I got a real scare today. It made me think.

[lougle]

DD1 was upstairs with DDs 2&3. She was crying. It's not unusual, so I wasn't alarmed. She kept crying though. I called up to ask what was wrong and she said 'I really stuck here!'

I went upstairs to see:

DD2 laying on her bed, drawing.
DD3 staring open mouthed at the wall.
DD1 suspended against the wall at chest level down the side of the bunk bed.

She had climbed onto their bed and down the end. Of course, her legs are skinnier than her chest, so as she fell she got stuck.

DD2 said she didn't call because 'I didn't do it, I was just drawing!'

DD3 couldn't tell me why she didn't call (she's 4).

What if it had been her neck? I could be arranging a funeral

Bunk beds are expressly designed with the gap to be too small for a child's body to slip through to prevent accidental strangulation. Though if your DC is extremely slender...

What a horrible scare, Lougle. My DS2 wouldn't have thought to tell me either. Part of his ASD.

I can only think that the wall isn't true, because it's flush with the skirting board at the bottom, but there was a big enough gap for her legs/waist to slip down at the top. Fortunately, her chest was too big to slip down, or it would have been her neck.

Oh Lougle, what a fright you must have had, but try not to dwell on it. Nothing too bad happened, focus on that?

Can you move the bed away from the corner so there's a bigger gap?

Oh no, she slipped between the bed and the wall?! Even scarier. I thought you meant between the rails. As gripping suggests, move the bed further from the wall so her head couldn't be trapped? Or closer to the wall if you can?

We've realised it's the socket on the wall that pushes it out. So we're going to attach a wooden shelf to bridge the gap, so that there is no gap to fall down.

My own fault for giving her less supervision than normal. I thought she was safe and she wasn't.

She was very shaken, but is asleep now.

Thanks everyone

Shelf sounds like a good idea, Lougle. She'll be over it quicker than you are. X

These sort of things happen all the time, don't beat yourself up about it.

You are taking steps to make sure it won't happen again.

maybe a rule about staying on the floor might help her with the independence?

Very scary Lougle.

I remember watching helpless when DS pulled a huge TV down on him, when he was 4

The only thing that saved him was that he happened to be sitting on Daddy's chair, which was on wheels and slid him out of the way on impact!

After that I either don't have a telly perched on a chest of drawers, or I had a man fix them via a bracket to the wall

It is a constant battle, keeping an eye out for dangers

Glad all is ok

Very scary.
Glad she's ok

Climbing is her 'thing'.

Horrible for you and her lougle

Glad she is Ok