"Drowning does not LOOK like drowning." Summer PSA article - chillling.

[piglet too]

Please put your children into swim lessons. American Red Cross basis the class levels on ability not age.

Teach your children never to jump in to water that they do not know the depth of. have them always exit at a ladder, or steps. Show them around the pool point out the depths. Tell them who the guards are.

And Parents never ever turn you back on your child so that you can sun bathe your backside, even if you say you child is a good swimmer and can hold thier breath for a long time.

The same summer of my son's accident, our pediatric office almost lost another child to drowning. He was older and doing races with a friend. They would hold their breath and swim underwater, seeing who could do the most laps. Well, the one boy passed out from holding his breath too long. Fortunately the mom was coming into the yard at the time and was able to help pull him from the pool. These were 15-16 year old boys.

 

[kikids]

I agree with the recommendation to put kids in swim lessons but I can think of multiple situations where that really wouldn't matter. My DD is a great swimmer but we were at a waterpark just recently and my DD came down a waterslide and got off her tube in about 5 feet of water - just over her head. I clapped for her bravery and watched her (thankfully) hop off her tube and start swimming for the steps. At that very moment a very heavy man and his son shot down that waterslide like a rocket in a large double-tube and launched out right on top of her head. She had nowhere to go but under the giant tube. It happened so fast and it created such a splash the man and his son didn't even know anything happened, they were laughing and hi fiving each other. A lifeguard was maybe 6 feet away but he had two slides to watch and his back was turned towards my DD at the time. It was so noisy at the park I don't think anyone heard my shrieking or noticed me jump in. She managed to swim out but it was a close one IMO.

I've also heard of kids doing sommersaults under the water and misjudging and hitting their heads on the bottom or the sides of the pool and losing consciousness. So, not to add more horror stories, just wanted to make the point that yes, parents should also be attentive and that accidents can happen regardless of swim ability.

 

[almburr]

When I taught swim lessons I always had the kids wear jeans and t-shirts over their clothes then jump in the pool. I wanted them to know what it would be like to fall in, and how heavy the clothes get.

Also in swim lessons they are taught how to not panic if something out of the norm. happens.

 

[krcit]

My son did not make a sound either. Thank God that he bumped into my husband, and not one of the other kids in the pool, they may have thought he was fooling around. DH was able to pull him out and start CPR, my son was revived before the paramedics arrived. It has been 4 years, and I can still see it all.

This gave me chills. So scary. Thank God he was ok.


Thanks OP for posting this. I put it on Facebook also. It was a good reminder for me too...my kids are a bit older now so I'm not always as vilgilant as I should be when they are in the pool. Not anymore.

 

[Ppufi]

It's true. Once at swim lessons, after diving from the diving board, I was paddling back to the side. All of a sudden I started sinking. I couldn't speak or move, I was just trying to get air. Finally someone spotted me because I managed to squeak. The swim instructor was right there, but distracted by two boys.

 

[tigercat]

We have an small above ground pool but no kids are allowed in unless there is an adult in there. My 2 grandkids who are 4 and 2 have the new water wings. Nothing like the old ones. These are great but the kids are still watched like a hawk. These ones are not blow up ones they are made of the same stuff as life jackets. They have the wing part but also a front pad and then they are fastened at the back with a clip. It is all one. As I said even though they have these on and have a lot more freedom they are watched at all times. Today I had these 2 as well as my 11 yr old granddaughter over. I was in the pool with them and my 2 daughters were at the side of the pool keeping watch. As the water is at about 4' so both my 11 yr old and I (at only 4'8"tall can stand. I am going to tell my kids about this and let them know. Anything to keep the kids safe.
tigercat

 

[Buckalew11]

Thanks for the link!

My DH was a lifeguard in college and saved a few kids. They did lose a child one year and it was devastating to them.

Our 1st WDW trip we visited Blizzard Beach and he pulled a little boy to safety. Parents were no where to be found and the young male life guard was flirting with some teen girls. Dh gave the lifeguard a speech and then talked to the people over him. This little boy was very young--3? 4? I could not believe his parents were so far away and sunbathing.

 

[pinktink83]

As for the water wings, I am one of those parents who let my son, the 20 year old, use them when he was a baby. They were so tight on his arms and up to his armpits that I never had any fear. Also, he was a swimmer from the age of one. Now I never left him unattended but I did let him swim all over the pool by himself. He loved it. But you have to know that the wings are not going to slip off or down. I remember one vacation in particular when he was about 16 months old. He swam every day all over the pool with his wings on and loved the freedom. I sat in a chair reading and looked up every paragraph. The grandmothers at the pool had a fit but honestly if he had slipped under I am 1 second away. He has never gotten in any trouble in the water his whole life and is an excellent swimmer.

