shop selling children's clothes, so there is likely to be a lot of kids using it, should be more childproof than that?

I can't fault next management once alerted they came and took a statement and said they'd call their lift engineer out but surely it should not have happened in the first place?

I don't think you would be able to claim any compensation because he wasn't injured.

I'm so sick of parents not watching their kids! Thinking everything should be child proofed and that us shop staff should watch the kids for them! Yes I've had a bad day with badly behaved kids featuring in starring roles on an hourly basis! Even other customers were commenting on it today. Op.... Watch your kids!!

YABU watch your child stop trying to pass the buck because you didn't keep a closer eye on him.

I agree that, in a shop where children are welcome, extra care should be taken. What is wrong with 'child-proofing' if it saves little ones from being hurt.

I don't know what mechanical precautions could be taken but I am sure it would not hurt Next's profits to employ a person to sit in the lift in order to supervise. This used to be the case in many department stores and hotels.

Failing that, maybe painting carton characters like Spiderman near dangerous areas, such as doors, with a wagging finger.

I hope your little one is feeling better and that you are calmer. What a shocking experience and one that could happen to any of us who don't have eyes in the back of the head.

What was your other child doing to make you preoccupied with that one so you couldn't see what the 3-year-old was doing? How old is the non-3-year-old, please?

Chopinbabe Yes there used to be staff in lifts. they were there to open the doors for shoppers because only people could open them. We now have automatic doors. Haven't you been out recently?

Employ someone to sit in the lift and supervise? Seriously?

Should we employ someone to sit in every toilet cubicle in case a child gets their hand stuck in the u-bend?

What a bizarre suggestion, Spartak.

Taking a reasonable suggestion, mine and then stretching it to a ridiculous degree, doesn't make the original idea foolish.

While I'm usually the first to think 'the parents should have supervised them better', I think in this instance you might NBU.

Firstly, I wouldn't expect so done to be able to trap their hand as the lift doors opened. Usually, the doors slide into a recess inside the side walls. So placing your hand on the wall next to the door is perfectly safe.

Secondly, most lift doors have a safety mechanism so if they feel the slightest pressure they stop/reverse. I've seen this in action before with doors closing (so they reopen), so I would figure that with a door that opened in the manner suggested by the OP, if it met resistance while opening, it would close again.

So I would have mentioned it to the store too- not to get compensation or anything like that- but so that they could draw attention to the way the lift doors opened. Maybe putting yellow/black warning tape along the edge of the doors, or a sign warning people to keep clear when lift doors opened. Or as they mentioned calling out the lift engineers, maybe there is a safety stop that failed on this occasion?

so done someone

Yes, I agree, your son shouldn't have been able to get his hand trapped in the lift door.

You should have been supervising him or had him on reins.

Accidents happen. Lift doors need gaps. Are you seriously suggesting that Next is at fault for installing lifts which are fit for purpose?

YABU.

Companies shouldn't have to pay to over childproof everything in case some parents don't supervise their children properly.

We all have moments when we could do with having eyes at the back of our heads because dealing with one child makes it difficult to see to the other at the same time, but that why accidents happen often.

YABU.

My DD1 did the same at a similar age waiting for a lift in Primark. She had her hand on the outside of the door and when it opened she left it resting and it got wedged in the gap.

It was her fault for being such a bloody idiot my fault for not watching her.

Lift operators were needed for manually operated lifts.

They would not have been there to supervise children as presumably they would need to make sure the right levers were used so the lift worked safely.

It is a ridiculous suggestion - and I don't think it's unreasonable to ask how far do you want to take staff manning areas which may cause accidents in stores?

Chopin you are ridiculous. Sorry but what should a person sit inside the lift for? Take up an extra space just to press the buttons or watch over people because some can't do it for themselves.

I'm sure I had moments, with 2 under 2, where one of them was doing something dangerous because I was occupied with the other one. That doesn't mean to say that I'd blame whatever happened on the surroundings.

Op I'm sure if you had come on and said 'I feel so guilty because my ds got his hand stuck in the lift door as I was seeing to my crying baby' (or something similar) and taken responsibility for what happened, you'd have had a more sympathetic reception.

Anyway, hope you and he are ok. It must have been a shock.

There you go OP chopins offering her services to go and sit in the lift all day to make sure it doesn't happen again

I don't think its a reasonable idea at all Chopin. Where would it end - should shopping centre carparks, hotels, leisure centres also have an army of lift attendants to make sure people properly supervise their children?

There was a post a while back about a child getting their hand stuck behind a hand drier in a public loo - so should they be guarded too?

My DS had the same thing happen to him in Manchester Museum. His hand got stuck (he was only about 1.5) and a passer by had to pull his hand out with force (cue me crying, DS crying) and the kind helpful man looking uncomfortable and not knowing what to say :) Anyway, that's what lifts are like. I don't think you can blame Next for it. Accidents happen, especially around machinery and kids.

You should have been watching him then it wouldn't have happened.

As for having a member of staff sat in a lift parenting because some obviously can't supervising, well there are no words!

I don't think yabu. It's one of those things that can happen in the blink of an eye. I saw it happen on an inner train door once. Absolute freak thing when I child got their hand caught in the same way. It was nasty and certainly not the parent's fault then.

They should do their best to make things as safe as possible. Can they put mesh on the walls so little hands can't slip in?

Ds2 got his finger trapped under the automatic doors when they opened at the Tescos near us. It was totally my fault, I took my eye of him (he was coming up 5). Accidents happen. Nothing can be completely childproof so that is why responsibility lies with the parent.

Can they put mesh on the walls so little hands can't slip in?

No, because it's the space the door slides into when it opens.