I see another poor little soul, 2 years old, has been failed by the adults who should have protected him at a funfair. :(
"The HSE will look at where the child's parents were in this incident and we will do our own investigation."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Toddler-Dies-At-Funfair-Child-Falls-From-Ride-At-Fairground-In-Ducketts-Common-Turnpike-Lane/Article/200905215280870

What kind of ride was a toddler on that he could fall off?  Thought they only went on spinning teacups at that age and size? Such a shame :-(  Poor wee mite.

That was my thought this morning but now they're now saying that he wasn't on the ride but had walked (toddled?) on to the track as the ride was moving. :(

According to the BBC he was on a bouncy council and he somehow managed to get off and get through a fence that seperated the bouncy castle and another ride.  Once through the fence he got onto the track and was hit.

I think that comment is a disgrace.

What can you possible know for sure of the circumstances? If anyone's to blame, and I'm not saying there is, it would be whoever failed to ensure the barriers round the ride were intact.

Have you ever met a 2yr old? I could have happened in 3 seconds flat and the parents will be haunted by this the rest of their days.

Have you ever met a 2yr old?
Yes, I was responsible on my own since she was 2 years old and she's now safely 31!   It's not difficult but you have to concentrate for every second.  That's exactly what being a parent is all about, especially in a potentially dangerous place with moving machinery - and at 8 at night.

The comment was taken from the article - it wasn't WestCoast who made it.  However it happened he was failed by somebody, he shouldn't have been able to get onto the track

It's not difficult but you have to concentrate for every second.

Goodness - I consider myself to be a very responsible parent and my eldest is now 28 but I can honestly say that there have been times when I was not watching my children every second of their childhood. Accidents can and do happen even with the most conscientious and caring of parents :-(

I was not watching my children every second of their childhood
It must be more difficult with more than one child but I can honestly say that we never had anything more than very minor accidents.  I have one pair of eyes, one pair of legs and one pair of arms and that's why I stuck to one child - that's what I could be responsible for. :)

What nonsense.

Where in the article does it say "...has been failed by the adults who should have protected him"?

I can't believe you'd post in support of such an attitude.

My oldest kid is now 15. Does that mean I am superior to these parents because I didn't 'fail' him so far?

How sanctimonious can you get?

He has been failed by someone who should have protected him, I don't know who that was and neither does WestCoast, the fact is that there is no way a small child should have been allowed to get onto the track of that ride someone is responsible for that. 

I didn't read the OP comment as it was the parents fault, I read it as he should have been protected but wasn't.

I didn't read the OP comment as it was the parents fault, I read it as he should have been protected but wasn't.

Absolutely!  That's why I said 'adult' - it was the general secretary of the Showmen's Guild that I quoted.

Plain and simply, somebody should have been watching the bouncy castle kids to make sure their parents were taking them away - I've worked at fundays where the person monitoring the bouncy castle made sure all kids that came off were accompanied by a responsible adult.  Also, somebody must have seen a small child squeaze through the fence to the other ride.  Put simply, there were a catalogue of failures that resulted in the death of this wee boy.  He was a toddler, not a 5 year old or a 10 year old; toddlers can be a danger unto themselves if we do not protect them which is why we have to keep an eye on them more than a slightly older child - once they have a sense of boundaries and effective communication then they can be encouraged to be independant.  But remember this was a fairground, a very exciting but dangerous place to small children.

what a terrible thing to happen.  I am a mum of two young children and when out i watch them like hawks! Especially where funfairs or busy places are concern, and i do not rely on safety barriers to stop access to rides, i feel it is the organisation that is running an event to comply with health and safety policies and for me as a parent to be responsible for the safety of my children.

Mine are 22 & 24 Im lucky. I had a friend who had two cot deaths and then her son died in 2" of water in a bucket whilst at his Nan's. All be thankful that their babies are safe and dont condemn anyone else be grateful you were lucky because that does play a big part in our lives.

