Kids swimming and drowning..

[runforyourdog]

I keep seeing all these worrying posts about kids drowning and how you need to watch them every second..

I was just wondering, at what stage / age are kids able to be left to get on with it without risk of drowning?

Is it kids who can't swim who drown or when they get injured or get tired?

I’d be very very very surprised if a 5yo was anywhere near mature enough to risk assess for themselves.

For example, if you give them freedom do you trust that if a bunch of other kids chucked off their vests your DS wouldn’t?

Kids should only be left alone near water when they are strong swimmers, have been specifically taught what to do if they get in danger and are mature enough to risk assess and not follow others blindly imo.

5 and 7 I'd be watching them.

Colleague of mine drowned on a canoeing trip with her DH & child on a guided tour. They all capsized, colleague went to check on child who’s life jacket was on, colleague was only one not wearing life jacket. Thought she wouldn’t need it. If she’d worn it, she wouldn’t have had difficulties & drowned. She might still have got into difficulties but would’ve floated until help arrived. Very tragic.

I love being in water but still more than a bit surprised people think it’s ok to not be in the water with a 4 to 6 year old.

I read somewhere that good swimmers can be in more danger in some circumstances (eg hot weather and lakes) as they're more likely to leap into deep/cold water and think they'll be fine. As well as having the skills to swim to safety, people need an awareness of what can go wrong and where not to swim, and the floating on your back advice which can save even non-swimmers.

Also anywhere where large waves are crashing directly onto the beach is risky as they can roll you over as a PP described. I had this happen to me in cornwall - I was walking out of the sea and a wave crashed right over me. It just tumbled me about and it was total disorientation and panic. Luckily I held my breath and managed to get out after it had passed, and there were lots of people around so I hope I might have been seen and helped if not, but it was scary.\

And don't jump into a weir to save someone. You have to throw them a rope / tie clothes together to make one.

My sister nearly drowned as a child, the lilo she was on tipped out at the edge of the waves and she went underneath. She couldn’t get her footing and if it hadn’t have been for someone seeing it happen and grabbing her, things could have been very different. My parents both said they were watching her ☹️

Depends on the situation and 4-6 year old. My nephews all swam like fish at that age. In an uncrowded pool you have much better line of sight from the edge of the pool than in it without having to restrict them too much.

Different with a less competent swimmer that wouldn’t be out of arms reach or a very crowded pool where always having them in view would be difficult.

It's scary how quickly a drowning can happen.

We had a shared villa in Majorca with a pool when DS was about 2. He was playing with the balls on the pool table a good 10 metres away from the pool as I watched from a lounger. I must have dozed off as the next thing was I heard a very gentle plop sound which thankfully stirred me. Turned out one of the balls had rolled into the pool and DS fell in behind it. Since then I've been very hot on pool safety.
I'd say at 5 and 7 unless it's your own pool and there is no-one else there, I'd be in the water with them at all time.

be warned…We’ve grown up overseas with a pool. My children are excellent string swimmers. My 12 year old almost drowned last summer because he was at a pool party where parents left their children as they were the “right” age at 12-13. One child was a weak swimmer and went too deep and grabbed my son (smaller) panicking and grasping to stop drowning and held my son underwater. He was just pulled out but people didn’t know he was under at first. This is not the only time we’ve heard a story like this. We never considered the non swimmers as a rush once they were strong swimmers. I get upset about it still and we are very cautious parents- people might say too cautious as I’m always watching etc. Teach your children not just to swim but how to react to a panicked person.

We are in France at the moment at a campsite, DD7 and DS5 are both good swimmers. DS was wearing a vest too but unsure how much freedom they should be given!

none. You need to be within reach at all times.

don’t assume flotation devices mean they are safe. They can increase the risk of drowning as kids can’t swim or get themselves out of trouble, and they can actually hold them under if they get the wrong position.

i’ve also seen kids who don’t realise they can’t swim without flotation devices take them off, jump in, and sink. They don’t try to swim because they don’t know how.

your better to give them a float or noodle to hold and teach them how to float in water.

I'd say at 5 and 7 unless it's your own pool and there is no-one else there, I'd be in the water with them at all time

nope. In the water at all times. Regardless.

like you experienced it’s too easy to doze off, look away for a second, be distracted by a message on your phone.

kids drown silently.

kids drown silently.

Indeed.

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/two-year-old-girl-life-24501868

We live outside the UK and have a backyard swimming pool. My 16yo is a swimming teacher herself and is first aid and cpr certified. It all depends on the body of water, the conditions and the other people present.

