Thread: Tragic Balcony Fall Kills American Toddler in Pattaya

Originally Posted by keda

I was on the hammock at the village while a 2-3yr old was investigating an electrical socket with her finger. As I leaped out of the hammock with a yell, the yackers giggled. If I was not there at the time, it is likely that nothing would have happened to the girl, but whether it did or not, the other adults would be neither more nor less stupid or negligent.

Sorry can't agree with that.. I have a 22mth old daughter and once I saw that she was taking an interest in things like that...I went out and got the plug covers...cheap as chips and totally baby proof.. I think that it cost me about 70bht to cover every available plug in her reach...and she is also told in the mean time not to touch them...so by the time she can reach the higher ones...Errrrrr she'll be about bloody 8 or 9..so if she does it then then she must be a retard..or just fully Thai...which she ain't so she's safe...

Originally Posted by dirtydog

the [at][at][at][at] of a photographer, well, I hope I'm there to photo him if his kid dies.

You know what it's like here matey...no different to anyother tragedy tsunami included..people were taking pic's of all the dead there ..kids an all
just human nature...for some

Originally Posted by Humbert

... Have you ever seen a Thai using a child car seat? Its rare. In the West its rare not to use them.

In all fairness, that only happened after they made it illeagal not use them and then some years later, actually started enforcing it.

Same as seat belts.

TH

Originally Posted by Mr R Sole

Originally Posted by keda

I was on the hammock at the village while a 2-3yr old was investigating an electrical socket with her finger. As I leaped out of the hammock with a yell, the yackers giggled. If I was not there at the time, it is likely that nothing would have happened to the girl, but whether it did or not, the other adults would be neither more nor less stupid or negligent.

Sorry can't agree with that.. I have a 22mth old daughter and once I saw that she was taking an interest in things like that...I went out and got the plug covers...cheap as chips and totally baby proof.. I think that it cost me about 70bht to cover every available plug in her reach...and she is also told in the mean time not to touch them...so by the time she can reach the higher ones...Errrrrr she'll be about bloody 8 or 9..so if she does it then then she must be a retard..or just fully Thai...which she ain't so she's safe...

Quite right, but that's you, you're not a villager, plugs cost money, and money is the operative word.

Recently, yai (mrs k's granny) was ill and expected not to make it. Now everyone knows she likes that putrid chicken soup stuff, it perks her up no end, and we always keep her well stocked when we're there. In the past we sent some for her, not the money to buy it at her end because that would disappear.

Anyway, I asked mrs why her family (I think 4 daughters and 3 sons) don't chip in to buy some for her. When she turned away embarrassed I knew the answer which she confirmed later...as the old lady is expected to die anyway, why spend on good money on chicken soup!

Takes a while to get a foot into the loop.

My dear chap, if they were to do that we more civilised souls would be in such a minority that the membership would probably fit into a telephone kiosk.

^
Or banished to the outdoor smokers' corner of the FCCT - perish the thought. Then again - anyone who still smokes??

Originally Posted by Mr R Sole

Sorry can't agree with that.. I have a 22mth old daughter and once I saw that she was taking an interest in things like that...I went out and got the plug covers...cheap as chips and totally baby proof..

All kids are different. We were paranoid with the first one - we got the plug covers. Not a month later (he wasn't even 1 year old) his favorite game was to go to the plugs and get the plug covers off. Then eat them (naturally). He was good at it quickly. Seconds to take one of those totally baby proof things off.

The best was the soft bumpers we put on the sharp edges of the table. I thought they were stupid but the Mrs got them, and so we stuck them on the table. Little one saw them, went straight to them, and started peeling them off. They lasted about 5 minutes.

Balconies don't present a difficulty for a 4 year old. Ours is three now and honestly he can climb anything, use chairs and whatnot to get up on stuff. This is an age where fences and locks aren't enough - you need to watch them all the time, that's all you can do. Luckily he's very careful most times - he never fell down the stairs so far for example, he's not a daredevil.
But we must remember that that is yet another challenge because careful as he is, he's still only 3 and cannot be left alone. Sure most times he'll be fine, and he'll take care of himself very well, and not run into cars and not jump off balconies. But it's that one time that he does jump/fall off the balcony that you need to prevent as one time is all it takes.

R.I.P. little one, and I am crying with the father.

There's no doubt Thailand is full of dangers for everyone but more so for young children and regardless of who did what and why this is a very sad and tragic event for anyone to bear.

Its a great pity that just a few idiots on here are so quick to point the finger at the boys father.