Yep, in all areas of my life, I find the harder I try, the luckier I become.  And I'm certainly very thankful that I discovered that some time ago. :)

But don't worry, personal comments by others who haven't read my post properly don't offend me. :) :)

It's such a tragic event and the poor family :-(  There will be so much anger and blame thrown around by them, I just hope that time heals them and it doesn't tear them apart.  I guess it's a sad fact of life that it could happen to anyone, all it takes is for your eyes to be off them for a few minutes.

Accidents can and do happen even with the most conscientious and caring of parents Yes I agree otherwise the Accident and Emergency Departments would be very quiet places without any children being taken in for a variety of accidents in or out of the house.

Yep thats what I feel when I work harder I get luckier funny that?

Ive had mine stiched up before and me!!!

> It's not difficult but you have to concentrate for every second.

You don't think that is difficult?
Even as this thread has progressed it is patently obviously that the full facts have not yet emerged.

> what a terrible thing to happen.  I am a mum of two young children and when out i watch them like hawks! Especially where funfairs or busy places are concern, and i do not rely on safety barriers to stop access to rides, i feel it is the organisation that is running an event to comply with health and safety policies and for me as a parent to be responsible for the safety of my children.

Excellent post. :-)

There is a terrible 'blame' culture in our society. :-(

> It's not difficult but you have to concentrate for every second. 

When do you sleep?

There is a terrible 'blame' culture in our society
People need to take responsibility for themselves and those they bring into this world, not blame others and expect the rest of the world to be responsible for them. :(

When do you sleep?
I slept when my daughter did - no problem.  I was divorced and she was 2 years old and was solely responsible for her.  I also worked part time as the sole earner, leaving her with her GrandMother while I worked until she was 6.  Then I set up my own business so that I could control my own working hours and she was never on her own.  It's all very managable - just takes thinking through and organisation, and of course, putting my daughter first and my life on hold. :)  It would appear that some parents don't put their children first (they didn't ask to be bought into the world!) and insist on doing what THEY want. :(  That's not aimed at any parents in particular! :)

I had a neighbour who sat her toddler in front of the TV, went to have a shower and then went potty when he'd emptied the kitchen cupboards!  She pleaded "When am I supposed to have a shower???" :(

Having had toddlers also and many nephews and nieces to boot, I have to stand up for WestCoast's points here. I never, ever take my eyes off my children (just about do it now) in populated areas with potential dangers around especially. Millions of people visit fairs and amusement parks every year and you have to have eyes in the back of your head and protect your children constantly, the health and safety issues seem to be passed on this particular ride according to the people who own it, it is a tragic accident and I know it takes a split second for a child to dash away, but as adults and parents we are responsible for our children to make sure they do not get into dangerous situations.

Even so my heart goes out to the parents of this child, it takes a minute of two for something tragic to happen and they must be inconsoleable.

There but for the grace of God......

To finish that sentence and it's meaning, I don't think God has saved the rest of us from a similar terrible fate.

I've never ever been to a fairground or amusement park with 6ft walls around the rides, they are always open with metal or wooden barriers that people can climb over, under or through, it has always been so. Yet millions of children visit every year with no harm to them, not because of God, but because their parents hold their hands, have them in prams, carry them, watch over them.

It's not fair to say it's the parents fault the child died, but I do think their few minutes/seconds lack of supervision caused an accident to happen. 

> Having had toddlers also and many nephews and nieces to boot, I have to stand up for WestCoast's points here. I never, ever take my eyes off my children (just about do it now) in populated areas with potential dangers around especially

I agree. My boys were firmly attatched to me with reins untill they started school and as toddlers were never out of my sight when in busy places/near roads.

Tragically accidents do and always will happen, even to those most vigilant, but it doesn't mean that one shouldn't be extra vigilant when our children are young and have no sense of danger.

Poor little mite :(
Rest in peace x