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A 3-year-old rescued his grandma after she fell and hit her head.

A lot of parents feel guilty about letting their kids watch TV. But a little bit of screentime isn't always a bad thing. There are shows with legitimate educational value like Ms. Rachel or Sesame Street. Educational programming can be an amazing way for kids to accelerate their learning of counting, the alphabet, and social behaviors.

In some rare cases, they can learn even more than that from their favorite TV shows: Like bravery and strength. Just take it from 3-year-old Bridger Peabody.

Bridger is just three years old but the toddler is already adding "hero" to his resume before he even starts preschool.


toddler hero, Denver boy saves grandma, heroes, grandma, grandma babysitting, grandparents, family, 911 Not all heroes wear capes; some wear blankies. Giphy

Bridger is a huge fan of the show Paw Patrol, which came in handy when an emergency took place while he was being babysat by his great-grandmother Sharon Lewis, 77.

The two were home alone when the unthinkable happened, "Gigi," which is what Bridger calls his grandma, suffered a terrifying and violent fall. Lewis uses a walker to get around and must've become unsteady on her feet while maneuvering the wheeled walker inside.

The pair were outside enjoying some playtime before everything went south. As they were making their way inside from playing in the backyard, Lewis fell—but it wasn't just a normal trip and fall. The great-grandma didn't land on her knees, bottom, or even her hands—which probably would caused enough damage. When Lewis fell, she forcefully hit her head on the cement steps and blood quickly rushed from her wound—but that wasn't the end of her problem.

The two were alone, and there was no one else around to help.

"I tripped over something and fell and hit my head on the concrete step," Lewis tells Inside Edition.

The elderly woman was unable to move and her cell phone was not with her. Since she was home alone with the toddler, she realized he was the only one there who could help her.

So, she instructed him to get her phone from her car. Bridger may be young, but he knew his grandmother was hurt and needed his help. There were a couple of stumbling blocks for Bridger to overcome, though, the first one being that the phone was in the car, not inside the house. The second was that the sun had set and the toddler is afraid of the dark. Venturing out into the darkness alone to get his great-grandma's cellphone was a monumental task for the little guy.

This is where Paw Patrol comes in. The show is popular with toddlers and preschoolers, and depicts cartoon dogs of different breeds donning uniforms from various help and service professions (firefighter, police, construction, etc.) to rescue different fictional animals. It shows kids the importance of bravery, team work, and kindness—which Bridger clearly picked up on.

The little guy knew that it was dark outside, but he also knew he needed to help his great-grandmother—so he braved the dark channeling his inner Paw Patrol character.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The whole thing was captured on the Peabody's security camera and it's just as amazing and adorable as you would expect.

Bridger even gives himself a little pep talk as he navigates the nighttime darkness to retrieve the cell phone so Gigi can call 911. You can see Bridger holding his blankie in the night vision security camera as he walks to the car repeating, "Don't be afraid."

The boy opens the car door and excitedly exclaims, "YAY! I did it!" when he gets inside the car.

When the interior light turned on in the car, Bridger could clearly see the phone and was able to grab it and bring it back to his grandmother, allowing her to call 911.

The ambulance came to take Lewis to the hospital where she received 22 staples in her head. She's now home safely recovering all thanks to the bravery of her three-year-old great grandson.

Social media users couldn't get enough of the story of bravery, and it quickly went viral. Commenters chimed in with their admiration:

"Not all hero's wear capes, some of them hold blankies."

"Grandma's hope in Bridger overcame his fear! May they always be bonded, and continue to make lasting memories together!"

"him telling himself dont be scared is one of the cutest and bravest things i have seen that was special."

"Paw Patrol company needs to give that young warrior something special."

“Yay!! I did it!!” My heart melted. What an adorable little boy, and so strong. He saved his Gigi’s life that day. Bless him!!!"

Gigi is doing well and, with the media frenzy dying down, Bridger is returning to life as a normal 3-year-old. But he and his Gigi will be bonded for life over what happened, that much is for sure. The young man might have a bright future in helping others ahead of him with the bravery he's displayed so far in his short life.

This article originally appeared in March. It has been updated.


Ronald Regan, the Twin Towers and OJ Simpson.

A funny thing happens when you get older: you have to listen to younger people recall historical moments that you lived through, but they didn’t. It gets worse when some of these young whipper-snappers think they know more about the event than those alive when it happened.

Gen Xers, those born approximately between 1965 and 1980, lived through many pivotal moments in history, including the end of the Vietnam War, the Challenger disaster, the War on Terror, the AIDS epidemic, the contested 2000 election, 9/11, the election of Barack Obama, the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, the death of Kurt Cobain and the OJ Simpson murder trial.

So, it’s funny for people in their 40s and 50s to be lectured by a Gen Zer (those born between 1997 and 2012) about moments they saw firsthand. A few years back, an X user named SameOldStay brought the issue to the attention of many Gen Xers in a viral tweet.



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Ford

No one likes to imagine what would happen if they were in a serious car accident.

Chances are that most of us will get into some sort of collision at some point, whether minor or more serious. Estimates from the car insurance industry say collisions happen to most longtime drivers three to four times during their driving lifetimes.

Fortunately for us, there are people like David Hatton who have devoted their career to developing technology to provide drivers peace of mind.


David and his team at Ford have created a feature called SYNC 911 Assist® to change how car accidents are communicated to and handled by authorities — for good. 

With the 911 Assist® feature, you don't have to call 911 in the event of a collision. Instead, your car calls for you.

Imagine you're driving to meet an old high school friend for dinner. Another driver runs a red light and plows into you, and your airbags deploy. You are scared, disoriented, maybe even injured — and the only way to get help is to hope someone saw the accident and will call 911 or to find your phone and call for help yourself. 

With SYNC 911 Assist®, instead of having to find a phone to dial 911 for help, the information about your collision is instantly delivered through your car's Bluetooth system: where you're located, what part of your car was affected, even how many seat belts were in use. It'll connect you directly to a 911 operator — no effort on your end required.

If your Bluetooth® is turned off, SYNC can turn it on. If your "Do Not Disturb" setting is on and your phone is offline, it will look for any previously paired phone that was connected to the system. Ford engineers looked at scenarios that could go wrong and engineered SYNC 911 Assist® to make them go right.

SYNC 911 Assist® in action. All images via Ford, used with permission.

It's making a huge impact.

Since SYNC 911 Assist® launched, Hatton has been receiving letters from people thanking him for his work — letters such as this one, from a gentleman in Texas: 

"I live in rural, central Texas with beautiful country, rolling fields and low water crossings. 

I cannot remember the events of the accident that nearly killed me. After an impact to my head the next thing I remembered was waking up in an Austin hospital. I was told my car was upside down in a river and filling up with water when I was pulled out. If Sync had not dialed 911 I would certainly have perished at the bottom of that river."

David Hatton reading a letter from a Ford owner who benefited from SYNC 911 Assist®.

Your vehicle directly contacting 911 is a new standard in road safety — one that makes a lot of sense.

Before this system was developed, a 911 call would be directed through a call center before actually reaching a 911 operator. Anyone who has been in an emergency situation knows that can take time — time that, in some cases, can make all the difference.

Getting in a car wreck is an unexpected and scary experience. Anything that can get help where it's needed faster is a huge step in the right direction.

SYNC 911 Assist® is an inspiring example of how passionate people and companies can create technology that makes our lives better.​