I'm sure that whatever happened for whatever reason his father will never forget or forgive himself rightly or wrongly.

A tragic and sad story for sure and please accept my sincere condolences to the parents and relatives of this little boy.

Originally Posted by socal

where you scared of heights when you where 4 ? I sure as hell was.

Nope, coz I crashed down the stairs when I was two. Ma apparently kept me awake all night for fear of a concussion. And look at me now!

Originally Posted by The Bold Rodney

There's no doubt Thailand is full of dangers for everyone but more so for young children

Agree and disagree. Kid falls in a ditch, kid gets stung by a scorpion/centipede/snake, kid climbs tree and falls. Fek, that's what happens. Go to the West and you can't even spank your don't-have-reasoning-ability-yet kid (anyone below the age of 7) to tell the dum fek that he shouldn't poke a fork into a socket or whatever. You gotta fall down at some point or you don't know how to get up without calling a trial lawyer to sue the person whose sidewalk you tripped over. Every Thai neighbour on my soi knew and cared for everyone's kids. EVERYONE's. If Mimi tripped on the balcony or a dog knocked her over, I or someone was there to pick her up, dust her off and stuff candy in her mouth to shut her up.

Accidents happen. Those slagging off the dad seem to assume he didn't care about his son enough. You're obviously not parents, or perhaps just judgemental, and lucky, pricks.

AN eight-year-old boy drowned in a crowded swimming pool — while three lifeguards and two swimming instructors were on duty. Fun-loving Kaimen Ward got into difficulty as he played in water at the 25-metre long baths. And police and health and safety officials were trying to find out today how long he had been in trouble before being spotted. His distraught mum Caroline Ward sobbed: "I was told he was under the water for 20 minutes. "What I want to know is where the hell were the lifeguards?" Council officials said there had been three lifeguards at the poolside during an afternoon "fun session" at the baths in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. When the lad was spotted two swimming instructors had also arrived to take charge of a swimming lesson session which was due to start. There were around 40 people in the pool.


A female lifeguard is understood to have leapt into the water after the alarm was raised and pulled the boy from a waterfall area of the baths. She dragged Kaimen to the side and lifeguards tried in vain to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead after being rushed to the town's Friarage Hospital. The youngster had gone with two friends and three young adults to Hambleton Leisure Centre when the tragedy happened.


His mum Caroline, 41, who lives in the town, was not at the swimming pool with her son who celebrated his eighth birthday with twin sister Hope-Ella last week. Caroline, who also has a 19-year-old son and is separated from Kaimen's dad, said she wanted to know why lifeguards had been unable to rescue her son in time. She added: "I want answers as to how this was allowed to happen. Why were there no lifeguards to save him?


"It is peak season at the swimming pool so how did he go unsupervised?
"Somebody has ignored my son dying. I want to prevent this happening to another child. Somebody has to pay for this. "He was a lovely little chap. He was perfect in my eyes. He was so full of life. "Last night when the police came they told me he was critical - I didn't realise he was dead until I got to the hospital. "I knew when they took me into a room that he was gone. He was such a lovely boy. "His sister doesn't know why he hasn't come home."She added in a family statement that he was "the best son and brother anyone could wish for". The family added: "We are struggling to come to terms with what has happened to Kaimen. It has left us completely devastated."



One eyewitness who was at the swimming pool said: "He was pulled from around the waterfall area of the pool. "A female lifeguard jumped in and pulled him out. "They worked on him at the side of the pool for about 15 minutes before the ambulance came. "There had been three lifeguards standing around talking to each other just before he was pulled out."



Phillip Morton, deputy chief executive for Hambleton District Council, said: "It was an afternoon public swimming session and it was actually about to change to swimming lessons.
"In addition to having three lifeguards at the side of the pool there was an additional number of swimming instructors."We had more people than even best practice would suggest at the side of the pool at the time. "The council is quite sombre today and I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family. "The police will continue their investigations today."

Councillor Peter Wilkinson, the authority's cabinet member for health, said: "It is a tragedy and our condolences go out to the family. "Losing an eight-year-old like this must be horrendous." A spokesman for Hambleton District Council said: "This is a tragic accident and we send our condolences to the family of this young boy. "As a mark of respect, the leisure centre will be closed until further notice." A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "Inquiries to determine the full circumstances surrounding the death are ongoing."

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

Originally Posted by socal

where you scared of heights when you where 4 ? I sure as hell was.

Nope, coz I crashed down the stairs when I was two. Ma apparently kept me awake all night for fear of a concussion. And look at me now!

