I’ve been hesitant to write this post. First, because of the inevitable online mom-shaming that is bound to ensue; and...
Posted by Lindsey McIver [0] on Wednesday, July 11, 2018 [1]
Lindsey McIver and her husband recently upgraded their laundry room [2] with a "new and cool" washing machine after their old one crapped out, but the excitement over the newer model was short-lived, as the morning after it was installed — before the machine was ever used — Lindsey's 3-year-old got trapped inside the airtight machine [3] . . . while it was running.
Awoken by the incoherent sobs of their 4-year-old son, Lindsey and her husband eventually realised that he was telling them his little sister Kloe was inside the new washing machine. Thankfully, Kloe is OK, but Lindsey didn't want to let this vulnerable parenting moment pass without warning others about front-loading machines and the dangers they can pose — even if you tell your curious kids to stay away from them as she did.
"By the time we reached the laundry room in the basement, my 3-year-old daughter Kloe was LOCKED inside the airtight washing machine," Lindsey wrote in a post to her Facebook alongside a photo of the new appliance. "It was tumbling and filling with water. She was screaming but you couldn't hear her. We were able to quickly stop it and unlock the door and get her out. Aside from a couple of small bumps on her head and wet clothes, she was fine."
Luckily for the McIvers, the "what ifs" were just that, as they were able to get Kloe out before the worst could happen. However, Lindsey, who says she's beating herself up over this accident, is choosing to be open and honest so that anyone with a front-loading washer and little kids in the house can learn from her mistake and know that there are steps they can take to ensure this never happens to them.
"I post this because I can honestly say we did not realise the danger of this machine. We are continually surprised at the new, inventive ways our kids come up with to try and die. And this was definitely a new one," she wrote. "I took this picture after we secured the door shut with a child safety lock. We also found a child lock feature on the settings that, as long as it is engaged, will not allow the washing machine to start. But it does not lock the door. We hadn't even used the machine yet so we hadn't looked at any of the settings. Also, it obviously took two curious kids to pull this off. I want to encourage anybody who has this type of front-loading washing machine and small children, or even grandkids who visit, to lock the door with a child safety lock and always keep the child lock setting on!"