Toddler almost drowned today

[ZogorElmer]

Almost 3 year old was on his noodle in the swimming pool when he fell off and went under. DH was looking in the other direction and didn’t see and it took a second for me as a spectator to notice and shout him. He grabbed DS out of the water and he was fine but I can’t shake the look of panic on DS’s face as he was under the water trying to get up. He was under for about 2 seconds maximum but it felt a life time.

I had a huge go at DH about making sure he watches DS like hawk and keeps him at arms reach in future. I think he was over confident as DS can swim around the pool on a noodle no problem but obviously without it would sink.

I don’t know why I’m posted but I just feel like I need to tell someone. I still feel so shook up even though DS is running round like a nutter as usual.

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

You were there too? Does he have swimming lessons yet?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Was he in the toddler pool? Or was he out of his depth?

I think most kids that age would naturally come up to the surface but then if they can't stand up in the water would then struggle.

If ds can't touch the bottom and isn't old enough to have a guaranteed hold on the noodle then he should be in armbands.

I can understand that you called out to bring it to your dh attention, but I don't think it was necessary to have a huge go at dh for it. He will no doubt feel crap enough about it, and everybody makes mistakes. It was really minor.

[ZogorElmer]

I was watching on the side while feeding my baby.

Yes he has swimming lessons and is confident in water, but at 2 he obviously doesn’t have the skills to stay afloat or swim with any style yet.

[tommyshaircut]

Arm bands ? Floatation jacket ?

[Bookworm4]

Did he not have armbands or vest on?

[ZogorElmer]

He was out of his depth as the pool didn’t have a toddler type end.

He is usually very confident on the noodle but we obviously stay right next to him anyway. He swims underwater in his swimming lessons for about 3-4m and so is used to being under the water but he panicked.

[Niyamamama]

OK I expecting something a bit more dramatic!

I'm from an EU country where parents still think tossing your kids in at the deep end is the best way to teach them to swim.....

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

OP this could have happened on your watch too, it's so so easy to do. When he is out of his depth, he needs armbands or float jacket. Its simple. He is 2.

[EdersonsSmileyTattoo]

Why didn’t he have arm bands on?

[WineGummyBear]

Poor you! Sounds terrifying. Pleased he's safe and sound.

[LoreleiRock]

He was under for about 2 seconds maximum Are you sure it wasn’t your shouting that alarmed your son? All children go under the water when swimming.

[ZogorElmer]

No he doesn’t wear arm bands or a floatation jacket as he has sensory issues and won’t wear them. He usually just uses a noodle right next to us and if he ever did fall off we could scoop him out straight away. It’s just that today DH was distracted and looking in the other direction and so didn’t notice him come off and get into difficulty. Hence why I, in panic, had a go at him about adequate supervision.

[ALoadOfTwaddle]

Our swim school is totally against armbands and life jackets in pools, so I get why the kid wasn't wearing them. Not a problem provided you supervise them appropriately.

[redchocolatebutton]

poor you
it's so scary, children that age drop like stones.

I'm sure your dh has learnt from this.
maybe take the opportunity to practice floating on the back so that you and your dc get more confidence.
www.fatherly.com/play/how-to-teach-kid-float-swimming-pool/

[ZogorElmer]

No it wasn’t my shouting that alarmed him. I was sorting the baby and looked up to see him come off the noodle and go under. He was trying to splash to keep his head up but couldn’t and so went under with his eyes wide with panic. DH was there within a few seconds to pull him out and DS was a bit shaken but happy to stay in the pool for another 45 minutes swimming happily (under much closer supervision).

In his swim lesson he often goes under, it was just the look of panic today that has made me feel sick. He is probably under for longer when doing an underwater swim from the teacher to me, but he has been prepped and knows how to do it.

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Have you apologised to dh for having a go at him?

[OrchidInTheSun]

Honestly, I don't think a toddler should be in a pool that deep without armbands or a float device on.

[ChocolateTea]

This may be the trigger to be able to get a floatation jacket on him, sometimes it takes an incident for them to realise.

[C305]

I'm sure your husband feels much better now you've had a go at him about it

[Justkeeprollingalong]

Obviously it was a shock and I can understand you having a go at your husband at the time but I hope you've apologised to him since.

[ZogorElmer]

Yes I have apologised to him. I just panicked.

His swim lessons are in a deep pool with no floatation jacket or arm bands and so he isn’t used to wearing them. Because of his sensory difficulties it is impossible to get him to wear one. But I will think twice about taking him swimming again for a while.

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

Is his swimming lesson 1 to 1? Seems mad a swim school would put a bunch of 2yos out of their depths.

[Aroundtheworldin80moves]

Will he tolerate having the noodle tied around his waist? That's what we were advised (and they had it like that in their lessons)

[ALoadOfTwaddle]

Bernadette
From a swim school:
Your child, no matter how young or how new to swimming they are, will never wear armbands in a lesson. We want to teach your child to swim independently and how to be safe in the water. There are compelling reasons why we don’t use armbands:

If your child fell into water when on holiday or even just on a riverside walk with the family, they probably won’t have armbands on. Their experience in their swimming lessons needs to be as realistic as possible. Water safety is a core building block in our lesson plans and everything your child learns will, unbeknown to them, be teaching them vital life-saving skills.
We teach our children to swim beautifully. Technique is ingrained at every level and wearing armbands hinders this. Your child will learn to swim on the surface of the water, gracefully and efficiently. If they wear armbands, they will not be aligned in the water. Their top half will be bobbing above the water, forcing their bottom half to dip down, making the alignment required for independent swimming all but impossible.
Non-fitted buoyancy aids (such as floats or woggles) allow children to push away from them when they are ready to be independent whereas fitted aids (arm bands) require an adult to deflate them. We would never recommend the use of inflatables or buoyancy seats – these can flip toddlers over into the water and even land on top of them, making it difficult for them to surface.

[ratatata]

I think you should take him swimming again. Don’t want to encourage fear. I think he should get back on the horse