Help! 4 year old son touched light socket

Thread Starter

Opt2004

Joined Aug 6, 2019
9
My 4 year old son spent the night at my sisters house last night. She sat him down on the bed and went to brush her teeth and shortly after he went to her and said something happened. There was a lamp that was on the night stand that was plugged in and had no light bulb screwed in. The lamp had a metal chain that you tug on to turn off and on. My son took the end of the chain and put it inside the lamp socket. He said when he did it he heard a noise and then the lights went out. He tripped the circuit breaker in 2 bedrooms. We asked him numerous times if he felt anything but denied he did. He seems fine and had no complaints. But I’m reading that you can have internal damage without physical symptoms. He seems completely fine and I called his pediatrician and he said not to worry about it. Should I be concerned about any possibility that it could have caused any current that could have reached his heart ? I’m worried because I also question whether my 4 year understands what I’m asking. I’m thinking because he had no pain afterwards he might think that shock he felt was nothing to acknowledge. Is it possible that there was no current or shock to him and the only issue was the circuit breaker tripping ? If he did feel a shock could it be the equivalent of if he stuck a piece of metal in the wall socket ? Thanks in advance.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
Welcome to AAC!

Presumably, the pediatrician told you to check for visible injuries. If he doesn't have any, he'll probably be okay and, hopefully, will have learned not to do that again.

To have current flow through his heart, he would have had to make contact with both hands, a hand and the other side of his body, etc.

It's possible that the overload that tripped the breaker went from the hot to neutral contacts in the socket through the chain and he didn't get shocked. If he did, he'd probably know it.

Why was a live open socket exposed to a child?
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
If the lamp was connected correctly with the outer screw base at neutral, he would have had to touch the centre contact, and if he was dropping the chain into the holder, the chances of coming in contact with the centre would be pretty slim, especially if he had the chain in hand.
Max..
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
Welcome to AAC.

This site is great, but I think for advice on your son, you should rely on the Board certified pediatrician you talked to rather than a bunch of anonymous individuals who have never seen your son.
 

Thread Starter

Opt2004

Joined Aug 6, 2019
9
CBFF9B45-F93E-400C-8364-DDED9E2F67E9.jpeg
Welcome to AAC!

Presumably, the pediatrician told you to check for visible injuries. If he doesn't have any, he'll probably be okay and, hopefully, will have learned not to do that again.

To have current flow through his heart, he would have had to make contact with both hands, a hand and the other side of his body, etc.

It's possible that the overload that tripped the breaker went from the hot to neutral contacts in the socket through the chain and he didn't get shocked. If he did, he'd probably know it.

Why was a live open socket exposed to a child?
Welcome to AAC!

Presumably, the pediatrician told you to check for visible injuries. If he doesn't have any, he'll probably be okay and, hopefully, will have learned not to do that again.

To have current flow through his heart, he would have had to make contact with both hands, a hand and the other side of his body, etc.

It's possible that the overload that tripped the breaker went from the hot to neutral contacts in the socket through the chain and he didn't get shocked. If he did, he'd probably know it.

Why was a live open socket exposed to a child?
I attached a pic of what the end result of what we saw. We don’t know what he touched or didn’t. He did say he put the chain in and tried to pull it out but could not. Apparently he’s pretty skilled that he was standing on the bed and managed to not knock anything over with other things on the night stand so we thought maybe he didn’t get shocked because he didn’t flinch back and just got scared of the lights going out.

When I called the pediatrician he said don’t worry. My sister is a physician and she said don’t worry. It was my other sisters house and she said lamp was on the floor and unplugged but the maid must have plugged it back in and put back on the table.

I’m a common layperson and not really familiar with technical terms. Please let me know if the pic helps.

Thank you so much for your reply.
 

Thread Starter

Opt2004

Joined Aug 6, 2019
9
Welcome to AAC.

This site is great, but I think for advice on your son, you should rely on the Board certified pediatrician you talked to rather than a bunch of anonymous individuals who have never seen your son.

Thanks. Just wanted opinions from people who have knowledge in this. As far as the technical stuff I'm not sure he is well versed in that.
 

Thread Starter

Opt2004

Joined Aug 6, 2019
9
If the lamp was connected correctly with the outer screw base at neutral, he would have had to touch the centre contact, and if he was dropping the chain into the holder, the chances of coming in contact with the centre would be pretty slim, especially if he had the chain in hand.
Max..

