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.

Bold fail!

What about the little fella? How's he handling the shock?

Slightly dramatic headline here, toddler didn’t almost die but got dunked for two seconds

People saying he didn't almost drown obviously have no idea how long it takes for a child to drown. Your dh shouldn't have taken his eyes off him, you had every right to be annoyed

This. Anyone saying otherwise is dangerously ignorant.

@aeinstein he seems fine thank you. At the time he kept saying “I sink” for about ten minutes and and wanted to cling on to DH but then he was back to his normal fearless self and stayed in the pool for another 45 minutes. He is up and playing normally this morning.

This is one of the most concerning threads I have read on here and that is saying something.

Not you OP, it sounds like a scary experience . Impossible to know for any of us since we weren’t there if you ‘overreacted or not’ but it never does any harm to reflect on pool safety. I agree though that it wouldn’t be sensible to avoid swimming now as he might start to fear it.

It’s the misinformation on here. Apart from a few excellent posts there is a general attitude of blame here: “why wasn’t he wearing armbands” and a lack of understanding about drowning.

Floatation devices are not always as sensible as they seem. Lots of swim schools do not use armbands ever.

Drowning can be silent, very quick and can occur when the parent is next to the child.

If people really want to educate themselves on child drowning look at the Judah Brown Project on Facebook. It’s American focused but has loads of really useful information. It needs a multi-layered approach to reduce child drownings. Armbands alone are not always the answer.

Thanks StressyMessy, good comment :) I was just coming here to say something similar. Armbands and flotation devices are not reliable and teach the child complacency and a false sense of security. They can even slip around and become a drowning hazard themselves. People are much better off with a noddle and close proximity to the child.

I'm sorry OP that sounds terrifying! I'm glad your little one is doing okay, you did the right thing by staying in the pool an extra while after to soothe any of his fears. It's so easily done as well.

@TooStressyTooMessy Totally agree. The posters on here telling off the OP for saying this was a near-drowning are idiots. What happened to her DS is exactly how children tend to drown.

Yes I don’t think berating the OP and asking if she’s anxious is helping.

This thread is a reminder of how quick and silent drowning can be and how you really can’t take your eyes off them for a second. Now luckily it sounds like OP’s child would have been fine even if she hadn’t spotted as the DH would have checked back in time. That should help you OP feel a bit better about the whole thing.But it is a reminder of how vigilant we need to be until they are very strong, capable swimmers and much older.

It’s horrible when we hear so many stories every year of children drowning and in most cases I’m sure the parents were trying to be vigilant and an accident happened or they got briefly distracted.

Glad to see some more sensible posts on here now. Whether the OP’s child was really in danger or not, being blasé about drowning is madness.

Hope you are feeling better now, OP.

To sum up the discussion (and speaking from a LOT of experience of small children in water), I'd say:

yes, you are quite right to feel upset

in the event nothing happened and he was fine, but that's a bit like when your child runs off down the road- in the event, he didn't get run over but it is foolish to pretend it couldn't have happened

you seem to have handled it very well, though, and without giving him a permanent fear that wouldn't have been helpful either

That isn't almost drowning @ZogorElmer that's just getting a bit of water in your mouth

As other have said @ZogorElmer a toddler shouldn't be in the water without some sort of flotation device

As others have said, @leaserspottedmummybird, that's nonsense.

I really despair of some of the safety advice posted on MN sometimes. This thread is a prime example. I reported it to HQ. I hoped they might come on and at least post a link to a reputable source on water safety. Instead they said it looked like a ‘good debate’ . Why let saving children’s lives get in the way of a debate ?

What it looks like to me is a complete lack of understanding by many posters of how people drown. Plus poor public health messages posted as fact. A flotation device is not the be all and end all .

I really despair of some of the safety advice posted on MN sometimes. This thread is a prime example. I reported it to HQ. I hoped they might come on and at least post a link to a reputable source on water safety. Instead they said it looked like a ‘good debate. Why let saving children’s lives get in the way of a debate?

Same with medical advice. Some of it is really dangerous.

Yep, HQ must love me as I report those threads too .

I think some people have too much faith in how a 2 or 3 year old will react.
Adults who have been swimming for years drown because they panic and do the wrong thing.

Bit dramatic op
2 seconds underwater when you've already said he can swim 4 meters while being underwater

Yes children can drown quickly, though I think research says it's 20 seconds, not two.

My youngest is nearly 2.5 and I can't see me feeling confident in less than 6 months at letting her in the pool without me directly next to her without a proper flotation device strapped to her

A “proper flotation device” is a BS standard lifejacket. Anything else is an aid.

Armbands, jackets etc hinder a child’s ability to learn to swim and give them a false sense of water confidence. As pp have said, adult supervision will save them from drowning, armbands will not.

I had to pull two kids out the pool on holiday once. First was a non swimmer in armbands who went down the slide ending up in a very deep pool he couldn’t get out of. Child panicked. Mum was sunbathing fully dressed on the poolside.

Second was your classic take armbands off, turn to get towel, toddler decides he’s getting back in not realising he won’t float without them.