Parenting Guide

Parent negligence, at what cost?

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Nov 21, 2016

It would appear that we will never run short of stories of parents neglecting their children. From abuse to negligence, it keeps repeating in the news cycle often enough for us to wonder if our condemnation of these incidents isn't enough to make them stop.Two months ago, a one year-old baby girl was allegedly left in the car for 5 hours by her unsuspecting father. He returned to the car at 3pm only to find her weak, but his efforts to race her to the hospital still met with her untimely death soon after.On Saturday a two year-old boy was killed after he fell-out of a car driven by his father and was run over by another vehicle in Johor Baru. According to news reports, when investigated further it was found that the boy who was a rear passenger was not wearing his seatbelt.Let us also not forget about Nurul Jazlin Jazimin, 8, and Nurul Nadirah 5, who both had wandered off. Both were found dead having gone through unimaginable agony.It's up to caregivers, parents and teachers to step-up and be better attention to child safety. Here's what we can do to make their world a safer place.

1. Communicate with your spouse

Communication is key in preventing misunderstandings. Never assume that your spouse knows everything. The toddler's fatal incident could have been prevented if there was a clear line of communication between the wife and the husband regarding the wife's intention of getting him to drop-off the child at the babysitter's house.

2. Follow the correct car safety regulations

International law requires that all children travelling in the front or rear seat of any vehicle must use the child car seat. However, in Malaysia this regulation is set to be enforced only next year. It is also important to ensure that the harness-styled or portable car seat is used instead of the cheap pocket car seats which is deemed "seriously flawed" by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros).

Pocket car seats (as shown in the pic) are sold cheaply for as low as RM30 in the market are considered 'seriously flawed'.

3. This is no more the 1960s, sadly.

Long gone are the days when children can roam freely without adult supervision. Gone are the days when children can walk to school, without parents worrying about the possible dangers. However, there are parents who still insist that their children do some things alone such as going to the nearest store to buy groceries. "It's only a block away", most would argue but that was probably what Nurul Nadirah's parents thought too. Although the thought of teaching your children to be independent is great, there are other more plausible ways to do so. For example, getting them to order their own food off the menu.

4. Keep an eye on them. Always.

You may be on the phone or in a conversation with someone else but never lose sight of your child, even for a minute. Children have curious minds and are always looking forward to trying new things and it is up to us to make sure that it is safe. This is following an incident in which a child slipped through her parents’ radar and through a gap near the escalator of a famous shopping mall here, and plunged to her death. This incident could have been have avoided. 

It is time Malaysian parents address this dire issue before another precious life is lost.