Tiger parents move over... Now we have "lighthouse" parents... Sounds good in theory but 6 & 10 year olds should not be swimming in the sea.

[Moonandstarz]

https://www.herfamily.ie/parenting/lighthouse-parents-defend-429377?fbclid=IwAR1yaBRuSjWxI-fLm0V4iY1AZtoiSssYbSiP7o6zdyJlxMptJ2NvYb5C6a4

Saw similar parenting camping last year.. Parents sat at their pitch quaffing their drinks while kids (some in nappies) roamed the campsite barefoot oblivious of cars, open water & other campers trying to enjoy their break!
Glad now there is a term for it "lighthouse" parenting as I had plenty less delightful terms for the parenting (or lack of!) that we witnessed last year..

Unsupervised??? I live in a country with a lot of open water (rivers, canals, the sea) and a much freer approach towards childhood (children cycling to/from school by themselves at a young age, playing out together without parents etc etc). But that comes with a huge emphasis on water safety and NOT randomly going into the water without adults around. My 9 year old son is allowed to go to the football field by himself and play with friends etc. But if I caught him in the river said privileges would be revoked. And he's a strong swimmer

I thought this would be a warning of dangers and guiding to safety type parenting. It seems a bit like they switched the light off.

I wonder also if sometimes people misremember their childhood a little. For example, if a group of them were playing and it was summer and they wanted to go swimming someone's mum/dad would come out and keep an eye. So they have the memory of long summer days spent swimming out in the sea without their parents around.

They are being very irresponsible indeed.Last week 2 children drowned here in Bournemouth. There is no way of policing the sea ! Apparently Rip tide was caused by pleasure boat.All such vehicles have now been stopped from operating by Bournemouth Council .

With swimming etc it might be a case of we are more aware of incidents elsewhere now. Look at the incident last week on Bournemouth. The whole country knew and was speculating within hours. 30 years ago it would be a story deep in the newspaper,maybe a bit on the local evening news.

Freedom isn't necessarily bad but there does need to be education with it. I don't think a 6yo is mature enough to cope in an emergency. And its a lot of responsibility for a 10yo.

Lighthouse parenting 😂

I went on first aid training in my first job and, to this day, I can still hear the trainer’s words ringing in my ears:

”a child can drown in a puddle”

I don’t even let my kids play with the hose unsupervised. 😂

Because they might drown

HTH

My best friend and I were talking a short while ago about how our mothers used to take us to the beach when we were little and sit and chat in their deckchairs while we played in the sea. Neither of them could swim and it was long before lifeguards were common on beaches.

Poor kids. They'll pay with their lives if it all goes wrong.

I watched this episode the other night.

They're in Australia, on the Gold Coast. So, too dangerous IMO. The parents did actually watch them from their balcony, their argument was that they only let them swim between the flags, where lifeguards are on duty. But as another couple said, if you're up on your balcony and you see them drowning, you're too far away to do anything. And what if the lifeguard doesn't notice?

And as another parent on the show said, what if the little one drowned? Imagine the guilt the older one would live with.

We live on the beach and my 6yr old is allowed to play on it unsupervised but only if A) she tells me she’s leaving the garden and going to the beach and B) she is absolutely not allowed in the water without permission. If I’m swimming with her that’s fine but if I’m staying on shore/in the garden (which runs onto the beach) then it’s knee deep max or lifejacket on. I consider her to have a lot of freedom and independence but there are boundaries.

Growing up coastal she has does respect the rules I’ve put in place and they regularly talk in school about the dangers of the sea etc as they visit the beach beside the school a few times a week.