Warning: Pet Doors Can Let Out Your Kids Too
New research shows that at least 10 toddlers a year die by squeezing their way through a pet door and working their way to the backyard swimming pool unchecked.
The research, which tallied coroner's reports and media accounts of child deaths, recommends that pet door manufacturers include leaflets or apply warning notices to its products to draw parents' attention to the risks.
And, though every parent must be held responsible for his/her own child's safety, an 8"x11" rubber flap intended for a pup might not always seem the logical spot for a toddler to exit the house, and could get overlooked in the general childproofing of the home.
Something to think about before you take the kids to visit Uncle Eric and his cute, harmless chihuahuas this Memorial Day weekend.
Consumer Alert: Children's Deaths Tied to Pet Doors [ABC News]
(Photo: :mrMark:)
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Comments:
Wow, 10. Sucks if it's your kid, but it's highly unlikely.
@Conrad: we don't know that. there might only be a few hundred households with: backyard pool, working pet door, baby.
This is why people are supposed to watch their children.
Its a shame, but it's also absurd for them to try to sue the pet door manufacturers though.
im going to have to go with Darwinism on this one
if you have a pool... then you should have a toddler fence so that a child cannot get into the pool.
anyone that would sue the dogie door company because their snowflake died from drowning in a pool should first look in the mirror
i feel sorry for that child, it was a tragedy... but it is the Mother's fault!
also they make alarms that sit on the water and will alert when the water moves too much
i just hate it when people try to make money off something tragic when it was their fault!
It seems perfectly logical to me that this might happen. My siblings and I thought the best part about the SpaceGramma's house was crawling in and out of the doggie door.
Of course the SpaceGramma did not have a pool so we made it to idiot adulthood unharmed. By pet doors anyways.
@PartOfIMAXConspiracy_GitEmSteveDave: Also: How many pets die yearly from falling into pools b/c of doors like this? You'll more than likely get more reaction from pet owners than parents.
They have pet doors that open only when the sensor on the dog's collar releases the lock. Although, I guess the baby could be following the dog around and crawl through with it.
I still don't understand why this is making the news. HOLES IN THE WALL will let small animals in and out. Living in Texas, I'm mystified by news reports "warning" people that pet doors can let raccoons and snakes into the house. It's a hole in your wall people! Cavemen could figure it out.
The better pet doors all have interlocks, where the pet wears a collar that sends a radio frequency that signals the pet door to unlock. Some have programming abilities, so you can allow the door only to open during certain hows (so your doggies don't go out in the middle of the night, if you don't want)
If you have the old-fashioned flap type pet door, not only can babies get out, but skunks and racoons can get in.
@snowburnt: Do you have kids? I don't, but I've babysat enough to know you cannot possibly have your eyes on them at all times. And if there are two kids in the house, forget it. Even when I'm in the same room as them I can't find them sometimes. They make it an art of getting away from you!
@Spaceman Bill Leah: did you even read the article? the only father referred to in the article is Hank Didler (the attorney)
"Parents don't appreciate that their children, even if they're bigger, can get through," said Dylan's father, Hank Didier, a Florida lawyer suing a pet door manufacturer for the family of two-year old Matthew Ranfone.
READ before you comment!!!
I mean no offense to anyone who's kid died or was harmed because of this.
But as a responsible adult, you should know that kids can get into or out of *anything* if they really want to. They're kids. That's what they do.
Sure, it would be nice if the manufacturers would warn you about it. But you're putting an accessible opening to the outside world at your kid's eye level...you should really give it some thought. What's the warning going to say, "Warning: You are putting a hole in your door. Children may wonder 'what is this' and try to climb out of it". Even if you think they can't fit through it, you should (in your diligent childproofing) realize that it's a possible place for them to get stuck, which can end up being just as bad.
There are doors that won't open without the animal's collar being nearby. This also keeps outside animals outside. Granted, the animal could be near the door at the same time as the kid, so this isn't foolproof. But it would help greatly.
More importantly, if you have a kid that is a size even *close* to being able to fit through it, why not just cut off access to that room if you can't keep an eye on them?
FTA: said Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Association. "To me as a parent, if something happened to my kid I'd be blaming myself. But if it was a problem that I had no idea could possible occur, I'd be thinking, gee, I wish somebody had told me about it."
