UAE: How to protect your child from falling off balcony; 5 safety tips

As per authorities, the accident tends to happen more during the winter months, when families keep their windows open or sit outside in the balcony to enjoy the cool weather

Published: Wed 18 Dec 2024, 3:16 PM

By
Web Desk

Photo: Abu Dhabi Police/X

Residents in Abu Dhabi have been urged to practice safety measures to protect children from tragic accidents that involve them falling from balconies of residential buildings.

Abu Dhabi Police, in an awareness programme, advised parents to pay attention to their children and monitor them when they approach windows, dimensions of furniture or anything that may lead to them climbing porch walls and falling from balconies.

The authority specified five guidelines for parents and caretakers to prevent children from being prey to such tragic incidents. These are:

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Not to leave the child alone at home or in the balcony.
Make sure to install an acrylic barrier on the balcony (after obtaining permission from the professional authorities).
Make sure the porch door is always closed and not to open the balcony unless it is necessary.
Make sure to put in place proper security locks for windows and balcony doors.
Ensure there is no furniture near windows or balconies.

The police emphasised it is the parents duty to protect their children from painful accidents that may take their lives due to the negligence or carelessness of parents.

The authority offered these tips in an awareness programme titled 'our winter is safe and fun'.

In the past, authorities across different emirates in the UAE have warned parents though awareness programmes — especially during the winter months — of using safety measures to avoid such deadly incidents.

As per authorities, the accident tends to happen more during the winter months, when families keep their windows open or sit outside in the balcony to enjoy the cool weather.

In Sharjah, since 2017, the city's municipality has made a series of amendments to technical requirements of windows and balconies. Due to the changed laws, landlords and contractors have raised the height of windows and balconies to 120cm instead of 1m. They are also now required to instal safety locks to prevent windows from opening for more than five to 10cm. The authority has also asked them to use railings that children cannot climb over.

A four-year-old girl passed away this year in March after falling from the 20th floor of a Sharjah building.

In 2023, a 17-year-old boy died after falling from his building in Ajman. During the same year, a 12-year-old girl fell to her death in Dubai while her mother was at work and father was away in India.

Authorities have said more than 30 children died between 2012 and 2022 after falling out of windows or balconies.

In 2022, a five-year-old girl tragically fell to her death from the ninth floor of a building in Dubai's Al Qusais area. In another incident in Sharjah, a three-year-old child of Asian nationality died after falling from the 14th floor of a Sharjah building.

During the same year, a Nepalese watchman and a tenant rescued a five-year-old boy who was dangling from his high-rise building while looking for his mother.

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