Originally Posted by The Bold Rodney

There's no doubt Thailand is full of dangers for everyone but more so for young children

Agree and disagree. Kid falls in a ditch, kid gets stung by a scorpion/centipede/snake, kid climbs tree and falls. Fek, that's what happens. Go to the West and you can't even spank your don't-have-reasoning-ability-yet kid (anyone below the age of 7) to tell the dum fek that he shouldn't poke a fork into a socket or whatever. You gotta fall down at some point or you don't know how to get up without calling a trial lawyer to sue the person whose sidewalk you tripped over. Every Thai neighbour on my soi knew and cared for everyone's kids. EVERYONE's. If Mimi tripped on the balcony or a dog knocked her over, I or someone was there to pick her up, dust her off and stuff candy in her mouth to shut her up.

Errrrrrrrrrr, were not talking about snakes, ditches, centipedes, scorpions, elephants etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. and its both apparent and obvious that "health and safety" standards are not as good in Thailand as they are in the Western countries.

We're discussing the accidental death of a four year old kid and the fact that some f*cking idiots on the board are jumping to conclusions about how and why it happened and in doing so blaming his father.

As we know most kids are adventurous (especially boys) and innocently unaware of inherrent dangers and of course tragic accidents happen. But if something happens from a high rise building several floors up you can't pick em up and dust em down because they're dead! So it follows that safety standards should be high and the best possible without caging people like animals.

Saying all that, I understand that family units aren't the same as they were 50 years ago and the worlds changed but don't spout crap about "You gotta fall down at some pointor you don't know how to get up without calling a trial lawyer" when a little boy has accidentally plunged to his death!

Originally Posted by The Bold Rodney

Errrrrrrrrrr, were not talking about snakes, ditches, centipedes, scorpions, elephants etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. and its both apparent and obvious that "health and safety" standards are not as good in Thailand as they are in the Western countries.

We're discussing the accidental death of a four year old kid and the fact that some f*cking idiots on the board are jumping to conclusions about how and why it happened and in doing so blaming his father.

What a dorky set of remarks. If your kid gets bit/stung/attacked by vermin, gets hit by a car, whatever, that's an accident, innit? Get off your high chair.
You have no right to blame the father -- you were not there. But, if something similar happens to you, please tell us so we can tell you what a fekin pr*k you are.

Originally Posted by Humbert

Have you ever seen a Thai using a child car seat? Its rare. In the West its rare not to use them.

When my boy was born earlier this year the nurses who came out couldn't believe what they were seeing when I strapped my 4 day old baby into baby seat. I was actually shocked none of them had ever seen one

Originally Posted by The Bold Rodney

We're discussing the accidental death of a four year old kid and the fact that some f*cking idiots on the board are jumping to conclusions about how and why it happened and in doing so blaming his father.

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

You have no right to blame the father

Are you two not sayin the same thing????

^ Mebbe. Guess I didn't read that part.

Grief-stricken American commits suicide following recent death of his 4 year old son
29th August 2010

A tragic update now on the story we featured on 25th August relating to the death of a 4 year old American boy at View Talay 2 Condominium in Jomtien.

The body of the boy’s father, Mr. Brett James Wolfe aged 40, was discovered on Saturday Afternoon in a 5th floor room at the Jomtien Plaza Condotel.

A cleaner found the body after repeated knocks to the front door remained unanswered and she therefore used a spare key to enter.

Mr. Wolfe was fully clothed and lying on the bed.

A glass containing a selection of white and purple sleeping pills was next to the body and an 11 page suicide note was left next to the bed which clearly showed that the pain of losing his son in such a tragic way was too much for Mr. Wolfe to cope with.

The suicide note revealed his love for his Son and how sorry he was that he left him on the balcony of his View Talay 2 apartment for a matter of minutes, during which time the boy fell to his death off a chair placed at the edge of the balcony.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Anuchert from Dongtan Police Sub-Station, who was the officer assigned to the boy’s death only days ago, inspected the scene of the apparent suicide and confirmed that nothing suspicious was found to suggest third-party involvement in the death.

Mr. Wolfe’s body was taken to the Police Forensic Institute in Bangkok for a post mortem examination and the American Embassy in Bangkok have been informed and are currently attempting to locate the former wife of Mr. Wolfe and mother of the boy who resides in The Philippines so she can be made aware of the double-tragedy.

pattayaone.net

Horrible, horrible conclusion to this tragedy. He was putting himself through unimaginable suffering. My heart goes out to what every remnants of his family are out there.