I attached a pic. Is that the center you mentioned ?
Thanks for your reply.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
I attached a pic of what the end result of what we saw. We don’t know what he touched or didn’t. He did say he put the chain in and tried to pull it out but could not.
It sounds like the chain shorted the contacts and got welded in place so he didn't get shocked
It was my other sisters house and she said lamp was on the floor and unplugged but the maid must have plugged it back in and put back on the table.
There's plenty of blame to go around. Glad it turned out okay. When you're caring for children, you have to avoid creating potential dangers.

One of my sisters liked to poke bobby pins in outlets. After she got a bad shock and burn, she was afraid of electricity for a long time after that.

Trust the people who have medical training. If the sister in question doesn't have children, she might benefit from being coached on how to childproof areas.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,720
Welcome to AAC!
It is good that laypersons can find a place to get authoritative answers to things they are not familiar with.

1) Your son's pediatrician provided valuable advice.

2) Your sister (physician) said not to worry.

Here is the authoritative answer from an electrical perspective.

1) The metal pull chain is insulated from the electrical supply and will not cause an electrical shock by touching in on its own.

2) Electricity enters the bulb socket via two contacts, the center contact and the outer circular ring. Only one of the two carries high voltage. Which one is "hot" depends on how the plug on the electrical cord is plugged into the electrical outlet. (If you were to unplug the lamp and examine the plug, you may observe that the two prongs are either of equal size or of different size. If one prong is larger than the other then there is only one way to insert the plug into the outlet. Also this makes the assumption that the wall outlet and the lamp cord are all wired according to electrical code. If all were wired to code, then only the center contact is "hot". You did not say which country you are located.)

3) Regardless of how the plug is inserted, the moment your son dropped the chain into the socket, the chain created a bridge between the outer ring and the center contact. This would immediately trip the circuit breaker.

4) It is very unlikely that your son received any electrical shock. Your son is OK.

5) Take this as a learning experience and make sure that every lamp socket is occupied with a bulb.

(Also, it is a good idea to child proof your homes by inserting plastic caps in all unused outlets.)
 

Thread Starter

Opt2004

Joined Aug 6, 2019
9
It sounds like the chain shorted the contacts and got welded in place so he didn't get shocked
There's plenty of blame to go around. Glad it turned out okay. When you're caring for children, you have to avoid creating potential dangers.

One of my sisters liked to poke bobby pins in outlets. After she got a bad shock and burn, she was afraid of electricity for a long time after that.

Trust the people who have medical training. If the sister in question doesn't have children, she might benefit from being coached on how to childproof areas.
That sounds like great news to me ! I've been worried sick. I wasn't sure if my son was able to undserstand the difference of a shock that lasts for few seconds versus pain that lasts longer.My sister said she was gone long enough to brush her teeth. But yes I hope she learned from my experience also. Glad to hear your sister didn't have permanent damage. As far as blame yes I feel horrible that I let him spend the night without me being there.

Thanks again!
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,285
Apparently he’s pretty skilled that he was standing on the bed
If he was standing on the bed, then he was pretty well insulated from earth, so the only path for the electricity was through the chain from the side of the socket to the center contact.
It thus seems unlikely that he got any shock at all.

And I've never heard of any delayed effects from an electric shock that weren't apparent right after the shock occurred.
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
As far as blame yes I feel horrible that I let him spend the night without me being there.
I wouldn't be so hard on yourself. It's fine to let your child have sleep overs. People need to be cautious when youngsters are around. The maid shouldn't have plugged the light fixture back in without checking for a missing bulb. Maybe your sister could have wrapped the cord around the lamp so anyone tempted to plug it back in would think twice before doing it.

You and your sister learned something. This can be used as an opportunity to teach your son about the dangers of electrical things.
 

danadak

Joined Mar 10, 2018
4,057
Responding to jpanhalt, post #4

My thoughts exactly unless someone identifies themselves as a practicing licensed
pediatrician.


Regards, Dana.
 

