Really ???

[nutty]

www.news4jax.com/news/8monthold-found-dead-in-pool/27696778

I am getting angry at parents that are not taking care of their business. My Scarbelle is 8 months and this is horrible.

[sesfw]

In the Phoenix area it seems like at least 3 pool/bath tub drownings a week ..... and yes it's horrible. 

A couple of times this year it's toddlers getting up in the middle of the night and getting into the pool area and falling in.

Other times it's family gatherings and 'someone else' is watching the kids in the pool.

We don't have a pool.  I don't think I could live with myself if someone or something got hurt in my pool.

So very sad.

[Shooby]

There used to be very strict precautions with owning a pool. Now anyone can plop up one of those blow up pools with no regard for safety of their kids or neighboring kids.

[Shooby]

Parties are the worst because people assume others are watching kids when they may not be.

[NancysSummerSip]

No surprise at all. Florida has the highest number of drownings for children under the age of five in the nation.

Across the U.S.:
Children ages 1 to 4 have the highest probability of drowning.
Nonwhite children ages 5 to 14 are five to ten times more likely to drown than white children (the reason for the disparity is due to the age groupings, with younger children more likely to drown than older children.)

www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html

At eight months, there's no way to logically expect an infant to get themselves to safety. Infant water safety classes are available for babies as young as six months, but that probably would not have been helpful in this case. It still requires supervision from sober, clear-headed adults every second of the event.

We have drownings and near-drownings regularly in this area. Most are in backyard pools. Some are in canals with KEEP OUT signs clearly posted, fences, gates and barbed wire all around. Pools here must be fenced and gated and child safety-locked, but even that won't stop a determined child. Golfer Jack Nicklaus' four-year-old grandson drowned in his family's pool several years ago. All the gates and locks and fences were correct, but he slipped out of sight of the adults.

[thyme4change]

Aug 23, 2014 18:01:23 GMT -5 Shooby said:

Parties are the worst because people assume others are watching kids when they may not be.

One of my mother's very educated, rich, successful friend's grandchild drowned during a party at their house.  Everyone thought someone else was watching the kid, and he slipped into the pool.  It is terrible, and it happens. No one is immune from mistakes and accidents.  

[Shooby]

Same thing happened to a family here sadly.

[NancysSummerSip]

The accidents will occur, but one way to help prevent many of them is to get more children into swim programs. No child should exit childhood without a basic knowledge of simple strokes and floating. The reason many don't learn is that lessons cost money, parents don't have the time and facilities are dwindling due to budget cutbacks.

But some people, notably Olympian Cullen Jones, are stepping forward and bringing water safety to the forefront and making it a priority:

www.teamusa.org/news/2013/june/27/cullen-jones-still-making-a-splash

[Shooby]

I am surprised by the number of people I have met that don't know how to swim.

[NancysSummerSip]

Aug 23, 2014 19:13:43 GMT -5 Shooby said:

I am surprised by the number of people I have met that don't know how to swim.

I'm not. I took lessons at age 40, and grew up with a pool in the backyard. Many parents, mine included, just assume kids will get into the water eventually and "know" how to swim. They don't. Humans do not possess the innate mechanisms to either swim or float, though in a life-threatening situation, some non-swimmers can get to the surface and save themselves. The reason many don't is due to panic: they take water into the lungs or have a heart attack before they can be rescued or figure out what to do to save themselves.

[msventoux]

I don't know how to swim.  It wasn't an option growing up, and I'm not into boating or water sports, so I've never taken it up. 

[Deleted]

My cousin's two year old had a near drowning experience this summer in their backyard pool in LA.  When I heard that, it convinced me that it could happen to anyone, as my cousin is not a careless parent by any means and all her kids have been taking swimming lessons since they were 6 months old.  She's a grade school teacher used to watching lots of kids and has been a life guard since she was like 15 years old, but it only took a minute and her daughter slipped out through the sliding door into the pool area.  She was face down and unresponsive when my cousin pulled her out, but regained consciousness almost right away so she must not have been in long.  Now there is all this talk about how these near drowning kids might have troubles further on down that don't show up right away.  I hope she's fine.

I live in an area of lots of lakes and right on the Mississippi.  I started swim lessons with my older son quite young and he was quite good by about age 5 or 6.  These days he's a fish.  The two year old I'm going to get serious with this winter, he's been in pools a lot, but right now if I threw him into water over his head he'd drown. 

