Horsing around can have dangerous consequences

The boys had been warned by the girl’s mother not to roughhouse it near her daughter but they ignored her

A horrific and shocking tragedy occurred as a two-year-old girl lost her life after two boys fell on her while horsing around. A report in this paper revealed that the little girl had been playing outside her father’s shop in the western suburbs. Her mother was with her. Two boys were jostling each other and running around, chasing each other down. They accidentally pushed the girl while running and yet, their foolhardy behaviour continued. Finally, they fell on the girl, crushing her. She was taken to hospital but declared dead before admission. The boys had been warned by the girl’s mother not to roughhouse it near her daughter but they ignored her.

This should be a lesson for all youngsters who are caught cavorting on our streets, often pushing and shoving each other in playful abandon on our footpaths or corners. One understands youthful energy and enthusiasm. This though should always be practised safely, in open spaces. In our city, where people barely have space to move on public roads, where heels are competing against wheels, this can result in an unforeseen tragedy.

We all may have witnessed shouting, running youngsters tearing down our roads in a hurry or racing each other to some destination. While they concentrate on winning this race or scoring a point over friends, inadvertently, they may barrel into an old person or even a parent with a small toddler. This may sent the other person flying, sprawling on the road or crashing into another, resulting in significant injury.

One does understand that there is a space crunch in the city, but that is just the reason why you need to channelise that energy being much more conscious of all those around you.

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