BobaMosfet

Joined Jul 1, 2009
2,110
My 4 year old son spent the night at my sisters house last night. She sat him down on the bed and went to brush her teeth and shortly after he went to her and said something happened. There was a lamp that was on the night stand that was plugged in and had no light bulb screwed in. The lamp had a metal chain that you tug on to turn off and on. My son took the end of the chain and put it inside the lamp socket. He said when he did it he heard a noise and then the lights went out. He tripped the circuit breaker in 2 bedrooms. We asked him numerous times if he felt anything but denied he did. He seems fine and had no complaints. But I’m reading that you can have internal damage without physical symptoms. He seems completely fine and I called his pediatrician and he said not to worry about it. Should I be concerned about any possibility that it could have caused any current that could have reached his heart ? I’m worried because I also question whether my 4 year understands what I’m asking. I’m thinking because he had no pain afterwards he might think that shock he felt was nothing to acknowledge. Is it possible that there was no current or shock to him and the only issue was the circuit breaker tripping ? If he did feel a shock could it be the equivalent of if he stuck a piece of metal in the wall socket ? Thanks in advance.
No. Your child is in no danger, no concern. The GFCI did it's job and tripped before any current could flow through your child at any appreciable level. If he did feel anything it would not have been a shock, but rather a buzz, because it's a 60Hz cycle. Average trip time for a contemporary circuit-breaker in the US is < 20ms.

Thank you NEC for requiring such measures in homes. A life was saved.

And yes, I did something similar at the age, so I know. And no, I'm not a licensed pediatrician but I have more knowledge/experience with 'touch & step' live voltage than most because of products we develop related to the human body and current through it.
 
Last edited:

Thread Starter

Opt2004

Joined Aug 6, 2019
9
Welcome to AAC!
It is good that laypersons can find a place to get authoritative answers to things they are not familiar with.

1) Your son's pediatrician provided valuable advice.

2) Your sister (physician) said not to worry.

Here is the authoritative answer from an electrical perspective.

1) The metal pull chain is insulated from the electrical supply and will not cause an electrical shock by touching in on its own.

2) Electricity enters the bulb socket via two contacts, the center contact and the outer circular ring. Only one of the two carries high voltage. Which one is "hot" depends on how the plug on the electrical cord is plugged into the electrical outlet. (If you were to unplug the lamp and examine the plug, you may observe that the two prongs are either of equal size or of different size. If one prong is larger than the other then there is only one way to insert the plug into the outlet. Also this makes the assumption that the wall outlet and the lamp cord are all wired according to electrical code. If all were wired to code, then only the center contact is "hot". You did not say which country you are located.)

3) Regardless of how the plug is inserted, the moment your son dropped the chain into the socket, the chain created a bridge between the outer ring and the center contact. This would immediately trip the circuit breaker.

4) It is very unlikely that your son received any electrical shock. Your son is OK.

5) Take this as a learning experience and make sure that every lamp socket is occupied with a bulb.

(Also, it is a good idea to child proof your homes by inserting plastic caps in all unused outlets.)
Yes at my home we've done our best to child proof unfortunately not at my sister's house. I was extra worried because he told my sister he dropped the chain and it got stuck and couldn't pull it out. Whether it got stuck somewhere or it melted in from what he said he tried pulling it out so I wasn't sure how long he held on to it.

Thanks for your reply. And yes this is a great forum for people like me.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,285
The GFCI did it's job and tripped before any current could flow through your child at any appreciable level.
The GFCI would trip for any current through the child to ground, but not for the current through the socket (which would be perceived as normal current).
But I doubt that such a socket would have a GFCI.
They are usually only used for kitchen, bathroom, and outside sockets.
If he did feel anything it would not have been a shock,
I beg to differ.
I once tripped one of my GFCI's by accidentally touching a hot wire, and I definitely felt a healthy shock, the kind you don't want to experience again. :rolleyes:
 

Thread Starter

Opt2004

Joined Aug 6, 2019
9
If he was standing on the bed, then he was pretty well insulated from earth, so the only path for the electricity was through the chain from the side of the socket to the center contact.
It thus seems unlikely that he got any shock at all.

And I've never heard of any delayed effects from an electric shock that weren't apparent right after the shock occurred.

Good to hear that. Really stupid question but why would there be a difference if he was on the bed or standing on the floor ? He said he tried to tug on the chain so we have no idea how long he decided to keep a hold on it.

Thanks for your reply
 

Thread Starter

Opt2004

Joined Aug 6, 2019
9
Responding to jpanhalt, post #4

My thoughts exactly unless someone identifies themselves as a practicing licensed
pediatrician.


Regards, Dana.
I was just concerned because he said he didn't need to examine him but I've heard that even without physical symptoms internal injuries may not be likely but possible. I guess I'm just a neurotic over protective mom

Thanks
 
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