I had tucked him in for the night and gone downstairs. About 30 minutes later I heard some unfamiliar sounds coming from his bedroom. I peeked in his room, but didn’t see him. What I did see was an open window. I was stunned as I walked up to the window and saw my four-year-old out on the roof. “Nick, get back in here,“ I said in a low stern voice.
Moving with the agility of Spiderman he was back in his room within seconds. I was so astounded that I felt numb. If he had slipped off the roof he would have dropped several feet onto a concrete sidewalk. I don’t even wa
nt to think of what the final outcome could have been.
As I stood there looking at my four-year-old, all I could think of was Eric Clapton’s song Tears in Heaven. Clapton wrote the song after his four-year-old son, Conor, fell to his death through an open window of a New York skyscraper.
I remember reading about how the mother had walked into the room, saw the open window, and at that moment knew her son was gone. That story and song has always stayed with me.
Fortunately, my four-year-old is fine and a safety lesson has been learned. You may think that your windows are secure and that your child would never attempt to climb out of them. I found out differently last Friday night. Please double check your windows.
Does anyone know of a good window safety website?
Would you like to be featured here and on 
How scary for you! Our house also has windows that were low to the floor and I was afraid that my 2 boys would try something like that. We ended up getting indoor shutters on the windows, with a latch that was way up high so that they could not open the shutters. Best of luck!
Oh holy crap how scary!! I would’ve flipped out! What was he doing? Just hangin’ out? Perhaps those child lock things for windows are in order?
Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness!
Once while living in a Chicago suburb I awoke early to go for a walk. As I was walking at 5 am I saw a 3 year old in a diaper walking across the street ALONE. A street across from train tracks. I ran to him. Picked him up and tried to find out where he lived. I went door to door. Finally I found the home. The mom answered and her face was stunned as I stood there holder her child. Apparently he woke early- and opened the front door on his OWN. And walked out. So it doesn’t have to be a window..it can be a door too. I went home and installed deadbolts that day at the TOP of my doors. And TOP of my windows…so scarey. SO dang scary. Thank GOD baby-angels were watching over your little guy. THANK GOD.
We had our house babyproofed by a professional company. They had several suggestions for second story windows. Their website is http://www.theoriginalsafetyfortoddlers.com
I had a similar experience, but with someone else’s kid. We discovered a 3 year old boy trying to get into the neighbor’s yard early one morning–the yard with a swimming pool. But his big dog tangled with the neighbor’s big dog, and the boy got nipped on the foot, and started to scream, which brought me downstairs and out the door, still in my jammies. We locked the dog in the garage and took the boy inside while I tried to find out where he lived. “Here” the boy said, meaning the general neighborhood, while giving his name as Ben. I called 911, and fed the kid some dry Cheerios as my kids watched him so I could get dressed. Then the authorities arrived, and I was talking to them when a car drove up and a man in a bathrobe got out. It was the boy’s frantic father, and the child started to cry. The kid was some kind of escape artist, this time going out the pet door with the dog. The mom had just given birth the night before and the dad was tired. He said he locks the doors securely, etc., but this is what the kid does. An early childhood instructor at the local college told me that some kids are just like that and they have to get into a little trouble (not life-threatening of course) to get over this tendency. But parents have to be one step ahead until the kid is old enough to know better!
Oh my gosh!! I’ve never forgotten about Eric Clapton’s son either. What a horrible, horrible thing. And how scary for you. I like how you said you used a “low, stern voice.” That’s how my mom always talked to me when I was in trouble or when I was sleep-walking. Best not to get hysterical, though that’d be by first reaction. Yikes!!!!
Super scary. The same thing happened to me only my kid was seven years old. I was washing dishes in the kitchen of my old house that was very tiny. The kids were playing in the back yard.
Suddenly, I hear my son say, “Watch me jump off of this.”
I thought to myself, “What could he possibly be jumping off out there?” My heart stopped as I realized the only thing he could possibly jump off was the ROOF! I went out and sure enough, he and a friend were prepareing to jump. It’s a high roof too. I started screaming and yelling and I don’t remember much else about that day except everyone was grounded.
I was so worried I took him to his pediatrician and asked him to explain what would happen to my kid if he jumped off a roof. The doctor told Michael that he’d been an emergency room doctor for a long time and seen many kids come in after doing things like that. He asked him if he understood that he really wasn’t Superman and he would get hurt. Then, he told him, if he jumped off the roof and hurt his brain, he would poop in his pants every day for the rest of his life.
This prospect was so horrible that, not only did my son never do it again, he warned me when he saw my neighbor’s kid on his roof.
Yaay!
FYI, I have pet screens on my windows that can withstand pets trying to get out. I even had them screwed in to keep my very persistent cat from getting out. I think they might work on a little boy too.
I have to say that I’m stunned by all of your personal experiences with these little escape artists and thrill seekers - truly frightening. Thank you so much for sharing them. Also, thank you for all the safety tips and website.
This morning I asked my son why he went out on the roof and he said he didn’t want to talk about it and is being tight lipped about the entire incident. Meanwhile, we still can’t believe he was able to open the window. Evidently the casement window was not shut tight enough before the crank was removed and he was able to push it out. It must have taken some muscle to do this. I guess these kids are stronger than you think too.
Well, the window has been secured and I’m looking for additional window and door security. But now I’m starting to wonder what’s going to happen when he is a teen and wants to sneak out for the night. It never ends!
My entire body has chills and tears welled up in my eyes at the thought of that song and what it was written about. I had no idea. I’m so glad your boy is safe.
Holy Schmoly! Thanks for sharing…