Apartments not for kids...

davet82

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/toddler-fell-to-his-death-when-mum-thought-he-was-in-bed-3092498.html

I'm sure everyone has heard about this tragic story of the 2 year old falling to his death from an apartment window. My deepest condolences to the family, so sad.

But it got me thinking, i've always thought apartments not to be suitable for raising young families in, its the balconies they freak me out when kids are about. Not having a garden and instead playing in the corridors and i'm sure its not fun for people who dont have children.

Anyone else have an opinion on this?

BraziliaNZ

davet82 wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/toddler-fell-to-his-death-when-mum-thought-he-was-in-bed-3092498.html

I'm sure everyone has heard about this tragic story of the 2 year old falling to his death from an apartment window. My deepest condolences to the family, so sad.

But it got me thinking, i've always thought apartments not to be suitable for raising young families in, its the balconies they freak me out when kids are about. Not having a garden and instead playing in the corridors and i'm sure its not fun for people who dont have children.

Anyone else have an opinion on this?

Outside the British isles, in Europe probably a majority of people live in apartments. Their populations seem to be doing ok.

Mint Sauce

For a lot of young familys living in a city, especilly those in reciept of social housing where else is there. I was raised till the age of 9 on the 7th floor of a blook of flats, as were alot of people I knew.

SEPT 23 1989

Kids need their own garden

kylith

Millions of people around the world raise families in apartments, and children have fallen to their deaths from upstirs windows in traditional homes. though I agree with you on the lack of a garden, I think it's good for kids to be able to run around where you can keep a discreet eye on them.

ibarelycare

That story is just heartbreaking The poor family.


Edit:

The family were too devastated to talk when contacted last night.

Jesus christ, leave them in peace ffs :mad:

davet82

irish-stew wrote: »

For a lot of young familys living in a city, especilly those in reciept of social housing where else is there. I was raised till the age of 9 on the 7th floor of a blook of flats, as were alot of people I knew.

looking back on it, would you raise your own family in apartment/flat?

honest question, i'm just curious

Dravokivich

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Outside the British isles, in Europe probably a majority of people live in apartments. Their populations seem to be doing ok.

So their numbers aren't falling?sorry

BraziliaNZ

Dravokivich wrote: »

So their numbers aren't falling?sorry

What I mean is it's hardly some deathtrap epidemic, people living in apartments. It's a sad case but these things happen. There isn't enough room in the world for everyone to have their own house and garden.

haminka

I grew up in an apartment, 6th floor and still live to tell the tale. In fact, most of the people living in cities where I come from live in apartments and this kind of accidents is very rare. You can always help it - we had special protective rails on the balcony and the windows were secured so we couldn't open them while we were very small. Most of urban Europe is living in apartments and kids grow up there all right, you just need to make it more secure.

suicide_circus

Dravokivich wrote: »

So their numbers aren't falling?sorry

I really hope that wasnt a joke about this incident, edit your post and word it differently maybe?

Mint Sauce

davet82 wrote: »

looking back on it, would you raise your own family in apartment/flat?

honest question, i'm just curious

Not in the complex I was in as it was a kip. Ideally if I did have a family I would like a place for them to run around outside but even gardens in town houses aren't that big.

Unless your living in the country or semi rural area, your going to have to make a compromise.

prinz

RIP to the child in question... and my thoughts are with the family.

but...kids in apartments are fine, as long as you have proper security and precautions, like locking access to a balcony, installl window screens, and teaching them safety as they grow.

Not long ago there was a child who died after getting tangled in the pull chain of a blind IIRC. Accidents happen.

Joey the lips

I always think of eric claptons son and his death and it made me think more about it yesterday.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tears_in_Heaven

link attributed to wikipedia

When i generally think of apartments i am reminded of programs like different strokes but that is not always the case.

Apartments are not for kids.

Dravokivich

suicide_circus wrote: »

I really hope that wasnt a joke about this incident, edit your post and word it differently maybe?