@tastybites is correct. If you don't know that putting a hole in your door opens the possibility of your kid being interested in/trying to use/successfully using said hole, perhaps you shouldn't be a parent in the first place. Saying you didn't know it was possible is like saying you didn't realize giving a 2 year old a Bic could be a choking hazard - and I don't think I've ever seen a box of pens with a "keep away from small children" warning. That's kind of common sense.
@PartOfIMAXConspiracy_GitEmSteveDave: Not only that. How many mischevious pets drag bloodied, still moving critters into the house through those doors?
All around, they're just not all they're cracked up to be.
@qwickone: i do have kids... true, you cannot have your eyes on them at all times... but you can make sure they are blocked off from certain places/areas of your house.
Put a fence around the pool. Done.
Should a toddler be crawling around unattended in the first place? Sounds like trouble waiting to happen (or, possibly a 90-minute zany comedy movie).
@ManiacDan: this is what concerns me: not so much the critters inside getting out, but the outside critters (specifically the skunks) getting in.
i can't think of anything i would rather come home to than skunk gland to the face.
Not to be persnickety, by don't most municipalities where pools are prevalent have codes where you CAN'T have a doggie door leading into the pool area for just these types of situations...?
I guess that they should be forced to label the door with a warning message akin to "CAUTION - this product may effectuate ingress and/or egress of physical matter!"
@PartOfIMAXConspiracy_GitEmSteveDave:And then once they are accustomed to the beep, you record that onto your phone. When they start crying for that candy bar in the checkout lane, you play the tone back and they freeze in place.
Brilliant!
@Trey Mahaffey: that would go off ALL the time at my parents' house- when they turn the pool light on at night the bugs congregate and it becomes a dinner buffet to dive bombing little brown bats.
"working their way to the backyard swimming pool unchecked. "
ALL POOLS SHOULD HAVE GATES AROUND THEM. Period, end of discussion. I'm pretty sure it's a law here in Arizona, because SO MANY KIDS drown in pools every year.
@Conrad: It's actually not that unlikely. Do you know how many people die in Arizona because they get to the pool alone? A LOT. Usually because there aren't any gates. You should have a gate all the way around the pool with its own gate. Period.
@kwsventures: a lot of citys require a fence anyways. I hear even insurance companies require them as well.
Maybe if she gets some money in a settlement she can blame her childs death on someone else other than herself.
@Stephen Schenck: Have you ever dealt with kids? Kids are sneaky, and FAST. Turn your head for two seconds, and they are GONE.
@tastybytes:Darwinism? I would love to hear you say that to anyone that has lost a child. Actually no, I wouldn't, because I don't like watching people get beaten senseless, at least in your case it wouldn't take too long.
@pecan 3.14159265: Maybe someone should come out with baby-collars that prevent the door from opening when the kid is near it, even if the dog does want out.
And if you have a pool with no gate, and you have kids, you are a shitty parent. If your kid drowns because you have a pool with no gate, you should get arrested for negligence (I think this has actually happened here). It is your fault. Period.
@v0ice: If a parent has kids, and a pool with no gate/fence, that parent is 100% at fault for their child's death. And they should be charged with negligence. I wouldn't call it darwanism, because the child is not old enough to know better, but the parent essentially just killed their child with negligence.
@Spaceman Bill Leah: But as far as we know, there isn't a father. So basically he/she was referring to the only parent we know about. What is your problem?
Just get one of those sliding patio-door pet inserts.
When people bring kids over, remove it and keep the pet outside.
When the leave put it back in.
Geee, this is another warning that qualifies as common sense.
If they'd fit those on airliner's jet doors, we'd see a sharp reduction of those commentators complaining about noisy tykes on long flights.
Although their being replaced by "I can't breathe, I can't breathe..." might be just as annoying.
I watched this poor woman last night on the news who lost her son to this. She wants to blame the doggy door company! I have 2 kids, both under the age of 3, I fully understand that there are times when they get away from you.
Bottom line is SHE is responsible for the death, NOT to door manufacturer. What if we replace "pool" with "busy street"? My 2 yr old can unlock and open both my front door and the storm door and walk outside, but he doesn't get that far, can you guess why???? Because we take measures to make sure he does not get out. If he did would it be the door company's fault that I can't keep my doors locked? NO
Just ridiculous
This is why I endorse those RF collars. If the kids get within 6 feet of the door, it beeps, then shocks them.