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A 2-year-old in Macon, Georgia sprung into action when her mother fainted, using a cell phone to dial 911 before calling her grandmother for help.
According to a report from Georgia news station WHAS11 on Thursday, Tamyaa Alexander was at her mother's house when she fainted.
The station reported after receiving medical care, Alexander was told that her 2-year-old daughter, Serenity, was able to dial 911 on her cell phone.
"I didn't know what to expect from my baby," Alexander told the news station.
"Seeing my baby being so smart and intelligent... knowing what to do when something is going on with her mom, it really touches my heart," she added.
The station reports that Alexander isn't sure why she fainted but that she is feeling better now.
In a separate incident in the United Kingdom in November, a three-year-old boy was able to call police after his mother fell unconscious.
The boy, Thomas Boffey dialed 999—the U.K.'s equivalent to 911— after his 33-year-old mother fell down the stairs, the Independent reported at the time.
According to the news outlet, he knew how to dial 999 in an emergency because he had watched Robocar Poli—an animated kids' show from South Korea that features a police car, ambulance, and fire engine.
"He climbed up onto my windowsill in the living room to get my phone and he managed to [phone] the operator," said the boy's mother, said according to the Independent.
"They couldn't understand what he was on about but directed him to the police," she added.
A study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in May found that few young children between the ages of 4 and 9 are actually able to dial 911 using smart phones.
"Many young children use mobile phones to play games, watch movies and video chat, but little is known about whether they can dial 911 and report an emergency," a summary of the study states.
The study simulated an emergency for children to see how children would react, and whether they would call for help.
It found that only 20% of the children in grades 2 and 3 dialed 911, while none of the children in younger grades did.
"In this study, we underscore the need to develop emergency skills education aimed at enhancing young children's emergency preparedness in the digital era with a focus on developmentally appropriate strategies for building these skills in children as young as 4 to 6 years of age," the study's researchers said.
About the writer
Xander Landen is a Newsweek weekend reporter. His focus is often U.S. politics, but he frequently covers other issues including ... Read more