30 stitches for girl who ran into wall at food court
I REFER to the article, ‘Girl gets fracture, gash from water-slide ride’ (ST, Nov 23), and the recent reports on young children getting injured by escalators.
I thank The Straits Times for informing the public about all these incidents so that parents can be forewarned about the potential danger at these places and avoid them.
I cannot help but notice that there is a sudden surge in accidents involving young children.
Perhaps establishments are getting more lax and do not consider safety issues involving children. Hence they fail to notice potential danger zones and structures that could cause serious injuries to children, even though they do not pose any danger to grown-ups as adults with their mature spatial awareness and motor skills can avoid these hazards easily.
My daughter also met with a nasty accident recently.
My family, together with three other families with children were at the Biopolis Food Court for dinner. When we were about to leave, my daughter, while running towards us, ran into the edge of a wooden wall and the sharp 90-degree corner cut open her forehead, exposing the bone beneath.
She bled profusely from the vertical 5cm-long gash so we rushed her to the National University Hospital’s A&E department where she was admitted and underwent surgery.
She received more than 30 stitches. Thankfully, she did not suffer any fracture of the skull as we had initially feared – the attending doctor had said this was possible as the cut was very deep.
While the wooden wall may add aesthetic value, was it structurally necessary? Even if it is, do the corner edges have to be so sharp?
JTC, the owner of the premises, and Foodbank Pte Ltd, the operator, have certainly failed to ensure that the design of the premises is safe for families with children.
I share this in the hope that all parents could be forewarned about the danger spot at Biopolis Food Court should they dine there someday.
Alinna Chan Lai Kuen (Ms)
I also cannot help but noticed that there is a sudden surge in accidents involving young children and I have had quite a bit of a hard time figuring out why because I am not a parent. However, I do believe that the real problem doesn’t lie with the kids or the location, but with the parents themselves.
I remembered clearly my friend Peter wrote this on MSN chat when we talked about the incident in which a kid lost a toe at the escalator, “My son will never go near the escalator.” And the reason is obvious. Peter disciplines his son whenever he does something dangerous or outrageous, for e.g. running around in a food court, playing near the escalator, putting stuff other than food and tidbits into the mouth, or when the boy is rude to elders like the granny.
Contrast that to just another parent – whom I do not know – at the Food Junction food court at Raffles City the other day when I met my friend Jimmy for dinner. While his wife is away to get some food, his two kids were running around a walkway where people carrying their food – some of it hot soup – will be walking about. All this father did was repeatedly telling the kids to sit down and yet took absolutely no physical action. And needless to say, the two little brats couldn’t care less nor heed any of his verbal warnings while Jimmy and I looked on helplessly.
I won’t be surprised if some careless soul runs into his kids and spill hot soup onto his kids, the parent would be quick to find fault with that luckless person, and accuse him of being reckless and careless, while forgetting that it is his own responsibilities to keep his own children safe! And all the more such incidents reinforced my opinion that a lot of Singaporean couples are completely incapable of parenting, and at the same time I am glad birth rate is low to spare the planet of more little brats!
On sharing this with another friend Justin on MSN, we both agreed that our parents would have stood up, caught hold of us and forcefully lead us back to our seats when we were kids. If we even dare to throw tantrums, a spanking would definitely be in order right away, or when we get home.
So when I read this letter, I wondered why her child was running towards her. Just how on earth did she let her go so far from her side? I am not surprised if I hear comments like: “You won’t understand until you become a parent.”
And yes, I won’t understand until I become a parent, but I definitely did understand NOW why my parents always warned me – when I was a kid – not to run around because of the danger of hurting myself even when there isn’t even the remotest possibility of me coming to any bodily harm. I also understand NOW why my parents would give me a spanking when I failed to heed their warning.
Guess what? Blessed with responsible parents, I got through my childhood without much injuries and in pretty good health. None of my friends who are properly disciplined as a child end up as an undesirable element – read: criminal – of this society. And when I look at Peter’s boy, I am quite sure he would be a lot more well behaved than a lot of those screeching, whining little brats that I run into more often than not.
And before all you wimpy liberal parents start condemning me, please, I don’t advocate treating your children with excessive violence. But I do believe a little discipline is at times necessary to protect these kids from harm, if not to maintain some kind of social order and keep other adults from being annoyed or disturbed by little screeching monsters. Save your much ‘enlightened’ ideas of ‘reform and reasoning’ for older kids. It’s high time you stop believing that your kid would be some kind of genius who would mature and behave like a responsible adult at 3 years old!!