[MarleyKeezy78]

Aug 23, 2014 17:59:54 GMT -5 Shooby said:

There used to be very strict precautions with owning a pool. Now anyone can plop up one of those blow up pools with no regard for safety of their kids or neighboring kids.

There are still strict rules for putting up a pool. We put in an above ground pool a few years ago and we had to pull a permit for the pool and for the electrical and because we don't have a fence fully around the yard we had to put a fence on the pool. We also had to put it on our insurance policy. Just so you know, the intex type pools are supposed to be put up with a permit also, but most people don't get one. It sucks that I had to pay more to put one up, but it is also my responsability to make sure I try to keep the idiots out(who shouldn't be on your property in the first place ) It's unfortunate that law doesn't side with the homeowner for someone coming onto your property


ETA: This doesn't include the people or children who have been invited to come swim, because I watch the kids like a hawk or make sure another adult is is in the pool with them.

[Deleted]

Aug 23, 2014 18:56:31 GMT -5 NancysSummerSip said:

We have drownings and near-drownings regularly in this area. Most are in backyard pools. Some are in canals with KEEP OUT signs clearly posted, fences, gates and barbed wire all around. Pools here must be fenced and gated and child safety-locked, but even that won't stop a determined child. Golfer Jack Nicklaus' four-year-old grandson drowned in his family's pool several years ago. All the gates and locks and fences were correct, but he slipped out of sight of the adults.

The blame has to fall on the child's supervisor. Whether it's a pool, a lake or river, we can't blame the water.
Years ago, I built a large Koi pond in our back yard. When the grand kids were born, I was a basket case, needing to watch their every move. We placed door alarms on all the doors, but I still wouldn't trust that they would work. I think this is when I started having high blood pressure.

(Interesting. I attempted to place a sad face at the end of my post and although the face posted, the rest of my text was deleted. I've also been unable to post anymore pictures. Is this because I've been infected?)

[mmhmm]

Nah, @lonewolf. It has nothing to do with being infected. I've had some lag and some odd things happening, as well. Probably some little ProBoards glitch.

[Nazgul Girl]

   I'm still looking for someone else to bite.   Has anyone bitten Virgil ? 

[Jaguar]

Aug 23, 2014 21:11:32 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

   I'm still looking for someone else to bite.   Has anyone bitten Virgil ? 

Nope not yet.

[taz157]

<img text="" alt=" " src="http://images.proboards.com/new/cry.gif"> For the family.<br><br>DD is 3 years old and loves the water.  I just took her to the pool last week for the first time this summer last weekend.  She loved it.  I watched her like a hawk.  I really need to look into swim lessons for her...<br><br>Also, I love to swim while DH is semi-confident in his swimming skills.   Both of us want her more comfortable than he is in the water.<br><br>Initially when we moved to Florida and then further south, we had initially wanted to have a pool in our backyard.  Needless to say, both houses that we bought don't have pools.  DH and I are both glad we don't have a pool right now due to DD.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

At eight months, there's no way to logically expect an infant to get themselves to safety. Infant water safety classes are available for babies as young as six months, but that probably would not have been helpful in this case. It still requires supervision from sober, clear-headed adults every second of the event.

The accidents occur, but one way to help prevent many of them is to get more children into swim programs. No child should exit childhood without a basic knowledge of simple strokes and floating

Exactly, Nancy. My friends have an 11 mo old little guy. He'll be 1 next month.

They've been taking him to the pool at least once a week, since he was 6 mo's old for supervised "baby day" swim lessons with an instructor - as well as mom or dad (or both in the pool with him) - getting him used to the pool, teaching him to float, and dog-paddle. He can do those pretty well so far already.

But the best time to start teachng a kid to swim is as young as possible - little ones are naturals in the water - even going underwater, they're amazing. Much easier to learn now than when they're older.

(Yes, he wears a little floatation device, but he's quite the little tadpole already) and loves the water & he's learning quickly.

[NancysSummerSip]

Aug 23, 2014 19:40:51 GMT -5 MarleyKeezy78 said:

Aug 23, 2014 17:59:54 GMT -5 Shooby said:

There used to be very strict precautions with owning a pool. Now anyone can plop up one of those blow up pools with no regard for safety of their kids or neighboring kids.

There are still strict rules for putting up a pool. We put in an above ground pool a few years ago and we had to pull a permit for the pool and for the electrical and because we don't have a fence fully around the yard we had to put a fence on the pool. We also had to put it on our insurance policy. Just so you know, the intex type pools are supposed to be put up with a permit also, but most people don't get one. It sucks that I had to pay more to put one up, but it is also my responsability to make sure I try to keep the idiots out(who shouldn't be on your property in the first place ) It's unfortunate that law doesn't side with the homeowner for someone coming onto your property


ETA: This doesn't include the people or children who have been invited to come swim, because I watch the kids like a hawk or make sure another adult is is in the pool with them.

