Toddler dies after fall at Lakers game

[jdub1660]

Argue amongst yourselves of who's harsh and who's to blame. But having a 12 month and 3 year old girls, I know better than to have my kids in a situation like that and not have my full attention on them the entire time.

Think of it like this...
You have a little one, and you take them up into an open tree house. Do you let them play aimlessly for even a split second? NO, b/c that's all it takes. Whether it be the parents or some other adult that was suppose to be watching the poor kid, they are too blame.

I feel sorry for them as a parent, but I don't pity ignorance nor neglect. A friend of a friend's friend lost her young one b/c she lost sight of him (bout 2 years old) and he went outside to an unguarded pool and fell in a drowned. Do I feel sorry for her loss? Yes. But I pity her poor judgment and parental instincts.

No young kid or anyone of unawareness to a place should be left unattended. I'm a grown adult and wouldn't want to be left alone for 1 second in a cage with a tamed lion with the tamer. Make sense?

[pearljammer10]

Theres no argument against it... You dont leave your two year old unattended in the balcony of a basketball game. Terrible situation, yes, but there are no excuses for the parents on this one.

Nonetheless, awful awful tragedy.

Nobody is making excuses for the parents. They are a guilty responsible party.  But the Lakers are being excused. They are also a guilty responsible party.  

A strong boy like mine could climb over a wall in about 2 seconds.  When places don't make any effort whatsoever to baby proof places these things happen no matter how good parents are.  When you have a 20,000 seat arena even if every parent was an above average parent eventually something would happen. Therefore if you let babies in the area you try to baby proof it or you don't let them in. Obviously that didn't happen. It was "Sure we'll take your money and let your kid sit in a dangerous place"

Parents sometimes assume things have been tested for safety rather than left dangerous. It's a bad assumption.

The local law enforcement is right to investigate and be dealing with the parents. But they need to sit with the Lakers too and not give them a free pass.

I get the point of things needing to be tested and "babyproofed". I completely understand and as a code of conduct the building is responsible for this kind of thing. But in the end, why would you bring a 2 year old to a basketball? It all comes back to the parents, I don't think the building holds much responsibility for this.

[housecall]

When i first heard about this i thought how bad the parents must feel...i asked myself the question how much alcohol was involved before the unforunate incident?I didn't read the entire story but if there was drinking invloved it puts a different light on how i view the whole situation.As a parent your responsibilty to your children is to keep them safe and if they were drinking at the game i wonder how intoxicated were they prior to coming to the game and how much after getting there.There might be a crime involved here besides it being a tragic incident.

[Celtics4ever]

I don't drink around my kids period.  One is 18 and one is 12 but it would set a bad example.

[housecall]

I don't drink around my kids period.  One is 18 and one is 12 but it would set a bad example.

Thats what im talking about.tp

[Finkelskyhook]

When my two oldest children were babies there had been a few kidnappings in the mid-80s.  So it became fashionable to have these wrist-leashes on our children.  It was typical panic to isolated situations.....Like this one.  I can't imagine how difficult is is for this baby's parents.  A complete freak accident is what this sounds like.

Having said that...I own a retail store and the number of very young children who come into my store unsupervised is staggering.  It's incomprehensible to me how careless some parents are with their children.

[housecall]

When my two oldest children were babies there had been a few kidnappings in the mid-80s.  So it became fashionable to have these wrist-leashes on our children.  It was typical panic to isolated situations.....Like this one.  I can't imagine how difficult is is for this baby's parents.  A complete freak accident is what this sounds like.

Having said that...I own a retail store and the number of very young children who come into my store unsupervised is staggering.  It's incomprehensible to me how careless some parents are with their children.

Ive noticed it at beaches that some people tend to get a little lacks on paying attention to what their children  are doing.

[Chris]

Nobody is making excuses for the parents. They are a guilty responsible party.  But the Lakers are being excused. They are also a guilty responsible party.  

A strong boy like mine could climb over a wall in about 2 seconds.  When places don't make any effort whatsoever to baby proof places these things happen no matter how good parents are.  When you have a 20,000 seat arena even if every parent was an above average parent eventually something would happen. Therefore if you let babies in the area you try to baby proof it or you don't let them in. Obviously that didn't happen. It was "Sure we'll take your money and let your kid sit in a dangerous place"

Parents sometimes assume things have been tested for safety rather than left dangerous. It's a bad assumption.

The local law enforcement is right to investigate and be dealing with the parents. But they need to sit with the Lakers too and not give them a free pass.

