May 27 2009
It only takes a second
Just hearing the news about Mike Tyson’s 4 year old dying due to strangulation sends chills through my entire body. We take such great pains in caring for our children, we watch over them as best we can, but the truth is: it only takes a second for tragedy to strike. We turn our backs for even a second and the worst CAN happen–and often does. It is scary that you can tell your kids HUNDREDS of times not to play with wires, cords, string, ropes, plastic bags –anything that can cause harm but there is no guarantee that they will listen, or remember or even that their curiosity won’t get the better of their good senses. As a pre-k teacher I see these little ones just acting on impulse–it is constant! They don’t think about consequences, they don’t realize that someone can get hurt, and they don’t really respond to the teacher saying: Hey–danger! They don’t see the jump rope as a hazard, they don’t realize that running with scissors is dangerous. They don’t sit right on the chair day after day and no matter how many times I say: Sit right you are going to fall, they still sit sideways or on their knees and they fall off the chair 2 times a week. No matter how many times they have proof that what we are saying is true: ie falling off the chair hurts, they will continue to do what they want to do. Well, we all know too well that there is no reasoning with the little ones, so….I guess what this all boils down to is this: WE CAN’T LEAVE THEM EVEN FOR A SECOND! My heart goes out to Mike Tyson’s family. I can’t imagine the pain that they are going through right now.
