4 year old dies at wave pool

[java]

Gosh I wish I could find the story. Wasn't there one about a month ago about a child that drowned WHILE the lifeguards were just looking on- something about a manager telling them to not go in? Anyone remember that one.....or am I imagining it?

On this story it is a sad accident that happened. A 4 year old doesn't belong in a wave pool alone. (but did it say clearly that he was alone or just that the parents lost sight of him?) Really I believe that it is the parents responsibility. However, the water park also bears the responsibility of keeping people safe while at the park. Reckless behaviour maybe not their responsibility- but still someone should have noticed. (Ideally that someone should have been a parent)

Last year at our community pool I jumped in as a child was strugging. It was really RIGHT in front of the lifeguard but she wasn't noticing- she was busy yelling at kids to stop running near the pool. I just jumped- didn't think to yell to her. And thankfully the little girl ended up being ok.

 

[Camicar]

Gosh I wish I could find the story. Wasn't there one about a month ago about a child that drowned WHILE the lifeguards were just looking on- something about a manager telling them to not go in? Anyone remember that one.....or am I imagining it?

That was in the Wisconsin Dells at -- I think -- the Kalahari Water Park.

It is not the first or last time a child has drowned at one of the Dells water parks. Here is a squib about a lawsuit filed due to a 1999 death:

A Chicago family filed a $4 million wrongful death lawsuit against a Wisconsin Dells indoor water park last week, alleging that the owners of the park and one of its lifeguards were negligent in the drowning of a 4-year-old boy at the park in 1999.
The family of John Dresden Jr. sued the owners of the Bay of Dreams indoor water park, lifeguard Jennifer Cole and the park's insurers in U.S. District Court in Madison.

They claim that Cole left her position at the Lily Pad basketball pool on October 12, 1999 and was not watching as the boy slipped under the water.

The Bay of Dreams is a part of the Treasure Island Resort in Wisconsin Dells. The 23-count lawsuit seeks more than $4 million for wrongful death, emotional distress, and medical and funeral expenses. Plaintiffs in the case are the boys parents, Tabatha and John Dresden Sr. and the boy's half-brother, Shawn Wood, all of whom have suffered the loss of the boy's companionship, society, love and affection, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges that the park's owners failed to have in place policies and procedures designed to avoid dangerous conditions and protect the safety of patrons using the facilities. The park also failed to supervise the boy's activities because it carelessly and negligently allowed a failure of communication among its employees, the lawsuit alleges.

As a result, it states nobody was in position to watch the boy as he experienced trouble swimming in deep water. The park also failed to start proper lifesaving procedures, failed to furnish adequate safety and resuscitative equipment and failed to start life saving procedures in a timely manner, the lawsuit states. The depth of the water where the boy drowned was also inadequately marked and the park's lifeguards were inadequately supervised, the lawsuit states.

I added the emphasis in bold because I have to ask this question, "Nobody was in position? The ONLY possible person to watch this one boy was the lifeguard? What about the parents? Why weren't the parents watching their child?" I have been at the Lily Pad bball pool and there is no reason for a 4 year to be in there. And truly unless you are blind, it's impossible not to see that it is too deep for a 4 year old. Not only is it too deep, it's also typically filled with rowdy big boys who would easily and inadvertently overwhelm a small child.

 

[yeartolate]

Anyone that thinks that the lifeguard is the first line of defense for a very young child in a pool is sadly mistaken.

 

[Aidensmom]

I cried reading the article, all I could think of was how devastated I'd be if that happened to my child. Whether or not the mother made all the right decisions, which is easy to make judgments on after the fact, her world right now just has to be in turmoil. I feel so bad for her.

While I'm not sure I'd even let my child past about a foot deep in a wave pool as he is not a good swimmer yet, I do let him go 5 days a week to the pool without me at our community rec center - he goes to daycamp there - and I do trust the lifeguards to watch him. I know that they don't even let the children under a certain age (which he is under) go in the regular pool, they can only go in the pool that is no more than 2 ft at its deepest point. While I would not sue for such an incident as the OP is about, because I would consider myself to be the one primarily responsible for my child in that situation, I do think that there should be more regulations such as requiring a child to be a certain age to be in the wave pool, or require them to wear a lifejacket.

 

[Honu]

They're saying on the news here that the mother was sitting on a lounge chair in the beach area and the boy's 8 year old sister was in charge of watching him.

 

[yeartolate]

They're saying on the news here that the mother was sitting on a lounge chair in the beach area and the boy's 8 year old sister was in charge of watching him.

I did not hear that. The poor little girl. What a burden to carry.

 

[It's A Happy Day]

I cried reading the article, all I could think of was how devastated I'd be if that happened to my child. Whether or not the mother made all the right decisions, which is easy to make judgments on after the fact, her world right now just has to be in turmoil. I feel so bad for her.

