WARNING after Kinder student almost hangs himself with school hat - Mouths of Mums

Hello!

Join Login

Article WARNING after Kinder student almost hangs himself with school hat

By

11 Comments

A WA kindergarten student almost hanged himself on the cord of his school hat, after it became stuck in a climbing frame.

Four-year-old Levi Saggers was left hanging when he slipped on a school playground climbing frame and the cord of his hat became caught around his neck, reports ABC.

The cord snapped but the boy suffered rope burns which were later discovered by his mother Kerry Mortell.

Ms Mortell said the incident was a wake-up call to a hidden danger in her son’s school uniform.

“I was just really shocked, it really shook me up,” she said.

“He seemed OK with it, but when I spoke to him he did say he was very frightened at the time.

“It’s just scary that it could happen and nobody even saw it at the school, that was the worst part.”

These accidents are more common than most parents realised.

The WA Education Department declined a request for an interview, but in statement said it was up to parents to choose safe hats for their children.

“With most schools, parents have a choice of hats for their child – it is their decision,” the statement read.

“Teachers at Kununurra District High School speak with students about how to play safely on equipment and play is supervised, however no playground is risk free.

“Student safety is important, which is why school playground equipment conforms to Australian standards for safety.”

Ms Mortell has been trying to contact the department and her school’s principal – without any luck.

When told of the department’s response, Ms Mortell said it was not good enough.

“That’s not very good, it’s a real issue. I’ve written to them about it and will keep going until I get a proper answer,” she said.

Share your comments below.

Image via shutterstock

Share this

Comments

  • I would never have thought about the danger of the cord.
    Hats blow off fairly easily in strong winds. Either children don’t play oudoors at school – they also walk to and from school in many cases or they need to find a safe alternative. maybe they need to wear legionaire caps with wider brims that protect their ears and face more than the current style does

    Reply

  • disstressing for sure. we dont always notice things that can be quite dangerous thats why its always good to share your stories.

    Reply

  • That is just awful and distressing for both parents and child/ren.

    Reply

  • Oh that is terrifying!

    Reply

  • My daughter wore such a hat too in primary school.
    That little boy must have been so frightened.

    Reply

  • It is saying that the WA Education Department says parents has a choice of hats for their child, which I find would not be the case at many schools as you would have to have the particular one that the school adopts as part of its uniform. Typical also, that the principal has not contacted the parent concerned as I always found that your calls to the school were most often left not answered and/or not returned even though they are usually quite urgent matters you are phoning/contacting them about (and I haven’t had a child at school for 3 years now but this happened in both primary and secondary school when he attended), so it appears things haven’t improved in this area at all.

    Reply

  • My daughter wears a similar hat and it something I’ve always been concerned about.

    Reply

  • This would be a scary experience to have to deal with but I think it is the responsibility of the parent to make sure what their child is wearing is safe for play. If a school doesn’t give a choice then i would be questioning the safety of the hat they are required to wear and argue that it is a hazard.

    Reply

  • It is a concern that needs to be addressed.

    Reply

  • Scary !!
    The school my kids go to doesn’t have a choice of hats !
    The hat they wear is exactly this model, but I removed the string

    Reply

  • I’m very paranoid about my 3 year old wearing a hat like that. I only allow her to wear it when supervised

    Reply
Post a comment

To post a review/comment please join us or login so we can allocate your points.

Join Login

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join