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4-year-old boy survives fall from 12th-floor window

29 Comments

A 4-year-old boy survived a fall from the window of the 12th-floor apartment where he lived in Hiroshima on Tuesday.

Emergency services received a call at around 8:40 a.m. from the parents of the child, saying that he had fallen out of the window and was lying on the roof of a car park next door, TBS reported.

Police believe the boy climbed on to a 30-cm high table and was able to pull himself up to the window, and then toppled out. Police said the boy is seriously injured, but conscious.

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29 Comments
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Jeeez! How many times do we have to read stories like this? If you live in a high rise, get childproof door and window locks and use them. How hard is it to understand that? You can't possibly watch your child every minute of the day so make it a little easier for yourself by doing your utmost to ensure their safety and your peace of mind.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Well if he's conscious that's a really good sign, it means no brain damage. Broken bones will heal, internal organs can be transplanted if severely damaged, but brain damage is very difficult (if not impossible) to deal with, and that he's conscious means that there's no serious brain damage.

Nice to see some good news.

P.S. Child-proof locks are a good idea, but my daughter was able to open them faster than I could close them by age 3. She'd watch me open and close them a few times, then wait until my back was turned and get into the fridge to get ice cream the moment I looked away.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Happy to hear he survived the fall!

6 ( +8 / -2 )

I wish Japanese parents kept more watchful eyes on their kids, it seems they let them do anything and dont even think about the what if's.

I still can't understand why Japanese people think it is perfectly okay to give plastics bags to little children to play with.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Frungy, indeed, kids run around which is why parents need to watch them like hawks. Not always possible at times and accidents do happen but really? Kids falling out of windows/off balconies here happens way more often than it should. Kids that age get into trouble which is why you limit the amount of trouble they can get into. A table, under a window, and probably not locked, is just silly.

So is walking in front of your kid when crossing the street, not buckling up your kid in the car, not putting a helmet on then when they ride bikes... All things commonly done here because it seems that many parents don't think about these things until its too late.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Police said the boy is seriously injured, but conscious.

Happy to hear he is alive. But the 'seriously injured' part of this is troublesome.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The roof of a parking lot, not a car. Still, hopefully he'll be ok.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

That is really good news. As long as he is alive, problems can be worked out! The blame game and the guilt can wait, now take in the joy of having him there every minute.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Why are people always banging on about the parents? Accidents happen... and accidents like this probably happen all over the world.

Some of the posters here seem to think Japanese parents are worse than others.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

The car must have cushioned the fall. Hope he makes it okay.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Accidents happen, I'm afraid.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

papigiulioFeb. 20, 2013 - 05:24PM JST Blatant negligence from the parents. Either the kid was alone or the parents where playing with their keitai. For a kid to climb up on a table and look over the edge and topple over, that doesnt happen in 5 seconds.

Little kids don't walk, they run everywhere. Kids have no "middle gears". All it would take is for the parent to need to go to the toilet, or to look for their car keys, or a hundred other things you do every day. Parents are not robots, they are not infallible, and they are not omniscient.

smithinjapanFeb. 20, 2013 - 07:22PM JST Come on... a table under the window?? Why not just leave a bunch of silverware in a pool of water under open power sockets?

A 4 year old is more than capable of moving a table to look out a window. I've watched 4 year olds pile up toys, working slowly and steadily to get a slope they can walk up to get to something on top of somewhere they're not supposed to go. Your assumption that the parents placed the table there may be dead wrong.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

A need for protective window frames for homes with childern.

Good luck and a speedy recovery for the little guy.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

How many times do we have to read about these scary incidents? Poor little boy, thank god/s he is still alive, I hope these parents learn a lesson and that they show gratitude that their son is still alive!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

child proof locks is needed on the doors

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Blatant negligence from the parents. Either the kid was alone or the parents where playing with their keitai. For a kid to climb up on a table and look over the edge and topple over, that doesnt happen in 5 seconds.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Thought this one is another suicidal event >.<

thank god its not.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Frungy: Why assume that the parents were at fault?

