1. Poziga

    Poziga Contributor Contributor

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    How would a five-year old behave in this situation?

    Discussion in 'Research' started by Poziga, Nov 12, 2015.

    Hey.

    I have a little trouble describing a five-year olds reaction upon finding his little brother lying on a floor with an electrical socket near him completely black, and the walls around him also black. So yeah, the little brother is dead, but I have little problem trying to picture myself, how the five-year old would behave?

    He was vacuuming, the brother observed. When he removed the plug of the socket to move into another room, the little brother presses his wet, licked spoon in the socket and gets electricuted. The brother finds him after finishing the vacuuming.

    Thank you for your help. :)
     
  2. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    Depends very much on the child. What's his personality? Relationship with his brother? Is he precocious, average, or below-average in intelligence?

    A five year old vacuuming is weird?? Wouldn't it be a bit heavy for him?
     
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  3. Chinspinner

    Chinspinner Contributor Contributor

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    I have to agree that a five year old vacuuming is a little odd. Perhaps with a small alteration, he could hit his brother while backing out the driveway?
     
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  4. Viridian

    Viridian Member Supporter

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    If the little brother was electrocuted, wouldn't that short circuit the rest of the sockets therefore unable to continue vacuuming. Wouldn't there also be a bang of sorts? I don't actually know, having never done it myself.

    My six year old often asks to help with the 'hoovering' ;) but I would never leave him alone with it and would certainly never allow him to plug/unplug it.

    As to their reaction. Depends on child's personality and their upbringing. I imagine finding their little brother out cold they would be afraid and seek help from an adult. Possibly worried they might be in trouble themselves. Your usual five year old isn't necessarily going to understand what has happened.
     
  5. Chinspinner

    Chinspinner Contributor Contributor

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    @Viridian Depends on the age of the electrics, but it is quite possible some bad DIY by-passed breakers, and some idiot had stuck some tinfoil in the fuseboard.

    I've been electrocuted once (fortunately by a domestic supply) and it is quite unpleasant. Fortunately my hand was thrown from the object, rather than holding on. I have been on a site where thieves have stripped all the copper cabling out of the building, leaving the three-phase electrical heads exposed. A kid then touched them, he was apparently a lump of charcoal... but I don't think a single phase domestic supply would effect a person in this way... only the contact parts of the body would be burned.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2015
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  6. Poziga

    Poziga Contributor Contributor

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    Oh I just made two big mistakes, thank God I noticed them. The scene was at teir home, but they were home alone. But who would leave a 2-year old and a five year old home alone, right? So stupid of me...

    I'll have to change the whole scene. Thank God it's the beginning of a story, so I'll just make the older brother 8 years old, and the mother needed to go to the store immediately (would be back in twenty minutes). More plausible I think. :)

    Any better suggestions?
     
  7. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    I agree with @Tenderiser (not necessarily about the vacuuming; some are quite light) but that it depends on the child. It's not what a kid of a certain age would do, but what that kid would do.

    As for the 5 year old and 2 year old at home alone, believe me that sort of thing happens a lot.
     
  8. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    Well, different age and different situation - but I remember when my mum stepped onto the arm of the couch in order to reach the top window to try to open it, she slipped and fell with a scream. She'd sprung her ankle and at that point she lay crumpled on the floor and burst into tears.

    My 2-year-old nephew was playing in another room and obviously heard the noise. He came running to the door, and then just stood at the opposite side of the room and stared in stunned silenced. I turned to him hoping to reassure him and bring him over to his grandmother (my mum). The moment I did that, it was like a spell had broken. My nephew collapsed onto the floor and bawled.

    So I went and comforted my mum first, made sure she was all right, and my nephew would only move from his spot on the floor when grandma called. Then he cried on her shoulder while she soothed him.
     
  9. Poziga

    Poziga Contributor Contributor

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    No offense @Mckk , but that sounds like a really good beginning scene of a story. @Steerpike , really, it does? But who would be so stupid to do that? Ok, if you have to run to the grocer's and one child is 8, than it's (relatively) ok. But to leave a five year old and two year old alone? F*ck... I might just leave it at that then...

    Yeah, @Tenderiser , the relationship is as average as a relationship between 2 and 5 year olds brother can be, they are nothing special. Also the brother is normal at the age of five, but this event shocks him, he feels guilty for almost all of his life. I was also thinking about letting him just stand there by the body of his brother, maybe trying to touch him. His mother would then come home and cut the scene.
     
  10. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    lol really? Taken from the POV of my nephew, it could be interesting I suppose :D
     
  11. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    I know that this was a psychological question, and I'm not answering the proper question, but:

    I'm feeling dubious about the vacuuming, both the likelihood of a child vacuuming, and the question of whether the breaker would throw for the vacuum's circuit and silence the vacuum. Also, the spoon seems like a difficult thing to stuff into an outlet.

    If the vacuum was for noise, how about a music player with earphones, or a boom box?

    For the electrocution, how about some sort of water situation? If this is an older and un-remodeled house, electrocution in the bathroom or kitchen seem perfectly plausible. (Child is playing with boats in the tub, hair dryer falls in, something like that.) If it's newer, there would be GFCI outlets there, so you'd need to introduce water somewhere else.
     
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