A busy public pool during holiday time you should be watching 5 & 7 yo every minute. Not on your phone or reading a book. It has nothing to do with swimming ability and everything to do with the behaviour of others. In fact I would say that more confident swimmers are more at risk because they will engage in risky behaviour. If someone else accidentally jumps on top of them or they slip on the side of the pool and hit their head they can drown in minutes. You have to make sure they understand not to challenge themselves by holding their breath for long periods (leading to blackouts and drowning) and to let you know if they inhale any amount of water (dry drowning is a real phenomenon). Basically ensure they respect water and its dangers as well as enjoying it.

My eldest had a bit of an incident at a swimming pool party. It was one of those with huge floats that they all climb on. She fell off and luckily I was the type of batshit mother that wouldn't take her eyes off her but I was a swimming pool distance away. By the time I ran to the other end of the pool I remember looking down and seeing her hair fanned out and she was static down in the pool. I shouted at the teenage lifeguard are you getting her or am I (he froze). They had another lifeguard in the water as well and I'll never forget the fear on her face as she pulled her up. Thank god she was ok but that was a near miss with 2 lifeguards & a super uptight mother. It shocked me how quickly it could happen and how easily it could have been missed in a pool full of noisy kids.

Reading these gave me the shivers. Aged 8or so I gave my younger cousin a piggyback while swimming. I swam into the deep end and started to struggle; we made it to the side eventually but even now it makes me feel a bit sick to think about it, it could have ended quite differently - and I was a strong swimmer with plenty of stamina.

Those are of you with stupid, arrogant DHs who won't put their kids or themselves in proper flotation aids when out on the water, perhaps you could have a chat with a lifeguard or the local RNLI when you're on a beach, and ask them to tell your DHs about the people they've rescued who weren't wearing flotation aids. Or put on an episode of Saving Lives At Sea. I live in Cornwall where every year we have scores of people getting into trouble on the water, sometimes with terrible consequences.

My kids started surfing at 5 but never alone, never in the water alone. And both very well versed in "float to live" and water safety etc.

One is now over 10 and the other is almost 10 but I still dont leave them unattended in wild water. We all surf or paddle board together.

They can go to the pool alone though.

My dc10 is in an amateur swimming club training three times per week- swims 100m in competitions. On holiday now and I've always got eyes on her. Dh and I went to get a drink/ snack the other day and she was raging we told her to get out of the pool until we got back. You just never know and I'm not willing to take the risk.

Three teenage boys found a five year old face down in a public pool last week and pulled him out, luckily he survived.
At the school swimming carnival a few years ago a parent jumped in fully clothed because they saw a child on the bottom of the pool, this is despite two lifeguards and a number of teachers supervising, they survived.
Many small children drown every year in backyard pools here in Australia, a few years ago t2yo twins drowned on Christmas Day.
You need to be within arms reach of your kids in the pool EVERY TIME.

I agree with this also. Why refuse to wear a buoyancy jacket? It will save your life if something goes wrong.

I’m 32 and a good swimmer and l nearly got into difficulties in the wave pool at Center Parcs. I’m not very tall, got shunted towards the deeper end and if my much taller husband hadn’t been able to push me back towards the shallow end then I don’t know how much longer I could have kept my head up. The lifeguards didn’t spot me in difficulty, nor did anyone else.

Water is dangerous. Don’t chance it. Especially not with children.

It's also advisable to always wear a red/orange costume as it makes you far more visible in the water.

You always need to be near your kids in a swimming pool ( or any other body of water ) and just because lifeguards are present doesn’t mean for one minute the pool is safer. You can’t expect one or two lifeguards to watch a whole swimming pool full of kids especially if there are lots of inflatables in there as well.
The one good thing about lifeguards however is that should there be an incident they are trained in CPR etc and for that reason alone I would always be happier with lifeguards present at a pool.

If you are in the pool and there is more than one child, you are probably safer with a spotter on the poolside. The lifeguard will play that role in a lifeguarded pool.

It’s just as easy to get distracted by one child and take your eye off the other for a second as it would be to get distracted poolside.

My son has been swimming without aids since 3 and this is the first summer I've let him go in a pool with us watching from the sides and he's 9. Prior to this he wasn't allowed in on his own but I may be too cautious?

@SzeliSecond I think in the UK they are allowed to go to a swimming pool ( with a lifeguard)without an adult accompanying them from age 8. That feels about right to me, but I'd still want to be at the side to keep watch.