When you are a parent, you become acutely aware that danger lurks in every corner.

 

When your little one is a tiny helpless baby, you make sure their head and neck are supported at all times, that they are never left on their own in a potentially dangerous position or place.

 

You make sure their bottles are sterilised and not too hot to drink, that their bathwater is just right, that they aren't wearing too little or too many layers of clothing, are properly strapped into their car seats or bouncers.

 

As your baby grows, so does the list of potential dangers.

 

By the time your baby turns one, they are crawling or toddling around, and putting literally everything and anything into their mouths - you cannot take your eyes off of them, even for a split second.

 

When my third child was about 18 months, I thought he was safe.

 

There was nothing harmful on the floors that might represent a risk of choking, I had child locks in place on all my cupboards, and my son had limited access to certain rooms in the house (bathroom, bedrooms) without one of us being with him. 

 

He was fully walking, and therefore into everything, so harmful cleaning products were tucked away underneath the kitchen sink with a child lock on the doors.

 

This particular evening, my little man was toddling around the kitchen whilst I was putting dinner leftovers into the fridge.

 

Suddenly, I heard a strange gurgling sound from behind me.

 

As I spun around, I realized in horror that the strange gurgling sound was coming from my little man. He was standing beside the kitchen sink cupboard, doors wide open.

 

In his hand, he was holding a blue, near-empty bottle of all-purpose surface cleaner, and he was spitting out blue liquid. 

 

I ran over to him, took the bottle of surface cleanser from his hands, and tried to encourage him to spit out whatever liquid was still in his mouth.

 

My little man had begun to cry hysterically and was pointing to his mouth as if to say it was burning him. I didn't have a first aid diploma, but I did read a first aid manual and knew that I should not try to make my little man vomit, or give him anything to eat or drink. In a complete state of panic, I called 999 and asked for an ambulance.

 

Paramedics arrived within minutes. They quickly assessed my son and decided to rush him to hospital.

 

I'll never forget the journey in the ambulance. I was sitting down, holding my little man in my arms, when his eyes suddenly rolled and his body went limp. Fear and panic swept through me, but the paramedic sitting beside us in the ambulance tried to reassure me, checking my son's vitals.

 

As I lifted my son up to my chest, his mouth opened, and he vomited violently. To my relief, the more he vomited, the more alert he became. Once he had stopped vomiting he sat up and looked around the ambulance with a curious expression on his sweet little face.

 

I knew then that he would be OK. We arrived at the hospital and my son was seen by an emergency room pediatrician. He received the all-clear, and we were able to go home that night. We were very, very lucky, I realise this.

 

The kitchen cupboard was normally always under child lock. But on this particular day, one of us had opened it and forgotten to close it properly. The bottom line is, that it only takes a few seconds for an accident to happen. You can never be too careful, and cleaning products should be locked away up high, if at all possible.

 

Has your toddler ever been affected by a domestic accident?

 

If so, share your story with us.

Camilla is 31 years old. She was born in The Netherlands, and raised between France & Ireland. She now lives in County Clare with her partner and four children aged 12, 10, 5 and 10 months. Follow her blog about her journey with diabetes.

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