So do you think every single public place that does not strictly forbid children needs to be "babyproofed"?  I just think its asking a lot, and it also is taking way too much responsibility from the parents.

I mean, should fountains in public parks have safety fences?  Should all balconies (sporting events, theaters, etc.) have glass up that cannot be climbed over?

Look at the Garden, or Fenway.  Those are certainly not baby proof.  If a child was sitting in the front row of the balcony, they could very easily climb over the front.

Now, if we are talking about Chucky Cheese, or Disneyworld, then I agree, then parents can make a safe assumption that things are safe for their children.  However, it is an incredibly slippery slope when you get into things that are not actually made for children.

Perhaps the solution should be that no children below a certain age are allowed in these arenas though.  I think that is a much more reasonable way to do it...and frankly, there is absolutely no reason a 2 year old should be at a basketball game anyways.  

[indeedproceed]

My GF's nephews are visiting with us. Twins, both 2.5 yrs old (because they're twins). I had to babysit them alone for 2 hours.

This stupid thread was in my mind every time they rounded a corner and I couldn't see them. Good lord, having kids must be stressful.

[Redz]

When my two oldest children were babies there had been a few kidnappings in the mid-80s.  So it became fashionable to have these wrist-leashes on our children.  It was typical panic to isolated situations.....Like this one.  I can't imagine how difficult is is for this baby's parents.  A complete freak accident is what this sounds like.

Having said that...I own a retail store and the number of very young children who come into my store unsupervised is staggering.  It's incomprehensible to me how careless some parents are with their children.

Don't you just love being the retail babysitter?  Had that same experience.

I know when my daughters were learning how to get down the stairs it was incredibly stressful, but at some point you need to let them go on their own.  That said, it scares the crap out of me when my kids walk anywhere near a dropoff.

The parents role in this comes down to what their habits were with the kid. I know I wouldn't let an energetic toddler near a balcony w/o a firm grip on my hand, but I don't know what their experience was like with the kid.

Anyway...totally sad, and a bug waist of a young life.

[GreenFaith1819]

Prayers with the kid's family. Whatever the cause, this is a tough one to swallow.

[Eja117]

When my two oldest children were babies there had been a few kidnappings in the mid-80s.  So it became fashionable to have these wrist-leashes on our children.  It was typical panic to isolated situations.....Like this one.  I can't imagine how difficult is is for this baby's parents.  A complete freak accident is what this sounds like.

Having said that...I own a retail store and the number of very young children who come into my store unsupervised is staggering.  It's incomprehensible to me how careless some parents are with their children.

Ive noticed it at beaches that some people tend to get a little lacks on paying attention to what their children  are doing.

Part of the reason for that is because you can't always be a helicopter parent either

[Eja117]

Sad story, but not really a shock, or even a surprise. The kids' parents were probably busy gawking at celebs in the crowd and weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to what he was doing. This probably happens more at Laker games than actually gets reported in the news.

Like I said it's sad, but if the kid was going to grow up a Laker fan I can think of much worse tragedies. I know that sounds harsh but really, there's PLENTY of those people. The world is not going to suffer too much for the absence of this one. The only people who really suffer because of this is the kid's family and from the sound of it, they're the ones to blame for his death.

Paul Pierce grew up a Lakers fan

[arctic 3.0]

Sad story, but not really a shock, or even a surprise. The kids' parents were probably busy gawking at celebs in the crowd and weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to what he was doing. This probably happens more at Laker games than actually gets reported in the news.

Like I said it's sad, but if the kid was going to grow up a Laker fan I can think of much worse tragedies. I know that sounds harsh but really, there's PLENTY of those people. The world is not going to suffer too much for the absence of this one. The only people who really suffer because of this is the kid's family and from the sound of it, they're the ones to blame for his death.

Paul Pierce grew up a Lakers fan

tp
lets keep things in perspective.
I can't imagine how bad the kids parents feel.

[EJPLAYA]

Sad story, but not really a shock, or even a surprise. The kids' parents were probably busy gawking at celebs in the crowd and weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to what he was doing. This probably happens more at Laker games than actually gets reported in the news.

Like I said it's sad, but if the kid was going to grow up a Laker fan I can think of much worse tragedies. I know that sounds harsh but really, there's PLENTY of those people. The world is not going to suffer too much for the absence of this one. The only people who really suffer because of this is the kid's family and from the sound of it, they're the ones to blame for his death.

Wow. That is about as harsh and cold a comment as I think I've seen on here. I sure hope that if you have kids you don't have something like this happen to you. You might feel a bit different.