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@agold: @Madison43: Totally agree - our kids use puddle jumpers or life vests - they're a safety precaution. Our 5 year old knows he can't swim well on his own yet (he's in swimming lessons where they aren't allowed to use floaties, so he knows he can't really swim on his own), so the puddle jumper makes us both feel safer. But I still keep my eyes on him 100% of the time he's in the water.
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Drowning is super scary for me for multiple reasons -
1st, an 18 month old girl drowned at our last daycare; a pool ladder was left in an above-ground pool and she left the group and was found too late, so so sad and unnecessary.
2nd we live next to a river. My husband is absolutely paranoid one of the kids would wander down there. We have an alarm on our basement door and our upstairs doors have locks out-of-reach of the kids, plus the deck has a gate, latch and padlock.I've heard of three drownings this summer already, luckily 2 survived.
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@agold: Our 4 year old has been in lessons for two years, but we still have her wear a life vest or puddle jumper when swimming or near the water as an extra level of security. We will allow her to swim without them sometimes too, but if she’s just splashing around in the water, we keep it on.
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@agold: we didn't use a puddle jumper until DD was 2.5. Prior to that she was happy to sit on the pool steps, sit in very shallow water at a lake, of let us hold her in deeper water. But at 2.5 she did not want to be held - in part because she is not a big hugger/toucher and in part because her need for independence was very high. One of us is still always with her in the water.
We always start with her in the water without the puddle jumper though, 10ish minutes where we work on her feeling her body in the water. But then she wears the puddle jumper.
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Just to elaborate for those that are anti floaties. Learning to swim is a process for small kids - even if they can “swim” most don’t have the breath control and/or coordination to swim independently for any period of time until they are older. For example, my almost 5 yr old has been in swim lessons weekly for 2 years. She can jump in and swim back to the edge, swim the length of an Olympic size pool on her back (just kicking, working on arms), and can swim half the length of the pool using a hybrid freestyle/underwater type stroke. She still wears a jacket/puddle jumper because she gets tired very easily, and honestly, even though she can jump off a diving board into the deep end and get herself back to the edge, I’m not sure how she’d react if she accidentally fell in or got water up her nose or any other unexpected thing. I expect it will be another year before she doesn’t need a floatation device part time.
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@josina: Did the drowning take place at the day care?
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@Adira: Thanks for the reminder. We need to talk about these things and remember that it could happen to any one of us.
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Yes, this terrifies me. Our pediatrician asks at every appointment to make sure we’re doing swim lessons.
Also, putting this article here to know what to look for with drowning. It’s been shared before, but always good to have a reminder, especially during the summer months:
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I found this chart useful: https://www.cdc.gov/injury/images/lc-charts/leading_causes_of_death_highlighting_unintentional_2016_1040w800h.gif
Here's a version w/o accidents broken down: https://www.cdc.gov/injury/images/lc-charts/leading_causes_of_death_age_group_2016_1056w814h.gif
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@Ms. RV: Yes it did.
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Don't use round pool inflatables. My brother almost drowned right in front of me when he flipped upside down at this age.
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@808love: What do you mean by round pool inflatable’s? Can you share a picture?
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@808love: @Jennibenni:
I remember seeing this video last year, hard to watch! -
@josina: Ok I had to scan through the middle bc I couldn't watch. That is exactly what happened to my brother. I think he was 2 and I was 4. The lifeguard and my mom jumped in at the same time. They probably thought I was 'watching' him but I couldn't do anything but yell. It was in an instant.
ETA I just watched again- all of it. The boy is ok, right?? Can't really tell. So it looks like the other mom didn't pick the boy out of the water? She went to get the mom first instead??
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I was a fantastic swimmer as a child. At summer camps I'd always win or runner up in the swimming competitions. Even so, I almost drowned in four feet of water in front of my family, who were watching and didn't realize what was happening for thr longest time. I came down a water slide into a lake that had vegetation on the bottom, and for some reason (maybe because it was murky and different from a pool), I panicked. I tried swimming up but it was like I was swimming in place, I lost the breath I was holding, and I just floated there unable to do anything. It wasn't until my family realized it was taking too long for me to come up that they finally acted.
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I read this article this morning and it really hit home for me tonight when my almost SIX year old just randomly decided to go play outside alone while I was putting her brothers to bed. She has never in her life left the house without a grown up, but took it upon herself tonight to put her sneakers and sweatshirt on and play in the yard without telling me. We don't have a pool, but I can totally see how something like this happens, and I will definitely be more vigilant when there is water nearby!
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These stories and statistics freak me out. Next week we are visiting my parents, whose shore home is surrounded by water and they have a pool. It gets chaotic when my family and my brother’s family visits. I’ve asked my parents to set their alarm to beep when any door opens, but they refuse. I’m worried that the kids may sneak out of the house without an adult especially since my oldest nephew can be sneaky and my oldest (5) worships the ground he walks on. There are no safety gates or fences along the bay or around the pool. We try to limit our time there as it is not relaxing and makes us incredible anxious to visit, since it is unsafe.
Last summer it was on the local news that a family lost twin 3 year olds. They went outside early one morning before their parents were awake and fell into the pool and died. Can you imagine?!
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@Alba4: I think I'm thinking of the same twins
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@Alba4: Ugh...I would be so mad if this were me...
And that story is so heartbreaking
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For all the comments about children sneaking out especially at homes you're visiting.... a possible solution is a temporary child safety latch, 5 feet up. There's several options on Amazon, but here's an example of what I mean:
https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Xtraguard-Action-Multi-Latches/dp/B007A2ZSZ8/It can be easily applied and removed, no need to drill into anything. It's not perfect because it can be left undone/open by a careless adult, but it's something.
For all those wondering for a more permanent door-based solution, we have a auto-close, auto-latch back patio door installed by http://www.sliderightdoors.com/. They are only in Arizona it looks like, but I bet there are other similar companies out there.
We also will be getting a pool net (like this:https://allsafepool.com/pool-nets/) installed in Nov/Dec after we get our pool re-done. I was skeptical of them but our friends got one and it is amazing.
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@Jennibenni: @LemonJack: @Adira: @Alba4: see comment above in case it is helpful.
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@DesertDreams88: Those look great! Thanks!!
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@DesertDreams88: thanks for the link. When we travel, I take our door monkey along, but I was also looking for an option to add to a locked door!
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Great reminders. We often use the puddle jumpers/life jackets at the pool because its hard to keep an eye on 3 kids even with 2 adults.
This is also why my mom never trusted us to go to the beach with any friends.
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