Because the kid is four, lived on the 12th floor and was either home alone or home with the parents who weren't watching the kid. The article is unclear as it only says emergency services received a call from the parents. A 12th-floor apartment is close to 33 meters up. An average fully grown oak tree is about 20 meters, to put it in perspective.

I fully believe most toddlers can and will try to work their way through typical "childproof" locks and latches. However, if you have a young child and live above the ground floor and your child falls out of a window or door, it is your fault. That doesn't mean I think that anyone deserves such a thing to happen nor that I would I ever feel happy about something like that happening to someone but that doesn't change the fact that the parents are at fault.

Yes, watching a child is constant and exhausting but by having kids you've signed on for being constantly vigilant and constantly exhausted for many years to come. That's called being a parent.

The fact is that we read about this particular type of accident time and time again in Japan so you'd think that people would have cottoned on to the idea of being more vigilant or using better childproof locks. Japanese in general are not any worse or better at parenting than any other country's parents but people here do need to start paying better attention to this type of problem because a lot of them do live in high rises.

By the way, you can easily purchase keyless combination locks to put on your doors and window. If your 3-year old can figure those out, get her into a MENSA testing center immediately!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Lucky little guy! And I am sure the parents will watch him better now

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Children need constant supervision. Leaving them to themselves leads to accident's as children are very curious. Glad to hear he is alive....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

tmarieFeb. 20, 2013 - 11:32PM JST Not always possible at times and accidents do happen but really?

In an ideal universe no kid would ever get injured. Honestly, I'd love it if the world worked this way. Unfortunately accidents happen, and sadly when they do there are no shortage of people pointing fingers at the parents and accusing them of negligence, despite any evidence of negligence. It was to these "haters" that my post was directed.

Kids that age get into trouble which is why you limit the amount of trouble they can get into. A table, under a window, and probably not locked, is just silly.

Like I said in my post, there's every chance the kid moved the table to look out the window, and I'd be surprised if it was unlocked in Winter. Everyone I know locks their windows tightly during Winter to avoid drafts.

Wouldn't it be more logical to assume that in Winter a window would be tightly locked, and that the catch on the window broke when the child leaned on it? And that the child moved the table over to the window for the express purpose of looking out the window?

Why assume that the parents were at fault? I know the reason and it is "just world" bias, the desire to believe that everything happens for a reason and that negative consequences are the result of the person's bad behaviour, and therefore deserved. Sadly the real world doesn't work this way.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Young boys can be very hyper, this probably happened in seconds.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If this kid survives he will be Superhero right? I mean isn't this how kids discover their hidden powers?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

sensei258 oung boys can be very hyper, this probably happened in seconds.

Yes, they are which is why you watch them and put proper locks on your doors and windows when you live on the 12th floor. If you've lived with a kid for 3 years you ought to have some idea of what he is capable of and adapt your living situation accordingly. If you were paying someone to babysit your child and this happened would you blame them or just say "accidents happen"?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Frungy, why do you get to make such assumptions but we don't? I don't assume the window was locked, I don't assume the child moved the table... I assume that this is just another case of parents not looking after their child's welfare. Why? Because I see it here on a daily basis. That's why I make these assumptions. Tragic? Yes. . Avoidable? Yep.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

More parents of the year, I see. Kids will get in to trouble faster than you think, and by any means they can, which is why it's absolutely necessary that parents eliminate any ways in which a child can injure him/herself -- especially in easy to avoid things like this. Come on... a table under the window?? Why not just leave a bunch of silverware in a pool of water under open power sockets?

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Another day, another article about stellar parenting...

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

**Why are people always banging on about the parents? Accidents happen... and accidents like this probably happen all over the world.

Some of the posters here seem to think Japanese parents are worse than others.**

Perhaps because we hear about this preventable accidents every day?? Perhaps the parents are suppose to be keeping an eye on their kids and should be trying to ensure that their homes are safe for kids? Having a table next to a window with a four year old is just a recipe for disaster. Heck, living in a "mansion" with a child that age is.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Kids bounce

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

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