While I'm not sure I'd even let my child past about a foot deep in a wave pool as he is not a good swimmer yet, I do let him go 5 days a week to the pool without me at our community rec center - he goes to daycamp there - and I do trust the lifeguards to watch him. I know that they don't even let the children under a certain age (which he is under) go in the regular pool, they can only go in the pool that is no more than 2 ft at its deepest point. While I would not sue for such an incident as the OP is about, because I would consider myself to be the one primarily responsible for my child in that situation, I do think that there should be more regulations such as requiring a child to be a certain age to be in the wave pool, or require them to wear a lifejacket.

I agree whole heartedly! I think that if water parks MADE children under a certain age wear the lifejackets then there may be less of these preventable accidents. Far be it from me to assume a parents primary function at these places should be to keep an eye on their children - especially small children. I'm not saying there is no blame to the lifeguards either but your child(ren) are not their only concern and when there are dozens of people in a wave pool then not each individual is seen unfortunately. When DH & I bring the kids anywhere wether it be an amusement park, water park, the beach, even just a store, our thoughts are to keep our children as safe as possible. Yes we want to have a fun time too but their safety is our priority. Maybe they will be wearing uncomfortable lifejackets (yes they wear them at the beach too!) but they will be going home with us at the end of the day happy & exhausted.

 

[katerkat]

I must say, in a crowded pool, the lifeguard depends on the folks in the water to alert them to dangerous situations.

The one save I made in the wave pool at Blizzard Beach, someone in the water alerted me. I would have seen the poor kid within seconds - I would hope - but I was scanning the other side of my area. And seconds COUNT in drownings. If someone in the water hadn't told me, the kid could have slipped under (he was struggling) and I might not have seen him after that. Wave pools are scary places. After that, I requested the creek - I'd rather be bored! And I had two years of lifeguarding experience prior to working for Disney.

Russ always wears a life jacket when "fun" swimming, and he's been in lessons since he was 4 months old. He can swim, dog-paddle, fairly well at the age of two. But I'd NEVER let him go in a wave pool alone (or with an 8-year old) for a good many years. (If ever. Lifeguarding memories don't die easily.)

 

[YourMajesty]

They're saying on the news here that the mother was sitting on a lounge chair in the beach area and the boy's 8 year old sister was in charge of watching him.

I did not hear that. The poor little girl. What a burden to carry.

This is very sad if it is true. I would think there would be more legal concerns with this scenario than with the lifeguards. Is it even legal to leave an eight year old in charge of looking after a four year old...much less in a wave pool?

 

[shortbun]

I feel really bad for everyone involved here. I have been in a few wave pools. My son has never been in one. IMHO, they are pretty dangerous for children. Flat out, I feel the parents made a huge and very sad mistake even allowing their child in there. Maybe the guards were not doing their job but parents should be physically touching a child that small in a wave pool at all times. Such a sad story for everyone.

 

[pyrxtc]

"Liziel Pena, of Daly City, waited anxiously for her 11-year-old daughter in the parking lot outside the amusement park.

"I'm just worried," Pena said. "I don't know if she's allowed to go to Great America now, because I'm scared. Maybe I'll have to go with her." "

Taken from the story!! Since when is it opkay to ahve your 11 yr old go to a water park alone?? She may have to go with her?? Hello???!!! Of course you ahve to go with her, she's 11!!!

 

[CEDmom]

"Liziel Pena, of Daly City, waited anxiously for her 11-year-old daughter in the parking lot outside the amusement park.

"I'm just worried," Pena said. "I don't know if she's allowed to go to Great America now, because I'm scared. Maybe I'll have to go with her." "

Taken from the story!! Since when is it opkay to ahve your 11 yr old go to a water park alone?? She may have to go with her?? Hello???!!! Of course you ahve to go with her, she's 11!!!

I want to know how the park has a policy that would allow an 11 yo to go in by herself. Heck, even at our community pool kids have to be 12 and pass a swimming test before they can come w/o a parent.

My heart goes out to that poor boys sister. She'll have to live with this for the rest of her life.

 

[yeartolate]

"Liziel Pena, of Daly City, waited anxiously for her 11-year-old daughter in the parking lot outside the amusement park.

"I'm just worried," Pena said. "I don't know if she's allowed to go to Great America now, because I'm scared. Maybe I'll have to go with her." "

Taken from the story!! Since when is it opkay to ahve your 11 yr old go to a water park alone?? She may have to go with her?? Hello???!!! Of course you ahve to go with her, she's 11!!!

Reminds me of all the parents who dump their preteens off at Disneyland for the day/ At least DL doesn't have wavepools.