It was in reference to "Their populations seem to be doing ok." As in the number of people within the population.

Mr Benevolent

Kids fall off lots of things. Lock the windows and doors, job done.

BraziliaNZ

Joey the lips wrote: »

Apartments are not for kids.

Ridiculous statement, seriously

davet82

Dravokivich wrote: »

It was in reference to "Their populations seem to be doing ok." As in the number of people within the population.

hmmm....

prinz

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Ridiculous statement, seriously

It's part of the Irish psyche, the whole irrational hard-on for detached homes on your own bit o' land.

ibarelycare

Joey the lips wrote: »

Apartments are not for kids.

This is a tragic accident but such accidents happen all the time unfortunately. Would you say being a passenger in a car isn't for kids as many have been killed in crashes? Would you say a two-storey house isn't for children as they could fall out an upstairs window? Would you say swimming isn't for children as they could drown? Where do you draw the line?

Dravokivich

davet82 wrote: »

hmmm....

hawwww

davet82

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Ridiculous statement, seriously

i think he is entitled to his opinion in all fairness just as you are, maybe ask him to elaborate a responce to his statement?

Joey the lips

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Ridiculous statement, seriously

Its not a ridiculous statement its an opinion which the op asked for.

prinz wrote: »

It's part of the Irish psyche, the whole irrational hard-on for detached homes on your own bit o' land.

Thats not my psyche. I simply said apartments are not for kids. I did not by that statement imply they were not suitable for teenagers or adults.

So your opinion like mine just does not agree.

davet82

Dravokivich wrote: »

hawwww

wasnt sure if ya ment it

WindSock

Lots of kids have died in gardens and driveways and things too.

Joey the lips

ibarelycare wrote: »

This is a tragic accident but such accidents happen all the time unfortunately. Would you say being a passenger in a car isn't for kids as many have been killed in crashes? Would you say a two-storey house isn't for children as they could fall out an upstairs window? Would you say swimming isn't for children as they could drown? Where do you draw the line?

You dont live in a car and are generally strapped in.

Two storey houses are not for kids but at least you can throw them out the back when they are annoying you. Try this in an apartment.

Swimmng is being though to deal with water. Jumping into water is not for kids unless they can swim. Your analysis to all these are incorrect.

I expressed an "opinion" that agrees with the op.

LLU

The people who apartments suit most are developers and politicians. Why else did we end up with them scattered across one horse towns, with no storage space, adequate recreational areas, laundry facilities, etc?

davet82

WindSock wrote: »

Lots of kids have died in gardens and driveways and things too.

thats true and i agree but what about the practicallity of raising children in flats/apartments

ibarelycare

Joey the lips wrote: »

You dont live in a car and are generally strapped in.

Two storey houses are not for kids but at least you can throw them out the back when they are annoying you. Try this in an apartment.

Swimmng is being though to deal with water. Jumping into water is not for kids unless they can swim. Your analysis to all these are incorrect.

I expressed an "opinion" that agrees with the op.

How is my analysis incorrect? What I'm trying to say is that tragic accidents can happen anywhere and everywhere. It would be interesting to see statistics of how many children have died from falling out an apartment window/balcony compared to how many have died in car crashes. I'm willing to bet that more have died in car crashes. It doesn't matter if you don't "live" in your car ( what's that got to do with anything?) but (and I'm not trying to be hysterical or overly dramatic here) children are at a constant risk of danger and that's why precautions have to be taken. If an apartment is properly secured then I don't see why a child can't grow up there.

kfallon

Awfully sad story, genuinely brought a tear to my eye

prinz

Joey the lips wrote: »

I simply said apartments are not for kids. I did not by that statement imply they were not suitable for teenagers or adults. So your opinion like mine just does not agree.

A young English lad fell to his death from his hotel room balcony in Spain a few days ago. I guess they're not for adults either.:)

MarkR

Unsecured windows and unlocked doors are not for kids. Me and my brother grew up in a 3rd floor apartment in New York. It's not like you have to walk a tight rope to the bathroom.

