A 2-year-old Pasco County boy is dead after wandering just feet from his home and drowning in a nearby pond.
“This happens all too often in the state of Florida,” says Karen Macauley, the trauma program manager at John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. “They move quicker then we expect them to. You go and throw laundry in the washing machine come back and they are gone.”
She says what happened Wednesday night is tragic.
“Most important thing you can do have is to have awareness. Kids are going to do what you don’t expect them to do,” says Macauley.
One of the best things to do is put up a door alarm that can be found at many department stores for as low as $5 and is easy to put up yourself.
“There should be door alarms for every door that exits the house,” says Macauley.
“Toddlers are going to figure out how to open doors,” says Daniel Leeds, owner of Full House Baby Proofing. “The things I look for when I do a home safety evaluation is if all exit doors are secure.”
He says in addition to your dead bolt, you should have another lock at a height only adults can reach. All options, professionals say, are worth the cost because you can’t put a price on your child’s safety.