 

[bigmerle1966]

This is very sad if it is true. I would think there would be more legal concerns with this scenario than with the lifeguards. Is it even legal to leave an eight year old in charge of looking after a four year old...much less in a wave pool?

Not sure about there, but in MD a child of 8 can be alone by themselves for no more than a half hour and they are not allowed to be resposible for another child.

I want to know how the park has a policy that would allow an 11 yo to go in by herself. Heck, even at our community pool kids have to be 12 and pass a swimming test before they can come w/o a parent.

Could be they lied about the child's age, or if they had a season pass mom walked the child in then turned around and left.

 

[DizzyKitten]

"Liziel Pena, of Daly City, waited anxiously for her 11-year-old daughter in the parking lot outside the amusement park.

"I'm just worried," Pena said. "I don't know if she's allowed to go to Great America now, because I'm scared. Maybe I'll have to go with her." "

Taken from the story!! Since when is it opkay to ahve your 11 yr old go to a water park alone?? She may have to go with her?? Hello???!!! Of course you ahve to go with her, she's 11!!!

OMG. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth. I sincerely hope that she didn't mean what we think she meant. Maybe she worded her sentence wrong-most likely she didn't-but maybe, just maybe she did.

Things like this and the 4yr old drowning just make me sad. I am a firm believer that parents are the first line of defense when it comes to keeping kids safe. It is first and foremost our responsibility.
I know it "takes a village to raise a child" but when did people at the mall or at amusement parks-or any other place parents leave their kids-sign up to provide free babysitting services? I can't comprehend why some parents believe they're kids are so important that everyone else in the world will watch over them when they don't want to do it themselves.

 

[SeeDisney]

I took my children a couple of weeks ago to a wave pool/water park. The older two were with their uncle and I watched my five year old and two year old at the wave pool and watched my five year old like a hawk. I'd never never would trust completely on the lifeguards (teenagers) on the safety on my child --- NEVER.

It makes me mad the mother is looking for other people to blame and shirking off responsible on other people.

Such a tragedy.

 

[4nana]

God Bless this innocent little child ^i^. What a heartbreaking senseless tragic death. Sending prayers to all involved as I can't imagine their pain and grief. Our little grands never go swimming w/o a floatation bathing suit and adult supervision.

 

[mamacatnv]

My son(water park life guard)and I were discussing this last night. As he said "We are not the first line of defense, we are the last line of defense". An event like this shakes up the entire water park community and I know that he was upset by it. He takes his job very seriously and doesn't ever want to see a kid get hurt or worse drown.

Small unattended kids in the wave pool is an ongoing problem at water parks all over the country. DS was saying that the park he works at is considering implementing a height requirement that would require a life vest and a parent in attendance for those that do not meet the requirement. They would station guards on the beach to keep it enforced.

One thing our park does to keep the "boredom" factor at bay is the guards are rotated about every 1/2 hour. There is constant movement for a change of scenery, they do not just stand at the wave pool all day long.

 

[bigmerle1966]

One thing our park does to keep the "boredom" factor at bay is the guards are rotated about every 1/2 hour. There is constant movement for a change of scenery, they do not just stand at the wave pool all day long.

I've seen that at every pool I've been to, including earlier this month at the Poly pool.

 

[piglet too]

Like a PP said, a drowning can be very fast and quiet. I have talked about this other places but will again here. My heart goes out to the mom, and wonder WTHeck was she thinking not keeping an eye on the boy. Sadly, she will have to live with that the rest of her life. I don't "blame" her just because she was naive enough to think he was safe. I also do not blame the lifeguards, because it is so easy to not see.

My DS8 almost drowned last summer. He had to be pulled from the pool and given CPR. My husband felt something bump into him, turned around and it was our son floating in the water. No one else at the party saw it, no one saw him go into the pool without his swimvest, no one saw him go under and struggle to reach the top. There had been someone there to watch the water, but she went in to go to the bathroom. We do not blame her, everything had been fine all day. It happened so fast and he never was able to reach the top of the pool to make a noise that someone may have heard. I am just so thankful that it was my husband that he bumped into, and not one of the other kids, They most likely would have thought he was goofing around and pushed him away.

The owners of the house we were at asked me (long after it had happened) if we would have held them responsible, since it was their pool. I told them of course not. I also told my friend to pass along to the lady who was supposed to be watching, that I don't blame her. Honestly, kids goof off so much in the water, it may be too late when you realize they are not playing.

I am just thankful that despite everything that went wrong, so much went right for us that day. Sadly that is not always the case, and then we get stupid debates like this one. Lets not place blame on anyone, because every one AND no one is at fault. It is a sad, sad thing, but maybe, just maybe, it will save the life of another child. Maybe this story will open up the eyes of a parent who used to let their small kids go with out life vests, and now they will wear them.