Pages

6.26.2012

Public Service Announcement

A few weeks ago, I was trying to figure out storage for Kate's preschool work & special art projects. I only keep some of her things and I wanted to make sure that the things I did keep were put in a safe place & wouldn't get damaged, but also wouldn't take up a lot of room.
I decided to get an under-the-bed wrapping paper storage bin. Her things fit in it nicely and I could store it under her bed and not see it. And, if she wanted to look at some of her work, she could easily access it & put away.
It seemed like the perfect solution. Right? WRONG.
Well, fast forward a few days after I got her bin.
Kate & Claire were playing "hide and go seek" before bath time one night.
I was cleaning up dinner downstairs & Kevin was getting their bath ready and he called to the girls saying it's time to get in the tub.
Kate goes into the bathroom & tells Kevin that she is ready for her bath.
Kevin calls for Claire & Kate tells him that Claire won't be able to hear him because she is in a good hiding spot and can't get out.
Kevin asks Kate where Claire is & Kate says under her bed in the container.
I hear Kevin yell, "Oh $@*#!!! and run down the hallway.
I run upstairs & Kevin was in Kate's room and was looking under Kate's bed for Claire.
Turns out, Kate & Claire thought the under the bed storage would make a good hiding spot for Claire.
They had taken out all of Kate's work in the bin, Claire laid down in the empty bin and then Kate put the lid on and slid it under the bed!!!!!!!!!
"Oh, $@*#!!!" is right.
Luckily, Claire was fine...she had only been in there for less than a minute, she was breathing and wasn't harmed and was startled at Kevin and I (because we were TOTALLY freaking out)
We had a LOOOOOOONG talk with the girls about how you never, ever, ever, ever get inside of a bin. Much less put the lid on it & slide it under a bed.
They felt awful, they just thought it was a really good hiding spot.
Needless to say, I never, ever, ever would have thought that this under the bed storage was a potential death trap. It gives me nightmares when I think about how bad that scenario could have ended up. It was something so innocent that could have had a horrible ending.
Thank you, Jesus.
We threw away the lid and are still using the bin as storage for her things, and the girls know that it is not something you play with or go in. EVER.
So, there is my PSA for all of you who may have under the bed storage bins.
They are not as safe as I thought.
SO.Freaking.Scary!

22 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh! Thank God you were the ones home(not a babysitter or something) and that you got to her quickly!
    Our K has one under her bed...for all of her dollhouse pieces. Thankful my girls are too old but I still think we'll have a talk about it...just to be safe for the future.
    Wow, you just woke me right up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, praise the Lord she's okay! That's so terrifying!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am SO sorry that that happened, but SO thankful that everything turned out okay! Made me get all teary-eyed reading it. :( Thank you for posting about it- we have two under bed storage containers, and I will be tossing the lids immediately after posting this.

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh WOW. thanks for sharing this PSA. So, so scary. Thank God everything is okay and so sorry you are still reliving the nightmares. that is a terrible feeling.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my goodness! That is so incredibly scary! We only have one tote like this that we use and it is stored up high.... but I would not have thought of this.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Holy Crap! Now that is one that even I haven't encountered and there's been some crazy sh**t in our household! Thank God you guys found her!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank the Lord for keeping your girl safe!! That is SO scary and I would have never, ever thought of that either. A good friend of mine has those under her sons bed, so I'm going to pass this a long to her. Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow. That is terrifying! Thankful you were able to get to her fast!

    Thanks for passing along the word. It never would have crossed my mind!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my! There are tears in my eyes! You definitely would never think something like this! Praise God she is okay!

    ReplyDelete
  10. a) holy crap b) we have a ton of those c) i HATE hide & seek

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh my gosh - SO scary! It never would have occurred to me that a kid would crawl in there, either, but now I can see why a small one might think that would be a good hiding place. So thankful that you found her quickly, and thank you for sharing your experience!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow how scary! I have had a few things happen with my kids through the years and still think back on them.

    ReplyDelete
  13. So glad that you shared this. We also use those bins and have been 'safe' so far, but I am throwing away the lids today!

    Glad everyone was okay!

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is the whole reason why hide and seek is a game we do not play. I am so freaked out I will not be able to find a child or that something bad will happen to one of them, it is just not worth. I would of never thought one of those under the bed boxes could be so scary.

    ReplyDelete
  15. So putting my kids in those for time outs is not reccommended?

    Just drill a few holes in the bin or lids and call it a day. Then you still have a safe bin with a lid.

    B

    ReplyDelete
  16. So glad you shared--I'm throwing the lid away now!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. oh my goodness! how scary! glad that everything turned out ok!

    ReplyDelete
  18. YIKES! We have a basement full of those! So glad everything turned out okay.

    ReplyDelete
  19. SO crazy, Mel. I hate that stuff that you don't even think twice about. Thank you for sharing and praise God everything turned out okay!

    ReplyDelete
  20. That's really scary! So glad she's ok and that this was just one of those lessons learned without any major consequences. I think we've all been there as parents and thank the Lord that it didn't result in something we couldn't undo. Thanks for sharing. I wouldn't have ever thought about that happening.

    ReplyDelete
  21. mel, no way!! praise jesus he kept your sweet girls. that is such a terrifying thought :(

    so glad you shared! xo

    ReplyDelete