PSA: Head Stuck In A Railing? You Are Not Alone!

If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, older sibling, or friend to anyone with a small head, please take a moment for this “Public Safety Announcement” respectfully submitted to you by me. You may not believe this but… It is not only very possible, but also highly likely, that at some point, you may have to jump in to assist when someone manages to get their head stuck in a railing. I know what you’re thinking “yeah, right, I don’t really think that’s going to happen.”  Ha!  The words of the innocent, vulnerable and unsuspecting.

This past weekend, John and I enjoyed a little visit over to Jen and Joe’s cabin in the north woods. We had a great afternoon with them and the rest of their houseguests. But, of course, the highlight was being able to spend time with the grandkids. I pride myself on being a very watchful “Ya Ya” and would swear that no harm would ever come to the kids on my watch so I’m not particularly proud to relate what happened next.

I stood with my 2-year old granddaughter, on the deck overlooking the yard many feet below as we surveyed the grass for a ball that she rolled off the deck. Of course, I’m not two-feet tall so I’m able to look over the deck rail. However, Sammy was also trying to spot the ball and, as I stood there and watched, she stuck her head in between the cedar rails. Now remember, I think of myself as being fairly protective so I did hold the back of her shirt and even cautioned her “don’t let your head get stuck”. As the words were coming out of my mouth, I had a flashback to a very similar incident about 20 years ago, when I let my daughter, Mollie, get her head caught in the railing at Turtles restaurant. I guess since then I had erased the memory from my mind because it really didn’t occur to me until it was too late and Sammy was stuck. Oh no!

Immediately, my mind filled with images of her spending the next several hours stuck between two wooden posts as the adults frantically attempt to free her. She realized she was stuck…and started to scream. I realized she was stuck…and also screamed…for John (because he can fix anything.)

However, after we both screamed, I was able to regain my composure long enough to hold back her ears and gently reposition her head just enough that she could pull back through. She was crying and I felt terrible. But, thankfully, no lasting damage was done.

However, it kept coming back to me throughout the weekend – is this normal, does it happen to lots of people, or is there something about me that makes small children want to push their head through railings?

So I did what any reasonable, logical, adult woman would do.  I "googled" it.

And, would you believe that there are more than 2,000,000 results for “head stuck in railings”? Including a very horrifying video of a small boy who gets his head caught in a stone railing and had to be freed with HYDRAULIC SPREADING PLIERS. (Yikes! That sounds like the stuff of much future psychological therapy.) In comparison, my incident (OK…incidents) seemed rather small. I’m not only very grateful to have been so lucky but, in all honesty, am also a bit vindicated that I’m not alone. There is even a facebook page dedicated to the topic (which, I just had to “like” in an act of solidarity with others who have had the same experience.)

Anyway, I promised a “Public Service Announcement” so this is it. My intense Google research indicates that the head is the largest part of the body so if it can fit through a space, the rest of the body should be able to follow. (I actually dispute this research for anyone over the age of 3 since I can prove that my head is definitely NOT the largest part of my body…but consider it to be true for children in any case). Therefore, if a child gets caught, you can try to work the rest of the body through the rail (rather than pulling the head out). Now, in my situation, since we were about 20 feet off the ground - this probably wouldn’t have been the best option. So, if that is ever your situation as well, try to hold the ears to the head and very gently reposition the angle so that the child can be freed…and your own self-image as protective and reliable adult can be partially restored!

So…all’s well that ends well. My grand-daughter was just fine and after crying for a few minutes, ran off to play again. I eventually recovered as well but will always be certain to give railings a suspicious eye anytime a child is near.

I’m not a perfect grand-parent, or parent, or friend, or sister, or person who has friends with small heads. But with google, and my new “facebook friends who get their heads stuck” by my side, I will always do my best to keep watch - and if you ever find yourself stuck in a railing, you know who to call.