So it's been all over the news for the past few months. There's been a wave of kids falling from high storey buildings. Killed on impact. Especially in Sharjah.
Doing something about it like trying to prevent these tragedies has now become illegal according to the authorities. What?!!
Yep. Putting up barriers to prevent children from falling off balconies has led to the authorities clamping down on the highly dangerous criminal conduct of several concerned parents and even land-lords.
According to building regulations, all balconies have to be covered by walls at least 1.20 metres tall. That's fantastic as the average four year old is probably about 80 cm tall, if not more. That leaves another 40 cm for the monkey like antics to get onto the ledge and with the average four year old's ability to keep his or her balance on a five cm ledge firmly in mind, chances are that gravity might eventually take its toll and the newspapers will have another tragedy to write about. Oh. And the authorities might have another set of parents to hold in custody for negligence.
Yes. People should not leave their kids home alone in high storey buildings. Yes parents should not put boxes or crates on their balconies, but tables and chairs...? If I had a balcony... oh, I actually have one, I would put some furniture out to have a seat to enjoy the sun and maybe even a high altitude barbecue every so often.
Yes. People should make sure that their children understand the deadly consequences of climbing up the balcony wall and the possibility of falling to the ground floor, but what's this rule about building regulations on putting up barriers to prevent tragedies like children dying after a fall of seven floors?
Yes. Landlords need to be informed of every new attachment or erection attached to their property, but maybe landlords need to see the light and erect the precautions themselves - even at a cost to the lessee if necessary. However, I'm sure no one wants to have the blood of an innocent child on his/her hands if it could have been avoided by putting in place the necessary preventative measures - including proper discipline, but that's another subject for another time....
H of Arabia
Doing something about it like trying to prevent these tragedies has now become illegal according to the authorities. What?!!
Yep. Putting up barriers to prevent children from falling off balconies has led to the authorities clamping down on the highly dangerous criminal conduct of several concerned parents and even land-lords.
According to building regulations, all balconies have to be covered by walls at least 1.20 metres tall. That's fantastic as the average four year old is probably about 80 cm tall, if not more. That leaves another 40 cm for the monkey like antics to get onto the ledge and with the average four year old's ability to keep his or her balance on a five cm ledge firmly in mind, chances are that gravity might eventually take its toll and the newspapers will have another tragedy to write about. Oh. And the authorities might have another set of parents to hold in custody for negligence.
Yes. People should not leave their kids home alone in high storey buildings. Yes parents should not put boxes or crates on their balconies, but tables and chairs...? If I had a balcony... oh, I actually have one, I would put some furniture out to have a seat to enjoy the sun and maybe even a high altitude barbecue every so often.
Yes. People should make sure that their children understand the deadly consequences of climbing up the balcony wall and the possibility of falling to the ground floor, but what's this rule about building regulations on putting up barriers to prevent tragedies like children dying after a fall of seven floors?
Yes. Landlords need to be informed of every new attachment or erection attached to their property, but maybe landlords need to see the light and erect the precautions themselves - even at a cost to the lessee if necessary. However, I'm sure no one wants to have the blood of an innocent child on his/her hands if it could have been avoided by putting in place the necessary preventative measures - including proper discipline, but that's another subject for another time....
H of Arabia
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