Mom pushes for new retail safety rules after in-store incident that nearly left her daughter blinded

A occidental Sydney mom is looking to alteration nan information measures successful unit stores aft an incident astir near her two-year-old blinded.

Maureen Ahluwalia was pinch her girl Amaira and sister-in-law astatine her section Blacktown Westpoint shopping halfway connected July 8 erstwhile nan incident occurred.

Ahluwalia said her girl was stepping correct beside her – arsenic she commonly does – erstwhile nan scary incident happened.

“She’s conscionable turned and nan rack hook’s gone successful her eye. I tried to calm her down, virtually her eyelid was wrong out,” she told NewsWire.

“I saw erstwhile she opened her oculus that there’s humor coming into it.”

Ahluwalia’s sister-in-law advised taking Amaira to Specsavers successful nan shopping center, who took her successful instantly and gave immoderate relieving news.

“They said she didn’t scratch her cornea, she was very fortunate to miss it by little than a millimetre. If it was, she would person had immoderate harm to her imagination aliases moreover blindness.”

After repeated requests, Ahluwalia said she yet received a telephone from Harris Scarfe much than six days later, a courtesy telephone from nan consequence guidance team.

They besides declined to supply nan CCTV footage.

“They weren’t willing successful looking into why this happened aliases if we request to alteration our hooks aliases thing … it wasn’t a privilege for them.”

Left pinch a increasing humor clot, Amaira yet recovered, but not earlier her mother came crossed a drawstring of akin incidents that shocked her.

Kmart, Target and Rebel Sport were among nan first to respond backmost successful 2020, adding soft rubbers and plastics complete nan ends of apparel hooks, however, Ahluwalia is now putting a different mobility to shops.

“Why are we not doing more? And why do these hooks still beryllium astatine toddler height?

“Kids person mislaid their imagination complete it, kids person ended up successful hospital, pinch imperishable damage.

“That’s erstwhile I knew this is simply a existent problem, this is not a parent’s fault. It’s is beyond that.”

The mother has since begun a NSW parliamentary petition to set nan information standards of unit fixtures successful Australia, requiring 20,000 votes to beryllium heard successful parliament.

The petition will beryllium presented by Labor MP for Blacktown Stephen Bali, who has backed nan move.

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While she has received messages of encouragement, Ahluwalia has besides been met pinch backlash from users online claiming nan incident was a individual fault.

“Keep your kids successful nan car. A batch safer there,” 1 personification responded.

“Preventable pinch a genitor doing their job” different claimed.

But she has backed her stance, citing her plea to push for amended information standards for children.

“It’s nan aforesaid arsenic having a obstruction astir nan pool. Why do we do that? Why do person booster seats for kids? These are each information measures to forestall what tin perchance happen,” she said.

“This is not astir paying attraction to your kids. My girl was 2 steps distant from me.

“I’d ne'er spoken astir compensation, it’s not thing I’m willing in.

“But nary money could ever bring backmost my daughter’s oculus if she had mislaid it.”