'Tragic accident' claimed toddler's life after parents put him down for a nap only to make a horrific discovery hours later in Christchurch, New Zealand Plea for better safety messaging after tragedy WARNING: This story contains some distressing content READ MORE: Sinister twist as three toddlers fight for life after terrifying blaze ripped through their home and cops launch arson and explosives probe By Padraig Collins For Daily Mail Australia Published: 06:42, 9 September 2024 | Updated: 06:42, 9 September 2024 e-mail View comments The parents of a three-year-old boy who died in horrific circumstances have appealed for better safety messages in the hope of preventing further such tragedies. When the parents of the toddler, who cannot be named, put him down for his regular afternoon nap last January 20, they could hear him 'babbling away'. But a coroner's court in Christchurch, New Zealand heard that when the father went to check on his son at about 4pm, he was not in his bed.
He found the child 'in front of the curtain with a cord wrapped around the front of his neck', coroner Heather McKenzie wrote in her findings. The dad carried the toddler to his mother and they called the emergency services and started CPR. Paramedics arrived just five minutes later but the boy could not be revived, the NZ Herald reported.
'(His) parents described him as their beautiful, cheeky, and sweet little buddy,' Ms McKenzie said on Monday. 'They are devastated and heartbroken to have lost him a.