Please please please watch your children at the beach

[listsandbudgets]

I'm staying in Devon at the moment and decided at about half past four to go for a swim. I'm a reasonably confident swimmer and know that at this particular beach its quite easy to go quickly out of your depth.

I was treading water talking to another woman I vaguely know when she suddenly said "I think that little girl just went under over there" Luckily we were fairly close, swam as quickly as we could and were able to grab her and haul her out. She was coughing up sea water and obviously terrified but she was OK. We took her back to the beach and her parents hadn't even realised - understandably they were extremely upset :(

Please watch your children and make sure for yourself before they go in how quickly it gets deep some beaches you can walk out for ages and its barely past your waists but not all of them.. I'm only processing now what could have happened if the lady I was with hadn't spotted her.

It can happen anywhere. My gm and aunt took 4 of us to Richmond Park or Cannezaro Gardens, when I was still in nappies. We were feeding swans, and one got hold of my finger as well as the bread and pulled me in. I went down at least twice because I have two snapshot memories of what was happening when I came up, before going down again and then being pulled out.

It was very beautiful at the bottom, very quiet and peaceful too. I don't remember being at all frightened or bothered. Until I was rescued!

Anyway, ANY BODY OF WATER.

I know someone who is now paraplegic as a result of trying to save someone else's child.

Sadly despite trying to find out whether the child they were trying to save they don't know whether he did or not.

@SwanShaped

What’s squares in the sea?

Different rip tides coming together. Rip tides on their own are dangerous, but squares are worse.

My then 4 year old nearly drowned on my watch and I think about it every day.

At a swimming pool with a huge group of friend. DH went to the loo and DS went in to the paddling pool. I had DS2 who was a tiny baby so wasn’t going in. I was standing on the edge of the paddling pool watching him when a friend asked me for a swim nappy. I turned round, rootled in my bag for one, handed it to her, she started talking and I just thought hang on, I need to set eyes on DS1. He wasn’t in the paddling pool, I couldn’t see him anywhere. Then at the bottom of the big pool, at the deep end, was dark shape whirling around.

He’d gotten out of the baby pool, run round to the big pool and jumped in to the deep end. There must have been twenty of us there, no one else, and I took my eyes off him for a couple of minutes.

He was right next to my friend who hadn’t noticed him at all. I screamed at her and she yanked him out. At the same moment the lifeguard jumped in, he’d obviously noticed at the same moment.

Poor DS came out screaming! He said “where was everyone? Why did everyone leave the pool?” He’d got totally disorientated.

Poor DH came back out the loo to chaos!! Had to take him to A and E to be checked out.

It just takes a second. It’s so bizarre how quick it is.

I am a really strong swimmer in a pool and swim a mile most days of the week. However, a few years ago I was in Barcelona on holiday and went swimming in the sea. It was very calm, no big waves and I still started to really struggle. I managed to get back to the shore but it took all my strength not to go under and I was really scared.

The sea really is a different beast and you need to be so careful.

Never assume kids won't do something bonkers... the little boy of a friend of mine decided to try his armbands on his ankles....Fortunately someone (not sure of the details) noticed him feet up, head down.

@Fitschkels

My then 4 year old nearly drowned on my watch and I think about it every day.

At a swimming pool with a huge group of friend. DH went to the loo and DS went in to the paddling pool. I had DS2 who was a tiny baby so wasn’t going in. I was standing on the edge of the paddling pool watching him when a friend asked me for a swim nappy. I turned round, rootled in my bag for one, handed it to her, she started talking and I just thought hang on, I need to set eyes on DS1. He wasn’t in the paddling pool, I couldn’t see him anywhere. Then at the bottom of the big pool, at the deep end, was dark shape whirling around.

He’d gotten out of the baby pool, run round to the big pool and jumped in to the deep end. There must have been twenty of us there, no one else, and I took my eyes off him for a couple of minutes.

He was right next to my friend who hadn’t noticed him at all. I screamed at her and she yanked him out. At the same moment the lifeguard jumped in, he’d obviously noticed at the same moment.

Poor DS came out screaming! He said “where was everyone? Why did everyone leave the pool?” He’d got totally disorientated.

Poor DH came back out the loo to chaos!! Had to take him to A and E to be checked out.

It just takes a second. It’s so bizarre how quick it is.

That's horrifying and I hope your DH realised that he should have taken DS with him!

Totally agree with you op. Every time I go to the beach I am astonished how oblivious some people are to their own children's safety

@ErrolTheDragon

Never assume kids won't do something bonkers... the little boy of a friend of mine decided to try his armbands on his ankles....Fortunately someone (not sure of the details) noticed him feet up, head down.

This. I did this as a child. I was old enough to know better but had a moment of stupidity. Thankfully the lifeguard spotted me in seconds and gave me a telling off I have never forgotten