A Langley Family has lost their son after he fell out of a third-floor window of a town home.
Authorities responded to a call from the home and the child was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but passed away shortly after.
Although the case is being investigated, Langley authorities say that there does not seem to be any suspicious circumstances regarding the incident.
Children are naturally curious and will find ways to explore and see – climbing and looking around, comes naturally to them. Incidents such as this one can easily happen, in fact, this was the fourth boy to fall from a window this year in B.C and according to the Safe Kids Worldwide 2015 Report To The Nation: Protecting Children In Your Home, each year about 8 children under the age of 5 die from falling out of a window. More than 3300 of them land up in the hospital, due to window related incidents.
In light of this tragedy in Langley, parents are now being urged to check their homes for any potential safety risks. There could be a number of unknown dangers lurking in any home.
Here are a few ways to prevent window related incidents in your home:
- Window screens should not be treated as any form of protection. Even a young child could easily pop it out of place. It should never be relied on as a safety measure. Screen guards are actually just there to prevent bugs from entering your home.
- To prevent devastating falls, install window locks to make sure that your windows do not open more than 4 inches.
- Keep windows closed and locked when children are present. If windows need to be open, make sure that children can’t reach them
- Never leave children unaccompanied on a balcony or higher-floor rooms with open windows.
- Place your furniture away from windows as it could lure a curious child to climb and potentially fall and or/access a window.
- For double-hung windows on an upper floor, the top sash should be opened for ventilation and keep the bottom sash closed