Mum’s warning after her toddler was electrocuted by phone charger

A mum has turned to Facebook to issue a warning about the dangers of leaving phone chargers within the reach of small children after her daughter was injured and subsequently hospitalised.

The wrong end of the cord

This poor mum is clearly still processing the trauma of what happened, and thankfully her daughter is now on the mend. But she could have been much more seriously hurt — or worse — and this mum is keen to make sure no other family go through what her’s has.

The good folk at CPR Kids have shared the mum’s warning, and some information on how to respond should this happen to your child.

“Please remember that your little ones are constantly watching you and trying to mimic everything you do as part of their development,” the mum writes.

“A few nights ago could’ve ended a lot differently for my daughter. Hopefully sharing this will help someone.”

So how did this even happen, you might be asking. Well, this little girl spotted her mum’s phone charger and was keen to mimic her mum’s behaviour. Her efforts resulted in serious electrocution.

“My daughter was admitted into the hospital Monday after receiving a pretty bad electrical shock from trying to plug my phone charger in,” the mum explains in her update. 

“Unfortunately this happened right in front of me. I didn’t realise she knew how to attempt to plug in a charger until it was too late.”

“The power strip she tried plugging the charger into (one end was already plugged in, she tried putting the phone part of charger into the outlet), popped, shot sparks and what looked like flames and black smoke and threw her a few feet across the living room.”

“She was quiet for a few seconds then started screaming and crying,” the mum recalls.

Cover those power points

The little girl was rushed to hospital where doctors were worried that some internal damage could have occurred.

“In ER they found an entrance wound but not an exit which worried them that it zapped her heart. She needed to stay overnight to monitor her heart. Thankfully she is OK besides a burn on her hand.”

This poor mum says she thought she had made her home as safe as possible, but the idea of her daughter trying to plug in the wrong end of a phone charger had not dawned on her.

She’s blaming herself, but clearly this was just an awful accident. She needs kindness not criticism.

“Even though my house is baby-proofed with outlet covers, door stoppers, baby gates, stove knob covers etc, my baby still got hurt from something I stupidly never even considered would be an issue,” she wrote on Facebook.

“Needless to say all power strips will be hidden in spots she can not get to from now on.”

Approach with caution

CPR Kids’ founder, Sarah Hunstead shared some first aid advice alongside the update, in case other parents found themselves in this situation.

“Always remember to first switch off the circuit breaker (safety switch) before touching your injured child – so that you yourself don’t also become a victim and can then no longer assist your child,” she wrote on Facebook.

“Be prepared to follow DRSABCD (as electrical injuries can cause damage to the heart and other organs), before following REMOVE, COOL, COVER, SEEK as demonstrated in our first aid for burns video.”

DRSABCD reminds us of the steps to follow when someone has been injured and requires medical attention.

1. Danger
2. Response
3. Send
4. Airway
5. Breathing
6. CPR
7. Defibrillation

The image below — shared by CPR Kids — explains these Drs ABCD steps further. (Remember DOCTORS ABCD if  DRSABCD is not sticking!)

Thanks to this brave mum and to CPR Kids for sharing this experience – and the best response. It’s an important reminder of the dangers of power outlets when little people are around.