Marina Fogle's 'fake accident' lesson for her toddler daughter

When her daughter Iona was a toddler, she says, she set up a ‘fake accident’ in order to help her learn a lesson.

Little Iona kept trying to crawl down the stairs head first, and Marina wanted a practical way to show her that it wasn’t a safe thing to do.

So, she surrounded the bottom 4 steps with cushioned dog beds, and waited close by for the inevitable to happen: Iona attempted the stairs and fell onto the comfy mats.

"I was obviously there to catch her and make sure she didn’t hurt herself, but the shock frightened her," said Marina.

"She cried for a bit but it was the last time she tried to go head first down the stairs."

Obviously this particular ‘fake accident’ sounds very controlled and we have no doubt that Marina will have made it as safe as humanly possible.

(We have reached out to RoSPA for the full safety take on the story, and we’ll let you know when we hear back.)

However, we know opinions on Marina's stair strategy may split us parents down the middle.

Some of us will love the idea, believing it’s a great way to help a child learn what’s right and what’s wrong through actions. Showing, rather than telling.

But others would probably prefer an altogether less, erm, action-based way of getting the message across.

What do you think?

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this – would you do anything similar? Do you have any stories like this of your own.

Please do share in the comments below, or on Facebook

Images: Instagram/Ben Fogle

Read more:

• Marina Fogle 'devastated' by stillbirth at 32 weeks
• Ben Fogle's emotional scars from losing a baby
• Marina felt shamed by 'smug' mums for having a c-section