How terribly sad! I have always been a vigilant swim safety girl - lessons, gates, etc. My kids were not allowed to go swim anywhere whithout me until they could swim the length of our pool and back with no troubles. It amazed me when a friend of ours sent her daughter with us to a swim party and didn't tell me her 9yo daughter couldn't swim. I was totally freaked the entire time. However, all that aside, despite being Ms. Safety, I hadn't thought about the murkiness as unsafe for the reasons of not seeing someone. I had always thought of it as a sanitary issue. Thanks for posting a good reminder.
This is why we say "Its not safe to swim if you can't see the bottom"
- Thread starter zea3
- Start date
It has happened again. Two boys are hospitalized, but their sister died because nobody could see her at the bottom of the pool.
News video from Dallas, TX
Please, never let your children swim in a cloudy pool. And if you see a public pool that is cloudy enough that you can't see the floor drains, call the Department of Health to close the pool down. You could be saving a life.
News video from Dallas, TX
Please, never let your children swim in a cloudy pool. And if you see a public pool that is cloudy enough that you can't see the floor drains, call the Department of Health to close the pool down. You could be saving a life.
DaninFLA
0
Re: This is why we say "Its not safe to swim if you can't see the bottom"
so sad. makes me mad seeing kids die because of ignorant parents.
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so sad. makes me mad seeing kids die because of ignorant parents.
so sad. makes me mad seeing kids die because of ignorant parents.
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so sad. makes me mad seeing kids die because of ignorant parents.
Reminds me of when I almost drowned as a small child. We were at a party and I was doing what little kids do, clinging to the coping and inching my way around the pool to see how far I could get before my feet didn't touch. Suddenly the bottom wasn't there anymore and I couldn't hold myself up on the coping. I remember slipping under the water and just looking up at the sky from underwater. For some lucky reason I had enough wits about to walk on the bottom towards the shallow end until I could stick my nose out of the water and breathe. I wasn't scared then, but remembering it gives me chills. The way I didn't make a sound, didn't flail, or make any sign I was in trouble is what scares me the most.
Did any of the adults even know you were in any kind of trouble? If so when did they notice?
I was walking out in a river when all of the sudden the ground was GONE! No one knew the area and had any idea that there was a steep drop off in that area.
I do remember looking back towards the shore where my step dad was as I was being carried down the river. I saw him kick off his shoes and dive right in to get me. He had always been my hero but ..................he sure was after that!
Kim
I was walking out in a river when all of the sudden the ground was GONE! No one knew the area and had any idea that there was a steep drop off in that area.
I do remember looking back towards the shore where my step dad was as I was being carried down the river. I saw him kick off his shoes and dive right in to get me. He had always been my hero but ..................he sure was after that!
Kim
Re: This is why we say "Its not safe to swim if you can't see the bottom"
In addition to this tragedy, everyone needs to be aware of Dry Drowning. I saw where a young boy died from this last week or so. I had never heard of this.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kids-can-drown-hours-after-swimming-experts-say/
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In addition to this tragedy, everyone needs to be aware of Dry Drowning. I saw where a young boy died from this last week or so. I had never heard of this.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kids-can-drown-hours-after-swimming-experts-say/
In addition to this tragedy, everyone needs to be aware of Dry Drowning. I saw where a young boy died from this last week or so. I had never heard of this.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kids-can-drown-hours-after-swimming-experts-say/
- - - Updated - - -
In addition to this tragedy, everyone needs to be aware of Dry Drowning. I saw where a young boy died from this last week or so. I had never heard of this.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kids-can-drown-hours-after-swimming-experts-say/
Sad, sad story there. I feel sure there will be financial repercussions at some point for the pool owner. As a lifeguard and lessons instructor of 40 years, I wish more people understood the true signs of drowning, instead of expecting people to splash around and yell for help if they get into trouble. I teach kiddos as young as 2, and in the first session of lessons we discuss what to do if they accidentally find themselves in deep water, and I try to impart some skills to them that could save their life or at least keep them afloat until an adult can get to them. I hate floatees that give children a false sense of security. They need to know what their body feels like without any flotation device when they are in water over their heads.
n240sxguy
Well-known member
I bet that is a terrible memory. Drowning is a scary thing. It's so silent. Not like movie portrayals. People, kids or adults, just slip under and are too terrified to do anything. They don't splash. They are just underwater. When I was about 7 I did a toothpick, or whatever people call it these days, off a high dive into 12ft of water at a public pool. There was a huge drain under each diving board. I had my eyes closed and was waiting to surface, but didn't feel like I was going up. I opened my eyes and I was just standing on the main drain not moving. I pushed off and went up to the surface. The safety drains required now are a very good thing, and I'm especially thankful for that legislation. It's a shame a tragedy had to cause it to come into effect. When we bought our house/pool last year I wasn't aware of the legislation, I just knew I had two drains. The first thing I did before I would let my kids in the pool was turn the pump to pull only from the main drains. I went down and laid across one drain and felt around the other one. There was no noticeable suction, so my mind was put at ease knowing that even if it was set up that was there was little to no chance of entrapment. I don't want anyone to experience what I did even though my experience wasn't as bad as others who were truly stuck on a drain and couldn't escape. I am a pool safety nazi. Too much danger in the world to subject anyone to injury from an activity that should only be fun.
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n240sxguy
Well-known member
That's a sweet story Kim. Always good to have a dad that's a hero. Mine wasn't. I always fear the day I'll have to jump in to save someone, but I'm always at the ready just in case.
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I have a 5 year old daughter that is my world and we have the same rules. We have our pool in a fenced in area that she isn't allowed into without her mom or me and there is definitely no getting in the pool without her mom or me. I am a big believer in constantly reinforcing these rules so she hears them all the time. I hadn't really thought about applying those rules outside of our home but I will now. Thanks for the reminder. While she is very seldom away from us or somewhere else where they have a pool I will still have a discussion with her about this.
DaninFLA
0
Re: This is why we say "Its not safe to swim if you can't see the bottom"
Ive heard of that and heard it referred to as secondary drowning too. gotta be careful with pools and kids. cant ever let your guard down
Ive heard of that and heard it referred to as secondary drowning too. gotta be careful with pools and kids. cant ever let your guard down
There was another near drowning in DeKalb Country Georgia this week. It was reported that the lifeguard did not know how to swim and didn't know how to give CPR.
Link
Link
n240sxguy
Well-known member
The lifeguard couldn't swim or do cpr. You can't make that kind of stuff up. That's ridiculous!
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The lifeguard couldn't swim or do cpr. You can't make that kind of stuff up. That's ridiculous!
/QUOTE]
UNREAL! That cannot be true! BUT...............I guess it is
When I was a teen I was a lifeguard and swim instructor. We had to PROVE we could swim before we could even apply for the jobs AND we had to do weekly tests to make sure our skills were sharp!
Kim
