A grieving father yesterday called on the Government to ban the type of blind cord that killed his two-year-old daughter.Oh, here we go again…
New European rules impose a maximum length on cords and force makers of different types of blind to fit safety devices to stop cords coming loose. But Muireann’s dad Angus, 40, of Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, said the changes would do little good because they did not cover the 200million blinds already installed in UK homes.
He added: “The Government needs to see sense and ban looped cords.”And then what..? Send H&S officers into every home in the country to check all their windows?
Good grief! This is why we don’t let grieving relatives looking for someone else to blame to make policy.
Or rather, we shouldn’t let them, for the sake of common sense, but we all too frequently do.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents welcomed the new EU rules, but added that it was vital for families who already have blinds in their homes to keep looped cords away from children.Well, quite! Mind you, just expressing this opinion has probably now marked me down as a ‘troll’:
A woman whose young daughter died when she became entangled in a window blind cord has been targeted by internet trolls.Oh? How so?
Writing on the Sophia's Cause Facebook site, she admitted that the ill-informed remarks have driven her to the depths of despair.
"I've been criticised a lot about Sophia's Cause - people telling me that banning blinds with cords is pointless and that it is my fault Sophia died," she said.
"I've been blamed and called an unfit parent, neglectful and that people like me should not breed. "None of that it ‘trolling’. And most of it, I agree with – fully!
"At first it broke me, I cried and tried to take my own life. I slipped into an even deeper depression and just wanted to be out of this world and with my little girl.
"At some point I decided to ignore the trolls, the know-it-alls and the common- sense police.”Oh, wonderful! Yes, you ignore the people pointing out a common sense approach! Brilliant! We need more people to do that…
*rolls eyes*
Through the campaign, Miss O'Halloran and her partner, Chris Parslow, want a UK ban on window blind cords. They have already attracted more than 5,000 signatures in support.5,000 signatures? That’s it? That’s all? I’d get more for a bid to set up a sanctuary for three-legged donkeys…
We have, undoubtedly, gone far too far down the road of allowing the bereaved and the unlucky and the careless free rein to demand changes to legislation.
To mark the anniversary, Mr Anderson said: “The government has tried to bring in changes but to our mind they do not go far enough.
“We’ve been down to London a few times and each time it’s as if they take something we’ve said on board but not all of it.
“I have piles and piles of paperwork on what has been going on around the country recently.
“The present government, they want to do it their way and not the way the families want it done.
“We should know what should be done, having gone through it all. ”No. You shouldn’t. Because the government needs to take everything into account, and not just the sometimes-sensible, often over-the-top demands of the bereaved.
This blind cord thing seems to frequently pop up. You'd think parents would know better by now and do something about it.
ReplyDeleteI have these blinds all over my house but modified them to stop the cats keep getting tangled up in them.
You would think the parent of a child could do the same.
As ever, this springs inevitably to mind...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98CWbGG2DJ0
Ignore the common sense police? That's quite a statement. So they want common sense to be abandoned as a concept or something?
ReplyDeleteGood grief.
We lived in a flat that had thin door handles, placed at the ideal height to take a nipper's eye out. I think rotten.com used to have a picture of this phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteI suppose that in McLaughlin's Utopian world, these too would be banned - along with string, matches, plastic bags and anything else that a negligent parent might fail to spot.
"..I cried and tried to take my own life."
ReplyDeleteTry the fucking blind cord.
XX Through the campaign, Miss O'Halloran and her partner, Chris Parslow,XX
ReplyDeleteI stated noticing this in the 80s.
Think of all those bastards getting roasted in house fires, or things like swinging themselves from blind cords, or getting nibbled by Tyson, and then take a look at how often "Partner" is mentioned?
Is this indicative of irresponsibility inherent in unmarried parents, or is something else going on here?
Rightwinggit, BRILLIANT! :-D :-D :-D
ReplyDelete"The Government needs to ....”
ReplyDeleteNo, it doesn't, the government meddles quite enough as it is thank you.
If you'd rather settle down in front of the "fitba" than pay attention to what your inquisitive toddler is up to that's hardly anyone else's responsibility is it?
Alright, that's assumption on my part - but his attention was obviously not on the child was it?
"At first it broke me, I cried and tried to take my own life. I slipped into an even deeper depression"
Okay, now you have my attention - a deeper depression than suicidal feelings, my god! what would that drive you to?
Going to the papers, of course ... and, starting a Facebook petition ... crikey! serious shit or what?
5000 signatures out of a population of .. what, 60 million - well, it's something
Actually, it's f*ck all .... I was trying to be kind.
@Rightwinggit ... can not breathe
@Rightwinggit
ReplyDeleteYou rule. I'm as choked up as little Manurine.
"The present government, they want to do it their way and not the way the families want it done"
ReplyDeleteAn unbelievably presumptious statement... who gave this woman the right to asuume she can speak for others?
"This blind cord thing seems to frequently pop up. You'd think parents would know better by now and do something about it."
ReplyDeleteYou'd think, wouldn't you?
"As ever, this springs inevitably to mind..."
LOL!
"Ignore the common sense police? That's quite a statement. So they want common sense to be abandoned as a concept or something? "
A bit behind the curve, it's well under way!
""..I cried and tried to take my own life."
ReplyDeleteTry the fucking blind cord."
SNORK!
"I stated noticing this in the 80s.
Think of all those bastards getting roasted in house fires, or things like swinging themselves from blind cords, or getting nibbled by Tyson, and then take a look at how often "Partner" is mentioned?"
Oh, indeed! It's a regular feature of these stories.
"An unbelievably presumptious statement... who gave this woman the right to asuume she can speak for others?"
Clearly, the right of her Overwhelming Moral Authority!