Illi can’t help but wonder what could have happened if she never woke up one morning at 4am.
The Melbourne mum was asleep when her panicked four-year-old son raced into her bedroom shouting that his little brother Archie was in the bathtub — with running water flooding the floor.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Mum’s warning about bath plugs.
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She found her helpless two-year-old toddler about to nod off — after he had struggled to get out of the water.
“My heart sinks at the vivid picture I still have in my mind of seeing his sleepy head lowering down in the overflowing bathtub,” Illi, 29, tells 7Life.
Reflecting on the ordeal from June 2021, the mum says her “cheeky, adventurous” little boy had somehow made his way from his bedroom to the bathroom in the early hours of the morning.
“He had pulled up a stool to climb in — he’d never climbed in on his own before — put the plug in, turned the tap on and the bath was overflowing and the bathroom was flooding,” she says.
“The scariest part, and something I feel deeply traumatised by, is that he had clearly been trying to get out for a while and had given up and was tired… he was kneeling on his knees and falling asleep in the water.
“If our four-year-old hadn’t have woken up, I can’t even think about what we may have woken up to.”
‘Miracle’
The mum-of-three says she feels “incredibly grateful” her four-year-old boy was awake and therefore able to find the toddler alone in the bathroom.
“We would never have heard because our room is at the other end of the house,” she explains.
“Our four-year-old is such a heavy sleeper too so it’s honestly a miracle he woke up.”
After the distressing experience, little Archie was checked by a medical professional as a precaution.
“Thank god he was absolutely fine,” Illi says.
“A few minutes more and this could have been a very different story.”
The family has since placed a lock on the bathroom door, and keeps the plug in a locked cupboard, to prevent such an incident from happening again.
‘Biggest lesson’
Illi decided to share her distressing story on social media to warn other parents about bath plugs.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learnt is that knowledge is power,” she tells 7Life.
“I’ve seen my story shared to millions of parents all over the world with most saying they never thought of this either.
“Many parents are showing gratitude to the fact that we’ve brought awareness to bath plugs being such a danger.”
The mum says she feels “less traumatised” as the years go by — but she still feels “so grateful” her story didn’t end in tragedy.
By sharing her experience, she wants to remind everyone to keep their bathrooms safe for young kids.
Child safety
“I hope this story can educate other parents because honestly I consider myself to be really on top of child safety,” she says.
“Every cupboard is locked, every piece of furniture is anchored, or mounted to the wall, and every effort is taken to ensure the safety of our kids at all times.
“But I honestly just never thought about locking away the bath plug.”
Former paramedic Nikki Jurcutz re-shared the mum’s story on her children’s safety page Tiny Hearts Education.
“All it takes is a few centimetres of water and 20 seconds for a child to drown,” she said.
“Please keep bath plugs safely out of reach of your little ones.”
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