A MUM tragically lost her 22-month-old son following a heartbreaking household accident.
Mother-of-three Lindsay Dewey recently shared on Instagram that her and husband Eric’s youngest son Reed was killed after a large mirror fell on him.
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”To make a long story short, apparently Reed had one of his suction cup bowls and stuck it on the mirror and was pulling it “back and forth” to pry it off (we’re assuming) and he pulled the mirror down on himself,” she recalled the tragic incident online.
”I never even heard him playing by/with the mirror – until I heard it fall and then within 5 seconds I lifted it off of him,” she continued in the post.
According to Dewey, she was in the kitchen preparing dinner when the fatal accident occurred.
The tot didn’t die instantly, but Reed was left with a fractured skull and ”severe traumatic brain injury”.
The Idaho-based mum initially thought that her son was just in shock from the mirror falling, but quickly realized that something was very wrong.
”Never did we expect that it would be so serious that he wouldn’t survive it,” she said.
Medics arrived on the scene within six minutes, but unfortunately, they were unable to save Reed.
Although Dewey never planned to come forward with the story, she explained on her page that she decided to share the tragedy in an effort to warn other parents around the world.
The mum also explained that the mirror wasn’t designed to be mounted or anchored to a wall, and added that it was so heavy that there was ”no way” her children could be strong enough to move it on their own.
Dewey said that the family usually had an accent chair in front of the mirror too – however, it had just been moved because their dog had peed on the rug.
”We both are still in complete shock that this is what took our baby from us,” the heartbroken mum wrote.
”We’re only sharing this because we don’t want this happening to anybody.”
While Dewey admitted that she was concerned about getting backlash from strangers over the incident, she said that the backlash would be ”worth it” if they could save another child’s life.
What’s the law on what age you can leave children at home alone?
SURPRISINGLY, there’s no law on what age you can leave a child on their own.
However, it’s an offence to leave a child alone if it “places them at risk”, according to Gov.uk.
Parents are urged to use their “judgement on how mature your child is before you decide to leave them alone, for example at home or in a car”.
And they can be prosecuted if they “leave a child unsupervised in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health”.
The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) also says:
- children under 12 are rarely mature enough to be left alone for a long period of time
- children under 16 should not be left alone overnight
- babies, toddlers and very young children should never be left alone
Sharing a photo of Reed to Instagram, Dewey wrote: ”Mommy misses you so badly and I’m so sorry this happened to you my perfect baby boy.”
Since the tragic accident, Dewey has amassed a large social media following of more than 65,000 followers.
However, the homemaker has rejected the title of ”parenting influencer” and said she has no interest in gaining Instagram followers.
”I’m just your average mama of three, homemaker, fire wife, who is obsessed with her family, living in Idaho,” she wrote.
”To paint the picture that I’m just another self-centered influencer is appalling.”
