In November, a series of incidents occurred in Osaka and other places in Japan where children were believed to have died after falling from their homes.
There is growing concern among parents with young children.
[Il bambino di Toyonaka di 2 anni è caduto dal letto]
On the 5th of this month (November), a 2-year-old boy who lived on the 4th floor of a residential complex in Chokoji Kita, Toyonaka City, Osaka, was found collapsed on the premises and was taken to hospital, but was violently struck. the head and died about nine hours later.
It is believed that he fell from the 4th floor because the bay window in his room was open and the bed was placed under the bay window.
For these reasons, the police are investigating in detail, assuming that the boy may have leaned out of the window while he was on the bed and fell.
[Possibilità di scavalcare una recinzione anche a 2 anni]
Can a small child climb the balcony fence alone?
The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) conducted an experiment to see how far seven children, each 2, 4 and 6 years old, could climb a 1 meter 10 centimeter fence, which is safety standards for balconies. .
First, a 2-year-old couldn’t climb without scaffolding, but only 1 in 7 was able to climb with a 30cm-high scaffold.
When this kid put his hand on the fence and climbed the scaffolding, he reached out to the handrail and climbed over the fence in about 15 seconds.
Subsequently, by observing 4-year-olds in the same conditions with scaffolding, 4 out of 7 children were able to climb the fence even if the height of the fence was greater than their height.
All seven six-year-olds were able to climb.
[Voci di madri]
How do children who fall from balconies feel in the city?
A mother with a 5-year-old said, “When my son was 3, I was playing alone in the baby’s room. I was unexpectedly doing what I thought,” she said.
Also, a mother who has children aged 4 and 0 said: “Sometimes I can’t pay attention to my older son while taking care of my youngest child. I try not to put anything on the balcony.” talking with
Another mother with 6, 3 and 0 year olds said: “I tell my children that the porch is a dangerous place. It is the most painful and saddening thing to have an accident when you are at home. I think I need to be careful.” , he said.
[Donne che hanno vissuto una caduta durante l’infanzia]
A woman who fell from the third floor when she was a child responded to an interview saying, “Children act without thinking about the danger, so adults should anticipate the danger and respond. I need to do it,” she said.
A woman in her forties in Ibaraki Prefecture accidentally fell to the floor from the 3rd floor when she tried to slip over the spiral staircase handrail in the children’s home after school when she was in first grade.
Regarding the situation at the time, the woman said: “Fortunately, I fell off my buttocks and did not injure myself badly, but I may have lost my life. Immediately, worried adults rushed to me and I thought they would be angry at. me, so I immediately lied and said, ‘I fell off the second floor.’ “
At that time, it was popular in elementary school to climb over the handrail of the stairs, so he played without thinking about the danger.
Later, he became an adult and has two children.
The woman said, “Children act out of curiosity without thinking of danger. Paddy field.
[Aumento delle richieste di doppia chiusura]
Double locks are getting attention in a series of fall accidents involving children.
For about 30 years, a company in Ikuno Ward, Osaka has been selling “auxiliary locks” as security items to prevent people from entering from the outside.
However, for about three years now, requests for information on how to prevent children and seniors with dementia from going out without realizing it have been said to have increased.
The company offers around 10 types of auxiliary window locks, some with removable “knob” locks and others that can be attached to the top of the window to make them more difficult for children to reach.
Yuichiro Tatsumi, CEO of Nomura Tech, said: “I would like you to properly assess your environment and take the measurements. They are progressing,” he said.
[21 incidenti mortali in 5 anni]
According to an analysis by the Consumer Agency, 21 children under the age of 9 fell from buildings and died in the five years from 2016 to 2020.
By age, ▼ 3 years and 4 years were 5 each, ▼ 1 year with 3 persons, ▼ 5 years, 6 years and 7 years with 2 each, ▼ 2 years and 9 years with 1 each became a person
In terms of where the incidents occurred, ▼ the most common was the veranda with 8 people, followed by ▼ falling out of the window with 4 people.
From June to July this year, the Consumer Affairs Agency conducted an online questionnaire on 5,000 men and women aged 15 and over regarding child safety.
According to this, more than 10% of respondents had auxiliary locks to prevent wide opening of windows as a countermeasure against falling accidents.
On the other hand, nearly half replied that they were unaware of using additional locks as a countermeasure.
[È anche possibile superare il corrimano superando gli standard di sicurezza]
Child fall accidents occur one after another in various places, but the latest survey shows that small children climb over balcony railings that exceed safety standards, but this does not prevent it and it is important to devise ways to keep the kids out on the balcony. “
Last year (2021), non-governmental organizations working to prevent accidents involving children conducted experiments on 116 children between the ages of 3 and 6 in kindergartens in the Kyoto and Kanagawa prefectures.
The building code law requires the height of the handrails on balconies from the second floor onwards to be 110cm, but provide fences that exceed that height from 120cm to 140cm so that children can climb over them without scaffolding. to verify.
As a result, over 60% of ▼ 3 year olds climbed a 120cm fence and over 70% of ▼ 5 year olds climbed a 140cm fence.
The average time was just 10 seconds.
Mikiko Ohno, director of the non-profit organization Safe Kids Japan, which conducted the experiment, said: “No matter how tall the balcony fence is, it won’t stop you from falling.” out.
Ohno added: “Young children can climb over the balcony fence in about 10 seconds, so even if you look away from them for a moment, a tragic accident can occur. There are still little children who don’t understand the difference, so it’s very important to devise ways to prevent children from going out onto the balcony alone. “
