Heather Clare, a mother from Long Island, New York, is warning other moms about the dangers of one of the most common playground sights: a regular plastic slide.
In a Facebook photo, a smiling Clare is seen going down a green plastic slide while holding her daughter Meadow on her lap. But what she wasn’t aware of at the time was that her 1-year-old’s foot was bent at an odd angle.
The photo, taken by Clare’s husband, showed the moment Meadow’s foot got caught between her mother’s leg and the slide.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155747008474065&set=a.10150189760134065.297399.711049064&type=3&theater
“This picture is the moment her leg was breaking,” Clare posted on June 24. “She’s still smiling… because it was happening at this exact moment. When we went to the ER, the super empathetic doctor lectured me on how common the injury is.”
“I had no idea. I thought everyone took their kids down the slide,” she added.
Clare said that as soon as she realized what was happening, she tried to stop their sliding, and ended up in an awkward position.
Meadow suffered a fractured tibia and fibula in her right leg, and had to walk around with her leg in a pink cast for the next four weeks.
“It was terrible, especially feeling like I put her in that position,” Clare said. “It was completely avoidable.” The accident happened a few days after Meadow had taken her first steps.
Clare also mentioned that some initial concerns were about how well Meadow would heal, and whether one of her legs would be shorter than the other.
The little girl recovered like a champ. She will turn 4 years old this September.
“I strongly feel every playground should have a warning sign, but since I’ve never seen one (and we go to A LOT of playgrounds), I share this picture every year in hopes that the pain Meadow felt and the guilt that I still feel will save other babies and parents from the same,” Clare posted.
“Don’t ever go down a slide with a baby on your lap. There is no SAFE way to go down a slide with your little.”