Mom’s Post About Daughter Locked in Washing Machine Goes Viral

Colorado mom Lindsey McIver and her husband Alan had the scare of their life last week. When their old washing machine broke down, the parents of three bought a new front-loading model, warning their children not to touch it for their own safety. But, kids don’t always listen. And now McIver’s post about what happened next is going viral as a warning to parents everywhere.

“I’ve been hesitant to write this post,” McIver starts her Facebook post about what went down. “First, because of the inevitable online mom shaming that is bound to ensue; and second, because it’s just really hard to re-live.”

She’s right: Mom shaming is real. And it would be a collective loss if the fear of speaking up became so great that parents stopped sharing what they’ve learned publically—we all make mistakes. McIver’s post about her experience could save lives.

“On Sunday our washing machine broke down,” she goes on to explain. “On Monday my husband went to Lowe’s and purchased this new front-load washing machine. We thought it was the ‘new and cool’ type of washing machine and didn’t think anything of it. We spent that evening installing it with the kids underfoot. We told them several times that they were not to touch it. They all replied ‘OK.’”

How many times have your kids said “okay” when you tell them not to do something and then turn around and do exactly that? Well, that’s what happened next.

“Early Tuesday morning we were woken up by our four-year-old son who was crying so hard he could barely talk,” McIver continues. “As I was trying to understand what he was saying, my husband flew out of bed and down the stairs. It was then that the realization hit. He had said: Kloe. Inside. Washer.”

“By the time we reached the laundry room in the basement, my three-year-old daughter Kloe was LOCKED inside the airtight washing machine,” McIver reveals. “It was tumbling and filling with water. She was screaming but you couldn’t hear her.”

It’s a frightening scenario for anyone to imagine, let alone a parent. Luckily, McIver and her husband reached the laundry room just in the nick of time. “Aside from a couple of small bumps on her head and wet clothes, she was fine,” McIver assures her followers, no doubt relieved.

And despite their fear of being shamed, McIver said she and her husband decided to share their experience on social media because they wanted to warn other families of the potential dangers that front-loading washing machines could pose.

“I post this because I can honestly say we did not realize the danger of this machine,” McIver writes. “We are continually surprised at the new, inventive ways our kids come up with to try and die. And this was definitely a new one.”

She points out that they had only had the machine for hours and hadn’t even used it yet when their daughter got locked inside, so they weren’t familiar with the settings. After the incident, they were able to locate a child safety lock feature. When engaged, the washing machine will not start, which gave them—and hopefully parents everywhere—some peace of mind.

However, there is no setting that allows parents to lock the door to prevent children from opening the washer in the first place. So McIver and her husband outfitted their washer’s door with a separate child safety lock for an added layer of protection.

“I want to encourage anybody who has this type of front-loading washing machine and small children, or even grandkids who visit, to lock the door with a child safety lock and always keep the child lock setting on,” McIver warns, before calling for more compassion and understanding between parents.

“I realize that there are ways we could’ve prevented this from happening,” she finishes the post. “This is the season for swimming pool accidents and kids being left in hot cars and all sorts of other horrible accidents. And that’s what most of them are. Accidents. Shaming the mom doesn’t do anyone any good. We need to be open and honest about our mistakes to help one another keep our kids safe. And trust me, that mom is already beating herself up enough.”

Read the full post below.

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