Child safety: window grilles, a life-saver

When we first bought our apartment on the top floor of an apartment block, it had beautiful uninterrupted views over a leafy area of Singapore, laden with old trees. Wonderful, you might have thought - but we didn't, not after our initial delight had been ambushed by a second thought. What was that second thought? That it was an awfully long way to fall down.

You see, the flat had balconies with windows that opened freely. An ambitious, athletic child could easily climb out of the windows - and fly briefly through the air to the ground below. We had young children to consider, so we went to considerable expense to obstruct our pristine views of a beautiful vista with what might seem like an ugly, black, gridwork of metallic grilles.

For a long time, they seemed to serve no purpose but to prevent us from fully enjoying the vantage of our apartment view - until the other day. Guess what my wife found, when she walked into the children's bedroom? Tiarnan, fifteen months, clinging to the grille, half-way between ceiling and floor, as they covered the open windows. Somehow he had climbed up a sheer perspex balcony covering, with no holds, to over three feet above the ground where the window grilles began. Then he had managed to pull his weight up and climb up to the open windows, covered only by the grilles. Had there been no grille, Tiarnan would have discovered the uglier side of gravity, pretty quickly.

So, if you have young children and a great view in an apartment on the second floor or above - don't hesitate to get grilles fitted. Yes, I know they are expensive - and ugly - but there will come a time when your children are able to climb up to open windows - and if that day comes and you do not have grilles, it could be the last day of your child's life. So get grilles, ugly or not.

Have a safe day - and watch those climbing babies. There is now nothing that Tiarnan won't climb - and no height or vantage he can't seem to reach. So, watch yours, too.

(If you would like to read more of Tiarnan, fifteen months, or his gifted brothers, including Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and five months, and Fintan, three, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted children and gifted adults. Thanks.)