3-year-old boy dies after falling from 5th-floor balcony

NEVER NEVER NEVER leave your little ones alone. you never know how long you will be gone and what they will get themselves into. mother will have to live with her mistake.

A three year old cannot climb over a balcony railing unassisted. No doubt there was a chair or plant stand next to the railing for the poor little blighter to climb on. Honestly, I think people are so stupid sometimes.

Disillusioned

At first I agreed with you (even gave you a thumbs up!) but then I thought about how big my daughter was at that age, then imagined if she was a boy, and concluded she could quite easily have scaled our balcony if she'd been determined enough, purely by scrabbling up the surface.

Then I went out and looked at our balcony and it was even worse. At one end there is a drainage pipe in the corner about 10cms from the balcony wall, and the pipe is attached to the wall with hooks at two intervals along it's length! Perfect climbing assistance. That is a virtual ladder right there. Added to which there is the air-conditioning box on the ground, next to the apartment wall but still good leverage to jump from, and I conclude there is certainly one balcony wall right here that a 3 year old boy could easily climb over on his own, and is certainly not "child" climb-proof.

Forget to mention that it is all the above, which I hadn't even checked until now, but the mere possibility of there being such things is what had made me never leave my daughter out on the balcony on her own. Without even checking anything I assumed there might be the remotest possibility she could have done climbed over somehow so I didn't leave it to chance. Common sense. Therefore, I still blame the parent!

so sad

If he was left alone at the age of only 3 then it is not a tragic accident.

A 3 year old getting up over a waist high balcony railing in a few minutes.......do we know if there was a stepladder involved?

Disillusioned u must be dissillusioned. u dont know 30 y.ods nowadays. my 3 year old starting to climb everything even tree.

Such a stupid tragedy!! Why did the mother not take out the trash the night before?? Or her husband?? House? Apartment? Apartment House?? JT that is not correct English by any standards. Any way this poor little boy is dead and this family will have to live with the guilt and pain for the rest of their lives. RIP little buddy.

Why did the mother not take out the trash the night before??

Many local authorities specifically ask residents not to put the rubbish out the night before as it attracts rats, crows etc.

At that time in the morning, maybe Mum thought the boy was still asleep.

maybe MUM thought the kid was asleep but why was the door to the balcony open or unlocked? i am of course speculating but i know when my kid was three he could not have gotten that door unlocked, opened, gotten out on the balcony in the time she said she was gone. :(

cleoMAY. 04, 2012 - 02:55PM JST

Why did the mother not take out the trash the night before??

Many local authorities specifically ask residents not to put the rubbish out the night before as it attracts rats, crows etc.

At that time in the morning, maybe Mum thought the boy was still asleep.

That's right, Cleo. However, I have never followed that "rule"as I'm paying residence taxes here therefore I will take my trash out when I see fit (usually very late at night!) I always double bag my garbage and make sure there are no holes around. Being unable to drag all of my children to the corner of my street, I leave the 12 year old watching over my 3 year old inside the master bedroom (when hubby is working night shift) then I go carrying the 8 month old with me practically "jogging" and back in exactly 1 minute 45 seconds according to my egg-timer. Now that said, we have a 2-story house, so probably it would take much longer if you live in a multi story apartment/masion building.

What happened here is extremely tragic and heartbreaking, but it could have been preventable. That's why I always make sure the balcony is locked and so are all the windows in the second floor as children can die from a second story fall as well, of course.

That said, I'm hurting for this child as if he was mine. How depressing!

My aunt lives in the same apartment building. She said that the father was in the hospital after a heart surgery when this happened. The mom and his older sis were taking the trash out and the 3 year old boy was sleeping. When she came back, she found the bed was empty and ask her neighbour if she saw her kid, the neighbour said no, then went in the house and look down her balcony and told the mother that her kid fell down. The mom was still in shocked because the boy was stuck to his mom like a glue. (Ｔ＿Ｔ)

garomakaishi - It is impossible for a three year old to get over a 1.2m railing without assistance. All balcony railing are made to be climb-proof for young children. I fear it is you that is disillusioned!

PLEASE PEOPLE STOP POSTING BAD COMMENTS, ALL MY FAMILY NEED RIGHT NOW IS SYMPATHY, IF YOU CANNOT GIVE THAT THEN BETTER DO NOT SAY ANYTHING. MY FAMILY ARE STILL IN GRIEF AND LOOKING WAYS TO SURPASS THIS INCIDENT. THANK YOU! by the way I am the uncle of Yamato...