'Every parent's worst nightmare,' says mum after daughter's arm stuck in sliding glass door

It's normal for children to be curious. But sometimes their curiosity can put them in danger and something as normal as a door can be one of the most hazardous things in the house.

That's exactly what happened with SG Supernanny Founder, Zoe Chu.

She recently found just how much of a potential hazard doors can become. On Monday (April 12), her daughter Mei Mei got her hand stuck in the gap of a swinging glass door.

Eventually, Zoe had to call for the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to help set her little girl's hand free.

Hazardous things in the house: Kid gets arm stuck in glass door

Zoe recalled the incident through a series of stories on her Instagram account. In her Mei Mei story highlight, the Sleep Supernanny went into detail about the shocking incident. Here's how it transpired.

The nightmare began when her daughter Mei Mei accidentally inserted her hand between the gap of their closed glass door. Zoe came rushing in after her daughter let out a loud cry. She then tried pushing the door open to set Mei Mei free. But couldn't.

The concerned mum decided not to move the door anymore as her little girl had begun to scream and cry.

"I told her 'Calm down, Mei Mei!' I couldn't think in the midst of all that chaos," she wrote in her post.

She then decided to call her sons and helper while she stayed close to her daughter, holding the door to prevent it from crushing her arm. She also called her husband and asked him for help (while he was still at work). By this point Mei Mei had thankfully stopped crying.

In this chaos, her husband suggested opening the door slowly. When even that didn't work, he asked her to get lotion or oil, and some ice too. He also suggested going to the other side and pushing her arm out. But the opening still wasn't big enough. Her sons also tried to help and slipped ice cubes through the gap. But even that didn't work.

When it became clear their efforts were not going to help Mei Mei, the concerned parents called the SCDF for help.

SCDF arrived quickly and successfully freed Mei Mei's hand

To the panicked mum's relief, the SCDF came in-what she believes was less than 10 minutes. By then Mei Mei's hand was stuck for 15 to 20 minutes.

The SCDF workers applied more lotion to her daughter's arm to slide it free and thankfully freed Mei Mei without breaking the door.

An ambulance then took Zoe and her daughter to the hospital where her arm was treated. The mum was informed by the doctors that Mei Mei's lower arm had suffered a minor fracture. So was then put in a cast to help immobilise it.

While explaining the incident Zoe thanked the SDFC workers. "Special thanks to @myscdf and the team at NUH children's emergency department for being our everyday heroes!" she wrote.

"My daughter is doing well and recovering"

theAsianparent reached out to Zoe Chu to check on Mei Mei's health, to which Zoe stated that while her daughter's cast will be removed the next week, she will have to go for a check-up.

"My daughter is doing well and recovering. We will go back to the hospital next week to get her cast removed and to check how is her recovery going with the ortho specialist," she told theAsianparent.

"She was a bit subdued the morning after on Tuesday, but on Wednesday she was back to her usual cheeky self which is very heartening to see," she added.

She also categorically stated that she's sure Mei Mei has learned her lesson not to play with hazardous things in the house. "I think I would make sure that she is doing some indoor activities to keep her occupied when no one was able to give her attention. I think even allowing her to watch TV is better than letting her freely explore the room without adult supervision," Zoe shared.

Why parents should pay more attention to potential hazardous things in the house

"From the DMs I got a lot of mommies aren't aware that such doors are [a] potential hazard and they also told me their kids love to play with doors and my stories help to remind their kids not to play with doors anymore!" she said.

Zoe added, "Even when we didn't think it would be dangerous we never know what our kids can get up to on their own and a split[-]second decision can turn our world upside down."

As for precautionary measures parents must take (post her personal experience) Zoe told theAsianparent, "Perhaps for parents with young children, be mindful before getting this kind of glass door?"

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Mei Mei's accident is a reminder to parents to always keep a lookout on children and help just as swiftly as Zoe did.

Remember that there are various unexpected hazardous things in the house. Try to keep children away from playing with them not only in the house but outdoors as well. When in a similar situation involving hazardous things in the house, please do not hesitate to seek help when needed.

Kudos to this supermum!

This article was first published in theAsianparent.