With Halloween around the corner, it seems right to share this video of TV presenter Claudia Winkleman discussing how her daughter’s cheap supermarket witch costume went up in flames, seriously injuring the child this time last year. Watching the video is like being punched in the stomach as a parent, knowing this could have been any of our kids, but it is certainly worth passing on if it helps avoid what happened to Matilda, or worse, from happening again.
Hearing Claudia talk and seeing the discomfort, despair and regret etched on her face is heartbreaking, especially when it was so easily avoided (hindsight being a wonderful thing). The fact that these flammable outfits are still available, when they so easily ignite and drip molten plastic within seconds (as seen later on in the video) is an absolute travesty. Companies like Tesco should be ashamed that they are still retailing this tat, whilst plaudits are due to others like Morrisons and Asda who appear to have decided against stocking these products – at least they are absent form their websites.
I don’t want to come over all Daily Mail about this, and it’s not like this wouldn’t have affected me before I was a dad, but knowing the all-compassing love I have for Elsa, I can’t believe major businesses are even considering selling these accidents in waiting.
Anyway, have a look at the video, share it with your friends and, if your kids are off trick-or-treating this weekend, it has to be worth running up an outfit yourself using less flammable material or shelling out a few quid more on a costume to minimise the risk to your kids.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX-ZCTHTr1s
Well done to Watchdog for taking up the story too.
Leave a Reply