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Because young children, especially those whose mobility exceeds their seichel, can, in a blink of an eye, put themselves in hazardous situations. Kids who don’t know how to swim fall or cluelessly leap into swimming pools; run out into the street; fall off of beds or dressers or ladders; are hit hard by heavy objects they pull off shelves; swallow poisonous substances or medications that resemble soda or candy; wrap curtain cords around their necks, etc. and in such situations, often the outcome is very serious injury or death.

And it can happen to anybody.

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The lucky parents are the ones whose children had “close calls.” I remember a friend telling me years ago how her two-year-old grandson impulsively jumped into a pool (perhaps it was in a bungalow colony). Luckily his father saw him do so and, fully dressed in his Chassidic garb, jumped into the water and saved his son.

But heartbreakingly, not every story has a happy ending.

To help prevent these soul-destroying tragedies, I highly recommend that whenever there is a gathering of relatives or friends, there be a designated watcher per toddler/child. Just like responsible party-goers have a designated driver – a person who does not join the group in their uninhibited drinking of alcohol and thus is not inebriated so that he/she can safely drive everyone home, there should be a responsible teenager or adult assigned to a specific child. After half an hour or so, another person can take over. This way, the child is under constant scrutiny. Even three minutes of unintended non- supervision out of two hours can result in tragedy. Young children must be under supervision 100 percent of the time.

I also strongly suggest that families with young children buy motion detectors that they can place outside on their lawns, both front and back, and near a swimming pool or garage. These detectors sound an alarm if they sense motion. Usually they are used to deter burglars, but can be a relatively inexpensive way to be alerted that someone is outside when you weren’t expecting anyone to be. They can be annoying in that they might go off if a dog or squirrel dart by them, but that is a small price to pay to be made aware that a child is outside.

However, nothing is as efficient as a one-on-one child watcher. It may be inconvenient, or a hassle to assign a “volunteer” to shadow a toddler, but it is necessary for everyone’s peace of mind. When you save a life, you save a world. That’s certainly worth a few minutes of your time.

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