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.

. The same thing happened with my nephew when he was 2.5. He’d had his armbands on and my bil took them off While they were eating their dinner. Next second my nephew was no where to be seen.
Anyhow something told him to look down and he saw my nephew under the water struggling. Thank God he looked down at that second. I still cry over what might have been.

If your son won’t wear armbands or a floatation jacket you may want to stop taking him and send him to classes when he’s ready instead. Relying on a Noodle to keep him afloat in deep water is stupid

If your son won’t wear armbands or a floatation jacket you may want to stop taking him and send him to classes when he’s ready instead.

Many classes don't put kids in armbands.

Arm bands don’t prevent drowning, such a common misconception.
Hold your child in the water if they can’t bloomin swim.

So dangerous.

@ALoadOfTwaddle - but in classes teachers are professionals paid to look after kids and so the devices aren’t required.

Relying on a Noodle to keep him afloat in deep water is stupid

They're not though. They're relying on his parent to keep him safe in water. Also, toddlers can and have drowned in two inches of water. Depth makes no difference-never leave them unattended in or near water.

armbands and floatation jackets don’t prevent drowning....
Why do people think this?

I actually find them a hinderance when supporting my child in the water.

But yes, armbands and floatation jackets are supports and not drowning preventions.

but in classes teachers are professionals paid to look after kids and so the devices aren’t required.

What exactly do you think these professionals can do that his dad can't in this situation? In our toddler classes, parents go in with them and are responsible, first and foremost, for keeping them safe. And they are taught to move themselves around the pool using woggles.

Just to back up the OP, my daughter is 2 and her swimming class (c.6-8 toddlers plus accompanying adult in the water, plus teacher) only use armbands occasionally. They tend to use the noodles for unsupported swimming so this is what I do too when I take her on my own.

You do have to watch like a hawk though!

If he continued playing in the pool for a further 45 minutes I think it's traumatized you a lot more than him.

I get how you feel today. Same happened to my husband. He took his eyes of our son for 3 seconds and he fell in the pool and went under. He was very badly shaken by this and took him quite a long time to get over it.
Makes you realise how easily / quickly it can happen EVEN if you are stood right next to them.
Your child will have forgotten all about it by now but the good thing is it will stay with you and your husband forever and you will b extra vigilant.

You can’t be too careful. We witnessed a child drowning on holiday. So quick and scary. How someone’s lives can turn upside down in minutes.

No kudos to me in not using armbands when swimming outside of lesson time. The teachers don’t have to deal with a baby too. Armbands do help but obviously you still can’t leave them but can be a metre away

I’m sure some of these posts are deliberately aimed to make to feel even more shit than you already feel.
My dc have never had floatation jackets or arm bands at their lessons and it sounds as though your dh did notice in a very short space of time but it felt like a life time.
Hope you’re ds is ok and make sure you keep taking him so he doesn’t become frightened of the water.

You shouldn’t be a metre away from a child that can’t swim.

You need to be right next to them, if not holding them and super aware.

Arm bands and stuff are clearly giving people a false sense of security.

My dds swim class is against armbands/vests. We use a noodle.

@TryingAndFailing39 if you mean mine that’s not my intention. I’m alarmed at the false sense of security people clearly have when using arm bands.

But I will think twice about taking him swimming again for a while

This is a very very bad idea. You will cause fear of water by making a big deal out of it. Your son is fine. He needs to keep swimming, and be properly supervised. Avoiding the water for a while is going to be harmful. Don’t do it

have you considered getting two belts

DS started swimming lessons at six months and he was never taught with flotation devices.

He has always been fine under the water - I think most little children are - so I’m sure the OPs little one was fine for the very very short time he was under.

However I’m sure we all recognise that sick to the guts feeling when our child has been in a situation the could have been dangerous.

I hope the adults don’t give fear of the water to the child and he learns to swim soon. I remember an instructor telling me that they first teach kids the flip over and doggy paddle to the nearest pool wall if they get into trouble in the water.

In his lesson I am in the water with him so he is supported 1:1. He is held by me when doing activities with floats, he swims unaided under the water to the instructor and back again to me and then uses a noodle with me close by.

I can imagine you were very scared. I have 3 kids and have taken them all swimming - we have used a mixture of noodles, arm bands, vests, holding, nothing etc depending on whether I was supervising one or two kids, the depth of the pool etc etc My scariest moment was being in the pool with all 3 kids, plus my dad. Youngest was in arm bands and he was out of reach when one of the arm bands popped. He didn't drown - I got to him but he and I were scared by the event. We didn't let it stop us swimming, as you and your husband shouldn't let this stop you. Large glass of wine for you each tonight. 🍷

An inflatable arm band, more commonly known as water wings, are not a life-saving device; they will not prevent a child from accidentally going under water and potentially drowning. Remember, water wings can slip off or easily deflate. Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of water wings is the feeling of safety they provide for both the child and the adult responsible for watching the child. These water wings give children a false sense of security and lead them to believe that they can swim on their own. “Inflatable arm bands teach kids to jump in and let the floats do the work of popping them back up to the surface," said Bob Hubbard, owner of Hubbard Family Swim School. "They learn to run and jump with complete abandonment and use the floats to raise them high in the water rather than relaxing and trusting the water to float them." Along with this, adults feel that their children are safe in the water when in reality they are not safe unless under constant supervision. Children of all ages should be supervised by an adult while in the pool or near any body of water. Even the most advanced swimmers can fall and bump their head or slip and need help

Sorry op but your little one didn’t nearly drown. He got a bit of a fright in the water. Nearly drowning is my father having to give my 2-year-old brother CPR because he was pulled unconscious from a pool that no-one had spotted him falling into, the result of which is that even now, in his 60’s he can’t bear more that 3” of water in a bathtub and showering is impossible.

I don’t doubt you all got a fright, but please keep some perspective. Your little one didn’t come close to drowning and you need to get him back in the pool as soon as possible.