STORY:

A 7-year-old was said to have died after he found a loaded gun and accidentally shot himself in his Cleveland home, now his mother and her boyfriend have been indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with his death.

SENSES (Child Safeguarding and Protection Principle):

As primary and secondary parents we must decide and build the capacity and sensibility in Securing A Friendly and Protective Environment for our precious children.

We must be committed to care and protection. Care here simply means to anticipate the needs and threats to our precious children and make adequate preparations to meet those needs and mitigate/prevent those threats well before they arise according to global standards.

In this case the parents were alleged to have kept their loaded gun within the reach of their precious son. This might not have been a deliberate act, but their intention does not exonerate them.

Therefore, the law is not only concerned with our actions. It is also very concerned with our omission and puts both our acts and omissions on the same scale. We must be careful what we permit with our precious children as we are also concerned about what we allow around them.

STONE (Call to action)

1. We must keep out of the reach of our precious children any harmful objects and substance. The list is endless. The object in the instance of this case is a gun. It could be any other object or substance.
2. Keep medication out of the reach of children. Medication may not necessarily be harmful, but they are not meant to be within the reach of our precious children as they may begin to put it in their mouth out of curiosity and it becomes a medical emergency and, in some instances, it may lead to fatality.
3. Lastly, as a rule in Child Safeguarding and Protection, whatever, we do not want children to touch or access to, we must deliberately and consistently keep out of their reach.

Source:kyc.com

RN: 12042023