Here, the law looks at a pool as an attractive nuisance, and makes the homeowner 100% responsible. Fences, child locks, extra insurance, permits and inspections are just a part of the cost of a pool.
Even worse are the teenagers who drown in our canals. What part of NO SWIMMING do they not understand? The gates, high fences and DANGER! WARNING! signs don't mean anything? Then when they do drown, their parents cry on TV that "something needs to be done to prevent these senseless accidents" from happening. And then they sue the city or state or utility for "letting" their kids climb the fence, cross the gate and pretend the signs were not there.
How about teach your kids some responsibility, respect and caution? Look, I hate it for a parent to lose a child. It's the worst hell on earth. But where did they learn to disregard the meaning of don't.go.there?

[Shooby]

Just because you know how to swim doesn't mean you are immune to drowning. Lots of swimmers drown every year who wind up getting in bad situations and good swimmers sometimes over estimate their abilities.

[The Captain]

Our last house had an in-ground pool.  When we moved there DD was less than 1yo.  I was TERRIFIED of something happening to her.

1.  Put up a child safety fence around the pool, not just a pool fence.  Keep it up when the pool is not in use.  I don't care how ugly it looks.

2.  Install a child safety alarm on the pool.  They're not that expensive and will sound like a tornado warning if anthing over 20lbs goes in the water (its the water movement or rise in level that sets them off) when they're activated.  Yes, we had to deal with the false alarms during rainstorms but that I can live with.

3.  Teach the kids how to swim and water safety rules as soon as you can.  DD was in swimming classes from the time she was an infant and YES, I did paddle her behind a few times when she got anywhere close to the pool when there wasn't an adult within arms reach.

4.  Assume that your kid is looking for ways to kill themselves and act accordingly.

[Shooby]

I don't think inground pools or gated pools are the real problem. It is the popup fast set pools you can get at Kmart or wherever and blow them up and fill and leave them set there as a nuiscance attraction to little kids.

[reader79]

I live on a peninsula surrounded by a bay and an ocean. I'm just learning to swim now at age 35. The waters are really rough out here, and with the riptides I was never much willing to go out past waist level. There were also no public pools until the new Y opened in Feb. I've been taking classes there ever since then.

My nieces are also taking lessons, and we've found that they're more dangerous around the water now that they've gained a little confidence. So they're going to continue with swim classes until we think they can actually 'swim.' We were at a hotel pool last month, and the four year old kept trying to dive into water over her head. After about an hour of that, I went to the Wal-Mart and bought water wings and a dolphin fin for her. She needs constant surveillance at all times, especially at the beach. And she will tell strangers that she can swim, and they believe her? She's four, ask a parent!

[cronewitch]

One problem with the tiny swimmers is even when they can swim they don't have the ability to get out of the pool. Floating and dog paddle are fine for infants but not if parents think that makes them safe in the water. They might float or paddle for a few minutes then tire and can't pull themselves up the edge or find the ladder. Someone needs to be close to them at all times in the water and looking at them not something else. Hot tubs don't allow little ones because they can drown sitting on a parents lap. They overheat easily then pass out and slip quietly under the water while a parent is holding them and maybe talking to someone or reading and doesn't feel them slide away. Young kids shouldn't be in at all and older little kids limited to 5 minutes or something until they are heavy enough to need more time to overheat.

[nutty]

Scarlett goes to the pool pretty frequently, our plan is to have her swimming or at least able to do that body roll floating thing by 12 months.

[Deleted]

Aug 25, 2014 5:56:26 GMT -5 reader79 said:

My nieces are also taking lessons, and we've found that they're more dangerous around the water now that they've gained a little confidence. So they're going to continue with swim classes until we think they can actually 'swim.' We were at a hotel pool last month, and the four year old kept trying to dive into water over her head. After about an hour of that, I went to the Wal-Mart and bought water wings and a dolphin fin for her. She needs constant surveillance at all times, especially at the beach. And she will tell strangers that she can swim, and they believe her? She's four, ask a parent!

Yeah, the daughter of a friend took baby swim classes and she said that they were at a friend's house and had her on a raft in the pool and of course the kid just rolled off the raft into the water because it was a pool and that's what you do, right? Her parents had to reel her in, knowing that she'd exhaust herself if they didn't. Still, I hope my granddaughter gets swim lessons.  It's no guarantee that they're safe but its a start for more serious swimming as she gets older and stronger. 

