'We almost killed our son because of a split second mistake at home'

“He is alive and uninjured due to sheer luck. Heed my warning."

A mum has issued a bone-chilling reminder of just how quickly things can go wrong with toddlers. 

Taking to Reddit, the mum, posting under the username silverpony24, shared an experience that left her small family rattled. She's now hoping to raise awareness among other parents.

“My husband was late coming home from work. I was in the kitchen cooking dinner, and my three-year-old boy was waiting by the window looking for daddy’s car to pull up in our driveway,” she wrote. 

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"Our son could have easily died"

When her husband finally arrived, her son was overcome with excitement.

“He started jumping up and down shouting ‘DADDY’S HOME, DADDY’S HOME!’ He was so happy and so excited. I remember smiling at how sweet the love between him and his dad is,” she said. 

The mum had been preparing pasta at the stove when it all happened.

“I move from the stove to the sink to drain the pasta. In the 30 seconds it took me to turn my body, little man moved from the window, walked down the stairs and into the garage,” the mother revealed. 

At the same time, her husband had already begun reversing into the garage completely unaware their son had run outside to greet him.

“Even with our fancy 360 cameras, he DID NOT SEE my son!” she stressed. 

“Our little guy was running towards my husband and he was backing his car directly towards our son.” 

The father only realised what was happening when he saw a small hand slap the window and heard, “Daddy! You’re home!”

“Just the slightest change of speed or direction he would have easily run over our sweet boy. Our son could have easily died,” the mother insists.  

The parents were left rattled by a split second oversight. Image: Getty

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"Both my husband and I are still reeling"

She only learned what had happened when her husband came inside, ghost-white, holding their still-giggling son.

Despite the toddler still squealing with joy, her husband was far from it. 

“I’m still working on the pasta so I’m confused when I see my husband looking ghost white. He tells me what happened and I’m mortified. I didn’t even see our son leave the kitchen,” the mum said. 

Reddit commenters chimed in with advice and gratitude:

“Good reminder for safety and to not judge others. There’s a quote, ‘accidents seem preventable until they happen to you,'” one commenter offered with reassurance. 

A second gave the mum some sound advice: “we ended up getting child safety locks and we lock our doors to the garage and to the outside. It's annoying as hell and we're phasing it out, but I think it helped add an extra layer of safety,” 

“We all think we'd never let it happen until we're in that split second moment,” a third reflected. 

The mum says it was a painful reminder that even the most careful parents aren’t immune.

“He is alive and uninjured due to sheer luck. This could have ended so badly,” she explained. 

She hopes sharing their story reminds others to stay extra vigilant.

“Be careful when driving up to and out of our house. Our toddlers are too short to be seen on the backup cameras and they can be insanely fast,” she warns. 

“Both my husband and I are still reeling.” 

Raising Children Australia recommends keeping children away from parked or moving vehicles. Drivers should always check their surroundings. 

Children play areas should be entirely separate from driveways and garages. 

It's good practice to teach children to wave goodbye from a safe zone such as the front patio. 

Originally published as 'We almost killed our son because of a split second mistake at home'