Here we go again....

Call for ban on blinds after deaths

A coroner has called for a ban on blinds with looped cords after two toddlers strangled themselves within five days of each other.
Andrew Haigh oversaw inquests into the deaths of Harrison Joyce, aged three, and Lillian Bagnall-Lambe, 16 months, both from Staffordshire, who died after becoming entangled in the cords.
He told Sky News that the Government must look again at existing safety regulations.
Mr Haigh said: "If they are not effective, then there should be a complete ban so far as cord blinds are concerned. There should be a realistic prospect, I would have thought, that there's no need actually for looped cord blinds."

Harrison's parents have started a campaign for a law in their son's name which would see cords on blinds and curtains banned.

Lillian, from Dartmouth Street, Stafford, died on February 9 and Harrison, from Lichfield, five days before.
On Thursday South Staffordshire coroner Mr Haigh recorded a verdict of accidental death for both the children.
Just after they died in February, he spoke out to warn all parents with young children to beware of the potential danger of blind cords.

I'm not here to comment on the obvious human tragedy in this story; just the typical aftermath. An accident has happened and once more, someone wants another benign object banned because "this must never happen again".

This story stood out to me because I have these blinds in five rooms in my house. I can see how a small child may get tangled in them but I also know that it must take a considerable effort.

Now that someone has left a 16 month old alone long enough for this tragedy to happen, we are looking at having a "Harrisons Law" which would outlaw my blinds.

It seems that the modern way to deal with grief is to air it as publicly as possible, disavow yourself of any blame and demand further legislation to make sure this never happens again, to allay your own feelings of guilt.

Unfortunately, real life is not fair. Bad things happen with monotonous regularity and you simply can't legislate against it.