Montebello boy, 3, killed in hotel fall in Hawaii

Montebello boy, 3, killed in hotel fall in Hawaii

I can't beseech you enough to set ground rules for children of all ages on balconies in Hawaii. This does not happen often here (this is actually the first news story I've ever read of a child falling from a balcony here) but man, when I was standing on our 31st floor Waikiki Banyan Balcony the week before Christmas I could see it happening to my 2 year old (even though he wouldn't have fit, I could still see it with my mother's eye - you know, that eye that keeps you up at night figuring exactly how you'll throw your child out the window if the house catches on fire). Scary.

My child was not allowed on the balcony unless an adult was with him. He was not allowed to set one toe on the ledge under the balcony railing. Constant vigilance is all that will keep your children safe, even on vacation. I would definitely set a rule that children are not allowed to play on a balcony that high. You never know what could happen. I think it is more likely that that child climbed on the back of another and flipped over the railing, than that he slipped through the bars.

I feel for that family.