When I lived in Cincinnati in the 1970s there was a missing child case that went on for months- the usual posters, fliers handed out, multiple search efforts.   They finally found him when they took the cover off the pool in the spring (not sure if it was in-ground or above-ground).  Apparently he'd wandered in and drowned. 

Of course all of this is making me nervous because we're putting our house (with in-ground pool) on the market in the spring!  Well, I sold my last one (also with pool) to a couple with twin 3-year old girls.  They were hoping to share it with their Irish setter but DH told them the dog hair would clog the filter.

[muttleynfelix]

We haven't done swimming lessons with the kids yet although it is next on our list.  We tried giving DS some simple swimming lessons at the waterpark this weekend and he absolutely refused.  I asked him to hold onto the side of the pool and let his body float and he said "I don't want to let my body float".  DH tried some simple stuff with DS too and he refused as well.  The park was meant for non swimmers - most of the pools DS could easily touch the bottom.  But the refusal of listening to us and trying to learn how to float was a little frustrating.  I guess we'll have to have someone else give them formal swimming lessons.  

PS- This waterpark was fantastic. It had lifeguards patrolling every inch of the pools. I bet those lifeguards walk a couple miles everyday they are on duty because each duty station requires them to walk to look around different features.  They had lifejackets available in all sizes and most of the pools were less than 2.5' deep.  

[973beachbum]

Aug 25, 2014 9:43:12 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

We haven't done swimming lessons with the kids yet although it is next on our list.  We tried giving DS some simple swimming lessons at the waterpark this weekend and he absolutely refused.  I asked him to hold onto the side of the pool and let his body float and he said "I don't want to let my body float".  DH tried some simple stuff with DS too and he refused as well.  The park was meant for non swimmers - most of the pools DS could easily touch the bottom.  But the refusal of listening to us and trying to learn how to float was a little frustrating.  I guess we'll have to have someone else give them formal swimming lessons.  

PS- This waterpark was fantastic. It had lifeguards patrolling every inch of the pools. I bet those lifeguards walk a couple miles everyday they are on duty because each duty station requires them to walk to look around different features.  They had lifejackets available in all sizes and most of the pools were less than 2.5' deep.  

My son still won't really swim.  He hates the feeling of floating let alone sticking his face in the water.  He will get in and get wet but the actual act of swimming he still hates.  He is capable of floating on his back and doggie paddling to the side of the pool.  And at his age he can just climb out, but I wanted to warn people this is a clear case of being able to lead the child to water, but NOT being able to make him learn how to swim.

and believe me we have spent many hours with him in lessons that he refused to swin in.

[Deleted]

Aug 25, 2014 10:01:24 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

Aug 25, 2014 9:43:12 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

We haven't done swimming lessons with the kids yet although it is next on our list.  We tried giving DS some simple swimming lessons at the waterpark this weekend and he absolutely refused.  I asked him to hold onto the side of the pool and let his body float and he said "I don't want to let my body float".  DH tried some simple stuff with DS too and he refused as well.  The park was meant for non swimmers - most of the pools DS could easily touch the bottom.  But the refusal of listening to us and trying to learn how to float was a little frustrating.  I guess we'll have to have someone else give them formal swimming lessons.  

PS- This waterpark was fantastic. It had lifeguards patrolling every inch of the pools. I bet those lifeguards walk a couple miles everyday they are on duty because each duty station requires them to walk to look around different features.  They had lifejackets available in all sizes and most of the pools were less than 2.5' deep.  

My son still won't really swim.  He hates the feeling of floating let alone sticking his face in the water.  He will get in and get wet but the actual act of swimming he still hates.  He is capable of floating on his back and doggie paddling to the side of the pool.  And at his age he can just climb out, but I wanted to warn people this is a clear case of being able to lead the child to water, but NOT being able to make him learn how to swim.

and believe me we have spent many hours with him in lessons that he refused to swin in.

don't you live at the Jersey Shore or am I thinking of another poster?  my first day at the beach was 4th of July weekend (I was about 5 weeks old and my parents had just adopted me).  my sister was born in October so her first foray into a pool was about 7-8 months and my dad just dropped her in the pool and she went under.  we were swimming competitively by ages 4 and 6.  I'm always amazed when I meet adults who can't swim and are terrified of water.  I consider water safety and the ability to swim/float/etc. to be just as important to teach kids as crossing at a crosswalk.