The problem is that you *don't* know if they're going to slip off or not. (unless you're psychic, but I didn't see that in your post!) And your son could have easily drowned in the 20 seconds-60 seconds it took for you to read one paragraph.

I'm SOOOOO glad nothing happened, but geez almighty, my DD is 15 months old and I can't ever imagine letting her swim on her own (floaties or no), not being in the pool with her, and *reading* on top of that. I am always within arms reach. ALWAYS. And she is a great 'swimmer' for her age, and we do let her swim back and forth to us and push her under to dive, let her flounder so she knows she can't swim alone, etc. So its not like we're helicopter parents or something.

No wonder the little old ladies were giving you the stink eye! lol

 

[indimom]

Can't agree enough with the advice about knowing the depth of the water. I had my most frightening swimming experience because of this.
I was about 10yo and a good swimmer (mom couldn't swim, so she made sure we could early). But, I was accustomed to our local pool which was 10 feet deep, and had jumped off the diving board probably thousands of times, hitting the bottom, then pushing off to come back up. You can probably guess where this is going.
We went on vacation and the diving board was in an area 14 feet deep. I never hit bottom, and didn't have anything to push off on to propel myself quickly to the surface. I was already out of breath and knew I wasn't going to make it. I was paddling like mad, absolutely terrified, I remember seeing the surface and the sun and knowing I wasn't going to get there. I breathed in just as I hit the top, managed to get to the side and gag up all the water I'd just inhaled. No one noticed anything.

We were on vacation when my daughter was 3 and our son was about 6 months old. DH was playing with DD and I had DS at the low end. A toddler was climbing around on the steps that led down into the pool. Her mother was sunbathing with her eyes closed. She slipped off the lowest step into the pool and was under the water just that quick without a sound or splash. I could see her reaching and she couldn't get the handrail. I waded over and pulled her out and put her back up on the highest step, then turned toward her mother, expecting her to be running over. She was still lying there with her eyes closed, had never noticed/heard a thing. The only others in the pool were in the deep end and there were no lifeguards. It is frightening to think what might have happened if we hadn't been swimming that day.

And I have to add that if you haven't watched the video another poster mentioned, watch it. I'm going to share the article and video with family/friends. It's absolutely horrifying to watch, but a real eye opener because he doesn't "look like" he's in distress or panicked. And there are people RIGHT THERE the entire time. Very very scary.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

This article is such an eye-opener! It made me realize how close I actually was to drowning when I was a kid!

My next door neighbor took me to her friend's inground pool. I did not know how to swim, so I had to stay in the shallow end while the other kids were splashing around the deep end. I was hanging onto the side, kind of bouncing up and down, not realizing I was edging my way toward the deep end. I remember the bounce where I lost my footing, because I had gone beyond the slope. I never yelled out. I couldn't. Anytime I tried to yell, my mouth was under the water. I was in full panic, but was not splashing about. I was just focused on keeping my mouth above the water line.

None of the kids saw anything unusual. My neighbor saw me from where she was sitting on the pool deck. Without a seconds hestitation, she jumped in and grabbed me. Thank GOD she knew what to look for. I was probably around 10 years old. I taught myself how to swim after that. I could never be a lifeguard, but I learned how to tread water.

 

[Magpie]

ITA about how quiet kids can be!

My kids were both in swimming lessons when they were small, and pretty good swimmers. My 4yo son was sitting beside the pool playing with some water toys while my daughter finished up her lesson for the day (it was longer than his). I was watching him.

All of a sudden I saw him reach, overbalance and go headfirst into the water. He didn't struggle at all - he just sank straight down to the bottom of the pool. I reached over the edge and grabbed the seat of his pants and hauled him out, and as soon as his face hit air he started shrieking. He was in a complete panic, coughing and gagging.

The thing is, I knew exactly how he felt. Because when I was just about his age, or maybe a little older, I almost drowned in the ocean. I was bouncing in the waves, and I'm not sure what happened, because I don't think I was over my head. All I do remember is staring at the sandy bottom and not really thinking much of anything. And then someone pulled me up out of the water and breathing HURT. I screamed bloody murder, too.

For awhile after my son's incident, he wouldn't put his head under water. He came around eventually, though. Me, I'm still nervous around the ocean. I'll go in and play, but I keep telling my family not to go out so deep. They all think I'm irrational.

 

[piglet too]

For awhile after my son's incident, he wouldn't put his head under water. He came around eventually, though. Me, I'm still nervous around the ocean. I'll go in and play, but I keep telling my family not to go out so deep. They all think I'm irrational.

My son still hates showers and getting his hair washed. I also really don't feel comfortable with pools or my kids swimming. I let them go, but feel ill the whole time. My in-laws have scolded me to "get over it" since a couple months after it happened.