From the moment you become a parent you feel a pure, biological urge to protect your child from all harm, all sadness and all danger. Some of the things you need to protect your child from are obvious like hunger, cold and sadness.
Then there are times when you encounter something so unexpected you know you need to share your experience to help other parents.
Mum Rachael Vaughan was shopping with her adorable two-year-old son at a shopping centre in Newcastle West when he began hysterically crying after being placed in a shopping trolley. Not unusual, right? Most toddlers don’t enjoy the confines of the shopping trolley unless they have a toy or treat in their hands.
His crying was a little out of the ordinary, though, and motherly instinct kicked in, leading her to stop rushing around and take a closer look why her son was now crying with his face in his hands. Someone had left two of those hard white plastic cable ties to the bar that was resting against her son. They were poking straight up, ready to cause maximum damage.
Her son had come straight down on them and as a result was nursing a painful scratch to his face, right next to his eye.
Rachael shared her story on Facebook to serve as a warning to other parents:
I don't know how I missed it, but I immediately saw what had made him cry - two white cable ties had been tied to the bar that sits against the child seat (not the main trolley handle), so that they poked straight up.
Out of habit, I had plonked my son straight down in the seat, not checking anything was wrong with it, and he came straight down on one of the cable ties.It missed his eye by the teensiest amount. He was so very lucky to not be hurt.
Rachael sought out the manager of the supermarket and he and a security guard immediately began checking all remaining trolleys, removing a stack of cable ties left on other trolleys.
