A mom-of-four has shared her list of the five things she would never let her kids do after spending time working in a pediatric intensive care unit (ICT).
Parenting can be a stressful experience, not least when it comes to protecting young ones from the many visible and not-so-visible dangers around the home.
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Vigilance is crucial, though, with a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finding that around 2,200 children die in the U.S. as a result of accidental injuries that occur in the home.
Victoria Kahl has seen firsthand the devastation that accidents like this leave behind. A busy mom-of-four who now works part-time as a respiratory therapist, she previously worked in a pediatric ICU. It was a difficult job.
"Working in the pediatric ICU was very rewarding, but also very challenging," Kahl told Newsweek. "There were many shifts where I found myself crying the entire way home."
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Kahl saw a wide variety of patients in different degrees of pain and stress.
"There could be a drowning victim, a cancer patient, a chronically ill child, an abuse case, a car accident, and a family that just received a devastating diagnosis, all in the same unit," she said.
Though she no longer works there, it has shaped her approach to parenting in both positive and negative ways.
"While it has proven to be very helpful as a parent, it also left me with some anxiety," Kahl said. "Life is very fragile, and we should all remember to count our blessings daily."
That is part of why Kahl started creating videos for TikTok and also the motivation behind one of her most-recent clips, titled: "5 things I'll never let my kids to after working in a pediatric ICU."
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The video has already been viewed over 3.8 million times and sees Kahl break down five of her biggest no-nos when it comes to everyday parenting.
Her first is that she always makes sure her kids are in the "correct car seat" and "never in the front seat" of any car. "They don't have the bone structure for it," she said, adding that, if other parents had seen what she had seen, which includes decapitations, they "probably wouldn't do that."
Her second is no button batteries in toys in her home. "You should treat button batteries like a gun," she said. "They should be locked up."
Her third thing to avoid is allowing her kids to "run around at a pool party unattended." "More drownings happen when there's a big group of people," Kahl said. "Because people always assume someone else is watching them [the kids]; they're not."
Her fourth thing to avoid is sleepovers. "I don't do them. I don't care," she said. "I have seen horrible things that would keep you up at night."
Kahl's last thing is what she considers to be her most controversial. "My kids don't get privacy," she said. "I'm going to go through your phone. I want to know everything about your friends. I'm going to know what's going on in your life because you're not mature enough to make sound decisions."
The video sparked plenty of debate. Many parents sided with Kahl's very strict approach. "Sleepovers were a no in my home," one fellow mom wrote. "My daughter hated me for it but I slept soundly knowing she was safe."
A second added: "My fear of dry drowning will be the death of me. every time I take my kids to the pool or beach, I'm stress the whole day."
Others were not so convinced though. One critic wrote: "You do what you want, but they are 100 percent going to resent you. How are they going to learn if they don't go through the experiences?"
Reflecting on the video's viral success, Kahl said that, more than anything, she hopes the moms and dads watching her clip take away from it the importance of being an "intentional parent."
"Take an interest in their life, hobbies, activities and friends," she said. "You can never be too diligent about the people you allow into your child's life."
If you have a family dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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