Toddler Drowns In Bucket Of Water On Family's Porch

[matcom]

<snip>

A toddler drowned in a bucket of water on the porch of her Ypsilanti Township home on Sunday, just one day after her family celebrated her first birthday, authorities said.

Police are still trying to determine how 1-year-old Taylor Elizabeth Jenkins ended up in the 5-gallon bucket, which was placed on the porch to provide drinking water for the family's dog, Washtenaw County Sheriff's Cmdr. Dave Egeler said.

The girl's drowning occurred at a mobile home park at 2590 E. Michigan Ave. about 4:35 p.m.

The girl's grandfather, David Radau, said this morning that he was outside in the mobile home park Sunday afternoon, and Taylor's father was playing football for a short time. Radau said the father, Noah Jenkins, ran up on the porch and saw Taylor face-down in the bucket of water, so he pulled her out and tried to perform CPR.

Radau said they didn't know Taylor was outside the house, and he said there was no neglect on the part of Jenkins.

"I didn't even know she was on the porch," Radau said. "All of a sudden, Noah jumped on the porch and grabbed her from the water. Where I was standing, I couldn't see on the porch."

http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1097506002114440.xml

[AngryAmish]

1. Happens way too open

There was a movement afoot during Clinton admin to ban 5 gallon buckets. Toddlers are top heavy and lack upper body strength to get out.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. I've seen them with warnings pasted on the bucket.

[amandae]

2. I have a two-year-old and he's watched constantly

when he was one (especially just after he turned one) he was even more in my sights, and confined to a play area that was constantly supervised. Now that he's two, he's allowed to go upstairs and play in his (childproofed) room but all other doors have safety devices on them to keep him from getting into rooms that are potentially dangerous (i.e., bathrooms).

Not that I'm blaming her parents for this accident, but where were they while an infant/toddler (just turned one the day before) had time to escape out of the house, find the bucket of water to play in, fall in and drown before anyone noticed she was even gone?

:shrug:

[gollygee]

3. It doesn't take much water for a toddler to drown (m)

I've heard just a couple of inches is enough. Young kids are facinated by water, so they investigate, and if their mouth and nose go underwater and they try to breathe in, they can drown.

I watch my daughter like a hawk and I'm careful to not allow anything to sit collecting standing water.

[JVS]

4. These things happen

It's too bad, but it happens