This article on the BBC News website has me wondering whether to laugh or cry.

On the subject of the above article...

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She said other companies had been sued after small children had climbed into washing machines which had then been started.

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Perhaps I am being simple here, but wouldn't you notice a child in the washing machine when you tried to load it?

Well you would think so wouldn't you! I mean no matter how young the child is they aren't that small!
Some of the warnings you get on products are just stupid.

It's really sad that they have had to resort to putting those warnings on things! I see those sometimes and I think 'Who would even think of doing something like that?', but I guess there are some people out there who will do just about anything without thinking about it.

Like you Sue, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's kind of funny to see the labels on there, but it's sad to think it has to be on there, especially since there are some people who will sue a company for the slightest thing that sometimes isn't even the company's fault.

If you need a warning to tell you not to put a person in a washing machine you really shouldn't be operating a washing machine in the first place.

It would be kind of hard not to tell. My daughter just turned four and I would definitely notice. Not to mention, she would probably make some noise or movement when I opened the door if she had shut it because she would probably have hid in there to try and scare me (not that I think she would do that, but if she did).

It's a great age, isn't it, Tiffany?

I suppose if you'd already put the clothes in, went away, child crawls in, you come back, shut door, start machine it could happen. But as Treble said, they aren't that small and there isn't a huge amount of space in them especially with clothes already there.

I dunno, people should just start taking responsibility for their own actions instead of trying to find blame (and money?) at every turn.

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You have a four year old Jillian, wouldn't you notice if he was in the washing machine if you went to switch it on? Presumably the door wouldn't be shut for a start.

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According to another article I read, this was in response to the machine being turned on by an older sibling just for fun when they were playing.

I recently watched my cat climb into the bottom rack of the fridge to see if her food wasn't there. I had left it open to reach for something. If I hadn't seen her, I'm sure she'd have suffocated.

However, the four year old weighs a bit more, and the washing machine must be tough to actually spin with a kid in it!

Well an awful lot of effort was expended in Queensland recently after a child crawled into the drum of a top loading washing machine and couldn't get out. Apparently an older sibling had encouraged her to hide in there during a game

Needless to say you could clearly see her so the hiding part hadn't gone quite as expected. What must have thrilled the mother was that the entire washing machine had to be dismantled and the drup was prised open with an implement strongly resembling the jaws of life.

Now - how to write up that claim to the insurance company!

If it was an older sibling who put the toddler in the washing machine and switched it on, what effect will it have to place a notice like that? The older child will almost certainly not read it, or if they did would probably still put the child in there.

The only reason I can think for the notice is to deny liability in case of law suits "We clearly said do not operate with a person in there". Having said that, it isn't reasonable to attempt to take legal action in such a case, where would it end? Should engine compartments in vehicles state they are not for travelling in in order to keep warm, should fridges say they are not for keeping people cool on a hot day so you ought not climb inside?

It's amazing what people can/will do and stupidity knows no bounds.

Here in Perth, a young man babysitting his girlfriend's child, put the toddler in a tumble drier because he thought it would be a fun ride for the child.



http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=2024&art_id=vn20060810024015926C729103

Sydney - An Australian man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to seriously injuring a 14-month-old girl by putting her into a hot tumble dryer, saying he had simply wanted to give her "a fun time".

The toddler had spilt some medicine on her top when the mother's boyfriend put her in the machine and switched it on for about two minutes, a court in the western city of Perth was told.

She received burns to her hands and feet and bruising to her face, body and spine.

The mother had left the child in the care of Samuel Siddall, 21, while she went to the gym.

She returned home to find her daughter suffering serious burns and took her to hospital, where the staff alerted police.

Siddall pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm in the incident on May 25, but his lawyer told the court he had not acted out of malice or anger.

Siddall, who had been at university studying to be a teacher, would often give Mia "wizzies", when he would hold her hands and spin her around, said lawyer Ronald Smith.

When Mia spilt the medicine, he took her into the laundry to dry her top.

"All of a sudden he had a thought: she likes wizzies, she would probably like a wizzy in the dryer," Smith told the court.

"His only thought at that stage was to give the child a fun time."

Siddall who was deeply traumatised and embarrassed over the incident, had left university and had become withdrawn from society, Smith told the court.

Magistrate Richard Bayly said he believed the act had been one of "unbelievable stupidity" rather than of malice, but warned he may still send Siddall to prison when he is due to be sentenced on August 30.

"Siddall, who had been at university studying to be a teacher"

Oh, geeez.

I presumed when I read that bit that Siddall had been to visit a uni at some vague stage, but obviously hadn't stuck around long enough to learn not to put kids into metal tumble driers which get hot.

I can't imagine why anybody would even think of doing such an obviously stupid thing in the first place (excluding the unspeakable mischief some kids can get up to in seconds, obviously).

I'm sure my siblings and I figured out some devious ways of doing stupid things.
I'd think most normally constituted kids would love to hide in something and pop out and scare someone like in Candid Camera, wouldn't they? I know we played special delivery with boxes, so I bet that the whole thing with popping out of a washer would be appealing.

I remember one brother would squeeze into the heating closet which was a very tight fit.
He was the best at hiding and in fact, would hide under the bed in the van and once he wasn't actually there and we drove off and only realized he wasn't answering when we'd gone about twenty miles!

I also wonder if some people grow out of this tendency to experiment with stupid stunts. They say that metal and woodshop isn't being taught much in our schools in the US because of liability issues.

Would he not have heard the kid crying? This is the part I don't understand.

I don't know about tumble driers in other countries but mine takes more than two minutes to get hot, at least I think it does.

You would think that someone who was studying to be a teacher, would know about things to avoid with children, especially something like putting them in dryers for fun. I would hate to know that my daughter's teacher had similar experiences in their past. I would worry everyday what types of activities they were doing at school.

Oh, and yes, Copago, 4 is a great age.

My parents used to own a launderette and had to lock it at night because of young teenagers going in and climbing into the tumble dryers for fun!!!

I just couldn't imagine putting a young child into the heat that these dryers reach