At 6 a.m. on Aug. 9, a 4-year-old girl in Taichung fell to her death from home on the ninth floor. A similar accident involving a 5-year-old girl took place in Taichung five days earlier. The Child Welfare League Foundation says falls account for 47 percent of home accidents causing injury, ranking first among all types of accidents.
At 6 a.m. on the 9th, a 4-year-old girl fell to her death from the balcony of her home on the ninth floor of an apartment building in Taichung's Beitun District. Doctors were unable to save her.
Hsu Wei-hsiu, Deputy Chief, Beitun Police Station: “The railing on the balcony she fell from is around an adult's waist level, and it had windows. The child climbed onto the balcony and fell from it.”
A 5-year-old girl fell to her death from the balcony of her 13th floor home five days earlier. The Jing Chuan Child Safety Foundation says the number of fatal falls has risen 40 percent during the epidemic. The Child Welfare League Foundation says falls account for 47 percent of home accidents causing injury, ranking first among all types of accidents.
Lin Yueh-chin, CEO, Jing Chuan Child Safety Foundation: “(Falls from buildings) accounted for 40 percent last year. Everyone has been staying home more during the epidemic, so perhaps this kind of accident became more frequent. The definition of (a child being left alone) is when the parents are not at home or when no other family member is in the same space as the child.”
Huang Kai-ching, Director, Social Work in Central Taiwan, Child Welfare League Foundation: “Children get nervous when they are left alone, and often run around looking for their parents. This leads to accidents or dangerous situations.”
The CWLF says caregivers of children should take stock of the home environment and make sure there aren't any climbable objects near windows or balconies. Windows and balconies should also have safety installations and child safety locks. Most importantly, children should never be left alone.
社區中庭圍起三角錐，警方到場了解狀況。9日上午6時左右，台中市北屯區這棟大樓，一名4歲陳姓女童，從9樓陽台墜到1樓中庭，送醫搶救仍回天乏術。
台中市北屯派出所副所長徐偉修表示：「當時她掉落的陽台高度，大概在成人腰部左右的高度，是有加裝鐵窗，該幼童是從家中的陽台攀爬，不慎墜樓。」
而這個月4日，也一名5歲的蔡姓女童，從13樓的住家陽台墜落，傷重不治。接連發生孩童墜樓意外，靖娟基金會表示，從疫情爆發後至今，居家墜樓案件比疫情發生前成長4倍。兒福聯盟也提出調查報告，孩童居家事故傷害種類中，跌倒墜落的比例就有4成7，佔了意外比例第一。
靖娟基金會執行長林月琴表示：「尤其去年我們去觀測，往前看的話，墜樓案件大概成長了4倍，也因為疫情的關係，大家在家裡，可能墜樓的狀況會更趨嚴重。獨處的界定是父母離開家裡，或父母或其他家人跟孩子沒有在同一個空間裡。」
兒福聯盟中區社工處兒童照顧組長黃楷晴指出：「孩子是獨留的狀態，通常沒有大人在旁邊的時候，小朋友容易會有一些緊張，或者會想要找家長的狀態，那他就會亂跑，這時候就會容易發生危險。」
兒福聯盟呼籲，兒童的照顧者應對家庭環境體檢，不在窗邊陽台邊放置可趴爬物品，窗台也要設置安全裝置及陽台安全鎖等措施。最重要的是要避免孩子獨處，避免類似狀況再發生。