Video - 3 yo girl falls through fence on cliff *she is ok*

[Magic Mom]

No, I won't, because in my opinion I don't think she's a bad mom, or a complete idiot. .

I don't think she's a bad mom either, I just think she has a lot of nerve placing any blame on the park, when she clearly didn't have a problem with the safety of the fence that day.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I think the only thing safer than the fence that was there would be no fence at all. It is a rugged coastline that stretches on for miles....the point is to feel awed by nature and have unimpeded views of the beauty. I would be very dissapointed if the response was more fencing.The point of national parks is to feel the power of nature as opposed to the everyday controlled world in which we live.

 

[EpcotBeauty]

I think all National Parks should have this sign: Danger, Darwinism at work....

 

[robinb]

No, I won't, because in my opinion I don't think she's a bad mom, or a complete idiot. I'm sure she just wasn't thinking, trust me I've seen many other parents on vacations think even less. Like I said before, I don't think it's the park's fault either (I don't think it's anyones) but I do think that it does seem to be dangerous, and I would want precautions to be taken. I think all parent's, including myself, have had a few lapses in judgements, and I'm sure that mom is going to be extra careful from now on, and I'm sure none of her kids will ever be allowed near anything like that again. Like I said, no one is perfect and ppl. make mistakes, I don't think she's a bad mom because of this incident.

I have to say that I totally agree with your post.

I know that I wouldn't have thought twice about letting my little girl stand up against a fence like that until I saw the video. It just wouldn't occur to me that her little butt would slide through the slats like that. If anything this video is a PSA for people with young children ... fences used in the way they were designed to be used to keep adults safe may not work for young children. That little girl wasn't climbing all over the fence or swinging on it or doing anything dangerous around it. She simply leaned against it.

 

[Stitchfans]

Wow, that's scary! but....
The mother is angry at the Park?????Are you kidding me??? She let the child lean against the two-slat, cliff rail for a cutesy picture, but it's the parks responsibility for not taking more precautions. People are amazing.

Afraid I agree with this. But yes I am glad to see she is ok.

 

[disykat]

fences used in the way they were designed to be used to keep adults safe .

I think that's the point some of you are missing. The fence is not there to keep people safe. Split rail fences are not a barrier, they are only a visual boundry. IMO it would be more dangerous to have a barrier type fence because people would get a false sense of security and think it would keep them safe. Common sense should tell people a split rail fence isn't safe. But I guess the problem is that people don't have common sense.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I guess I'm the only one who laughed their butt off? They preceded the clip by saying the girl was not hurt so that wasn't as issue and my immediate thought was to the instant terror that these moron parents went through. As my wife says "if you're going to be dumb, you'd better be tough".
pirate

 

[akhenaten]

Very scary - but I can't believe they're trying to blame the park! That fence at Ecola is probably one of the "safer" stops along the coast. It's sort of a guideline to remind you to stay on the path, not a barrier. Thousands of miles of coastline are hard to barricade. There are not fences everywhere someone could fall - not even an attempt at it.

.

I agree...that is what i said to my DH...how could you possibly fence off the entire coastline to make it "safe"

parents....hold your childs hand if you are near a cliff!!!

 

[JEmaryland]

I guess I'm the only one who laughed their butt off? They preceded the clip by saying the girl was not hurt so that wasn't as issue and my immediate thought was to the instant terror that these moron parents went through. As my wife says "if you're going to be dumb, you'd better be tough".
pirate

Don't worry, you're not the only one. My husband was right there with you!

 

[robinb]

I think that's the point some of you are missing. The fence is not there to keep people safe. Split rail fences are not a barrier, they are only a visual boundry. IMO it would be more dangerous to have a barrier type fence because people would get a false sense of security and think it would keep them safe. Common sense should tell people a split rail fence isn't safe. But I guess the problem is that people don't have common sense.

Obviously, I missed that common sense lesson too! It might be a urban/rural thing. We don't have many split rail fences providing a "visual boundary" in downtown Madison.

 

[brockash]

Obviously, I missed that common sense lesson too! It might be a urban/rural thing. We don't have many split rail fences providing a "visual boundary" in downtown Madison.

Don't worry you're not alone. I also don't think I'd think too much about taking that picture either (it wasn't like she was playing/running around.) I'm also sure we're not the only 2 on these boards who wouldn't have had apparently "common sense" in this situation, but if everyone else wants to act like they're much better than that mom, so be it. I think you were correct that the video really did put PSA out there for others, but I absolutely won't say the mom is a "moran," "complete idiot," or had "no common sense," - I guess I'm just not perfect enough to feel that I have a right to say that. I think the mom was just trying to take a picture of her children on vacation. I'm just very happy it ended in a happy ending. Like I've said before, I don't think the parks are at fault either, but I don't believe that this one incident gives any of us the right to judge that mother-Just my opinion though.

 

[allison443]

it's amazing that this so called "fence" is all that is keeping people from going over a 100 foot embankment down a cliff into the ocean.

Well, the so called "fence" plus parental supervision, common sense, etc....

I am so glad the little girl was okay and I would never comment on it if she was hurt!! I think it's good the video is out there for a cautionary tale. I think we have gotten to the point in our society of expecting things to be made safe for us, kwim? I mean earlier in the video they showed three little girls standing on the fence!!

 

[Judy from Boise]

I think part of the problem is you aren't able to see the context on the video that this is a huge expanse of nature, if you were driving down highway 1 on the coast of CA you would see miles and miles of sheer cliff leading to beach and ocean.you would occasionally see a split rail fence at an auto turn out....but you would understand that this is not "controlled" for your safety.

I agree anyone of us can have a laspe, but it would be so sad to see an attempt to childproof something that is inherently majestic by it's uncontrolled nature.

 

[disykat]

I think the mom was just trying to take a picture of her children on vacation. I'm just very happy it ended in a happy ending. Like I've said before, I don't think the parks are at fault either, but I don't believe that this one incident gives any of us the right to judge that mother-Just my opinion though.

See you do have common sense. I agree that anyone can have a judgement lapse and she just wasn't thinking about what could happen. I think most of us have stories from our own kids or our own childrhood of "near misses." The problem came when she tried to blame the park for not being childproof.