So if you've got young kids, keep an eye on them around water (please)

[Nigeyy]

Just back from a nice holiday at Niagara Falls (Canadian Ontario side).

At the hotel where we stayed, there was a nice roof top pool and my kids went swimming -around 20 people were dotted around the pool. I saw a family with 3 kids come in and my parental radar went on simply because I noticed the one of the young kids (around 3-4 years old) didn't have any flotation devices on and I thought "wow, she must be a young swimmer!".

As the father paid attention to one of his kids, and the mother dealt with her youngest in a stroller, the girl jumped straight into the pool. Neither the mother or father saw this, and didn't realize it, they'd had their attention diverted. Nobody else saw it either.

To my horror I realized pretty quickly this girl couldn't swim. All I remember is next moment I was up on my feet, shoes kicked off (don't even remember this!) and shouting as loudly as I could that this girl was in trouble. Another swimmer heard my panic stricken cry, and swam over getting the little girl out of the water before I could get to her. The parents just didn't seem to understand the enormity of what just had happened -I truly believe if I hadn't seen her, she would have drowned -no one else saw her or was even aware of her trouble.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing about the whole event was the absolute silence that accompanied this. No gurgling, no shouting, no screaming, just silent slow motion flailing under water. They say drownings aren't loud events, and this was just a terrifying thing for me to witness -and really drove it home. Somehow you think you'd hear sounds of distress, but it just doesn't happen like that.

So if you've got young ones, please don't ever take your eyes off them when it comes to water. Don't even think you'll hear your kids if they get into trouble; you won't.

 

[Keith Oates]

One very lucky little girl to have had you watching her, I hope the parents also will be more careful the next time they take the family to the pool !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[summerdays]

Well done. I was once at a small pool with mine, helping one to learn to swim. She had climbed out and was walking around the edge by the deep end, when another child of a similar age (maybe 5 or 6) pushed her in. She thought it was fun to push an unknown stranger in! She was a bit surprised at the reaction from me and the splashing from my daughter (trying to keep a float with her new skills). She did apologise afterwards.

 

[ScotiaLass]

Thank God you seen her!!!
We live quite near some of the Lochs here in Scotland, which are overrun with tourists in the summer.
I remember us sitting having a picnic one day and my dad shouting to a German family - they were letting their kids swim unsupervised in the Loch. These are deep, cold places, and even an experienced swimmer would struggle.
People have drowned in them....all the locals know not to go swimming in them but those that don't, think they look calm and an easy swim!!
I hate water, after almost drowning in a pool in Germany when I was about 9.

 

[Broadside]

Well done Nigeyy.

I was swimming with a couple of mates last weekend and we had 6 kids between us. The kids had been playing with the swimming bag before we got to the pool and had chucked the arm bands out. One of the non swimming kids had been fine playing in the water with her dad but he turned his back for under 5 secs to say something to his wife. In that time the little girl had walked off a step in to the deepend and begun the drowning process within 1 foot of him and no more than 2 foot from me. I actually thought she was mucking around trying to swim under water as there was no splashing at all, total silence. I quickly realised, shouted to her dad who grabbed her and all was well.

The point above about it happenin in complete silence and unnoticed is certainly not lost on me, it is a very scary thing to witness.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I almost drowned as a kid, if an old guy hadn't seen me and pulled me to safety, then I probably wouldn't be here now.

As for the silence, well, you don't have much chance to say anything as you are fighting just to breath whilst trying not to inhale/swallow too much water!!

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

I was cycling past the local reservoir with my wife on Monday afternoon commenting on how for the past several weeks there have been large numbers of youngsters jumping in. I said to my wife that somebody is going to get killed. Three hours later one of them did.

 

[Yellow Fang]

A lad drowned in the Kennet canal close to here. They used to swim in one of the locks. I used to see them when I went jogging that way. It looked like fun when the weather was hot. One day I saw there was a wooden cross at the side of the path with a lot of school ties tied to it. Then I read or heard in the local news that a schoolboy had drowned.

 

[sidevalve]

I'm afraid it's another example of the "it's somebody elses resposibility" thing we see so often now. Kids running around supermarkets/cafes/cinemas etc. As one old boy once said to me [he was talking about driving but the same applies] "it's 100% attension and 50% concentration". Yes it's hard work but nobody said bringing up kids was an easy job [and those involved did choose to do it].
Anyhow well done !

 

[numbnuts]

Well done, but you also have to watch the big kids as well, people and water sometimes don't mix

 

[Saluki]

Well done on spotting her. What a good job that you happened to be looking at the time.
As for her parents not understanding the enormity of what had happened That just beggars belief.

 

[RWright]

A couple of weeks ago I was in my front yard around sunset just relaxing and looking at a deer in the woods across the street. Suddenly I hear several sirens and they keep getting louder, then they got really loud as a fire truck and ambulance come down the street in front of my house. I didn't smell any smoke but then a woman walking up the street came by and said another woman down the street was standing in her front yard holding a little boy and was quite distressed. The lady talking to me didn't know what was wrong.

I didn't go try to help since the rescue people had already arrived. It turns out the woman's five year old kid had gone into their backyard pool and drowned. They were able to revive him but said he did not seem quite right (don't think I would have been either), so they took him to the hospital. I did learn basic first aid and mouth to mouth resuscitation when I was in boy scouts but that was a long time ago and it made me realize I could probably use a first aid refresher course, which I may do in the not so distant future.

I saw the little kid a few days ago, I don't know him but I hope everything is ok with him now.

 

[raleighnut]

Well spotted nigey kids can get into trouble in a heartbeat (even big ones, ahem)

 

[MontyVeda]

in the 70s, grown ups used to scare us sh!tless with little films like this...

 

[Cyclopathic]

Where's Rolf Harris when you need him.