Windows and doors can all have child locks attached to them. A gate. Lock the door, something.

Hopefully this horrible story will get someone else to rethink how child proof their home is.

RIP little guy. I had been thinking about the story after I heard about it, 5 stories is quite the fall. Then I saw where it happened, and realised I'd been there. Actually got locked into that very car park by accident when I followed a resident in with my car. Needed a fob to get out. Anyway, not the point.

The apartment wasn't the problem. Maybe the windows / doors were secured but broken or accidentally left unlocked.

I hope the kid didn't suffer, but I'd lose my mind if that was my son. Poor parents.

analucija

Dravokivich wrote: »

It was in reference to "Their populations seem to be doing ok." As in the number of people within the population.

Has nothing to do with living in a flat. In my generation in school (primary and high) it was considered weird if you were from a family of more than three children. Out of the classmates I had (about 60 in total in different schools) there was one from a family of five children and none from a family of four. Most of us lived in houses. None of my friends at home wants more than three children, the most would like to have two. None of us would also consider being stay at home mother which I think is one of the main reasons for smaller families.

I prefer living in a house in a country but there are also many dangers there. Sometimes dreadful things just happen. I don't think apartments are inappropriate for young children. You could say the same for housing estates after that poor child drowned in Athlone.

Joey the lips

Joey the lips wrote: »

Thats not my psyche. I simply said apartments are not for kids. I did not by that statement imply they were not suitable for teenagers or adults.

So your opinion like mine just does not agree.

prinz wrote: »

A young English lad fell to his death from his hotel room balcony in Spain a few days ago. I guess they're not for adults either.:)

As you can see i never said that. Are you now expressing an opinion that agrees with the op? Or are you being saurcastic towards me. I dont get you

Joey the lips

ibarelycare wrote: »

If an apartment is properly secured then I don't see why a child can't grow up there.

and i disagree with your opinion based on my experience. Nothing much else to say unless you want to get hitched and have kids is there

Run_to_da_hills

Confab wrote: »

Kids fall off lots of things. Lock the windows and doors, job done.

Not as easy that, kids are always inquisitive and will copy their parents at doing things around the house, all it takes is two minutes of them out of sight.

Dravokivich

analucija wrote: »

Has nothing to do with living in a flat. In my generation in school (primary and high) it was considered weird if you were from a family of more than three children. Out of the classmates I had (about 60 in total in different schools) there was one from a family of five children and none from a family of four. Most of us lived in houses. None of my friends at home wants more than three children, the most would like to have two. None of us would also consider being stay at home mother which I think is one of the main reasons for smaller families.

I prefer living in a house in a country but there are also many dangers there. Sometimes dreadful things just happen. I don't think apartments are inappropriate for young children. You could say the same for housing estates after that poor child drowned in Athlone.

The post in which you qouted was to explain the comment I made earlier in the thread. I'm not too sure what context you are taking it in, as it has nothing to do with anything you've posted.

prinz

Joey the lips wrote: »

As you can see i never said that. Are you now expressing an opinion that agrees with the op? Or are you being saurcastic towards me. I dont get you

OK so you think apartments aren't for kids due to some unknown reason you haven't exactly expanded on but it has nothing to do with the dangers of falling to your death. Perhaps if you gave your reasons why apartments aren't for kids, people would stop assuming it is because of incidents like the tragic accident mentioned in the OP.

Duckjob

Absolutely heartbreaking story.

Probably a small mercy that the mother was unaware and thought he was tucked up in bed at the time. The thought of witnessing that happen to your little one is too horrific to contemplate.

analucija

Dravokivich wrote: »

The post in which you qouted was to explain the comment I made earlier in the thread. I'm not too sure what context you are taking it in, as it has nothing to do with anything you've posted.

About the falling number of populations in Europe. It has nothing to do with living in apartment.

Killed By Death

Unfortunately in Ireland a lot of people have no choice but to live in an apartment. Maybe they bought at the height of the boom thinking they could move to a bigger place/house when they wanted to start a family. But due to negative equity they find themselves trapped.

It's not ideal from several points of view, ie getting prams up and down stairs (if there is no lift and a lot don't have lifts) no gardens and the horror that happened yesterday but what can people do?

They have no choice sometimes. Anyway, it's absolutely tragic and my heart goes out to the poor family. RIP little boy.

Joey the lips

prinz wrote: »

OK so you think apartments aren't for kids due to some unknown reason you haven't exactly expanded on but it has nothing to do with the dangers of falling to your death. Perhaps if you gave your reasons why apartments aren't for kids, people would stop assuming it is because of incidents like the tragic accident mentioned in the OP.

Simple reason really.

They have to play indoors to see you v's out the back you can see them.

A trampoline or swing takes up a lot of room in an apartment.

Wooden floors and kids toys dont mix very well.

Neighbours under you dont generally like you if you have kids.


I lived in an apartment for 7 years. I will never raise my kids in them I guarantee you i will not and i generally find that those saying they are good for kids actually own there apartment and are worried about reducing the market segment.

prinz

Joey the lips wrote: »

Simple reason really.
They have to play indoors to see you v's out the back you can see them..

Decent point.. but not one I'd suggest that really effects people raised in apartments longterm.

Joey the lips wrote: »

A trampoline or swing takes up a lot of room in an apartment...

Oooo'er, no room for a pony or a swimming pool either :pac: I grew up in a bungalow with a garden and never had either. To play on the swings and monkey bars took a visit to the park. That's not really a very valid reason.

Joey the lips wrote: »

Wooden floors and kids toys dont mix very well....

Yah what? Is it only apartments with wooden floors?

Joey the lips wrote: »

Neighbours under you dont generally like you if you have kids.....

Unless they have kids too. Or you have a well built apartment that is properly insulated with some manner of soundproofing between the floors. What about semi-d's? Ever hear a kid screaming through the wall?

Joey the lips wrote: »

I lived in an apartment for 7 years. I will never raise my kids in them I guarantee you i will not and i generally find that those saying they are good for kids actually own there apartment and are worried about reducing the market segment.

Are they saying "good for kids" or is it more people just saying that apartments have pros and cons like any type of house? Reducing market segment? Wtf? Some people just acknowledge that millions of people across the world grow up in apartments and manage to survive normally. Nothing to do with the "market segment", more to do with the fact that if you want to live in most of the major cities of our continent you'll more than likely need to adapt to apartment living.

sbsquarepants

The problem is not that apartments aren't suitable for kids, it's that the windows should have to be be fitted with restrictors to stop them opening so far as a child can fall out of them - this applies to a house just as much as an apartment, but obviously in this case the apartment was much higher up than a normal house. You can't watch kids every minute of the day - no matter what anyone tells you. A functioning window restrictor and that kid would be fine - it was either missing altogether, broken or disengaged.
Either way it's a tragedy - poor kid!

davet82

skregs wrote: »

I was wondering how long it would take for some shíthead to make this exact thread.

what is the problem?

davet82

skregs wrote: »

Not you specifically, but I knew someone would make a "those parents shouldn't have let their child live in an apartment" style thread eventually

its not that type of thread, if it has come across that way, i apologise as it was the last thing i ment to imply

Shenshen

davet82 wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/toddler-fell-to-his-death-when-mum-thought-he-was-in-bed-3092498.html

I'm sure everyone has heard about this tragic story of the 2 year old falling to his death from an apartment window. My deepest condolences to the family, so sad.

But it got me thinking, i've always thought apartments not to be suitable for raising young families in, its the balconies they freak me out when kids are about. Not having a garden and instead playing in the corridors and i'm sure its not fun for people who dont have children.

Anyone else have an opinion on this?

Having grown up in an apartment with a balcony, same as most Europeans, I don't think it's the apartment that's to blame here really.