To ask you to warn/threaten/do whatever it takes to keep your kids out of Lakes in this hot weather

[AlexanderHamilton]

As emergency seadvices have been at a local lake/nature reserve searching for a teenager since 5pm tonight. There were three kids in distress in the water. Two got out. The parents of the third are at the lake as the search continues as darkness falls.

Of course, @AlexanderHamilton it's good you posted. I'll be speaking to my dc today about it and warning them.

Wild swimming is a really big thing in some countries. I wonder why its so dangerous in the UK?

I think it's something you need to get used to gradually Barbarian.

The people who have drowned will generally be those who only ever go in lakes to cool off in the summer, not those who have grown up regularly swimming in cold water.

The regular swimmers will probably have wetsuits too and probably not swim alone - there will always be lifeguards onsite, or they will be in a group of experienced swimmers who may also have rescue training.

Also maybe the water isn't as cold in countries with more reliably hot weather - they might have a few weeks/months of sustained hot weather whereas we usually have shorter periods, but a few days of heatwave and people are straight in the water?

How tragic

@Bananasinpyjamas11can you explain more about fresh water being more dangerous?

In the USA where wild swimming is massive they have life gaurds at the popular spots and the lakes there are more likely to be purely natural rather then the more dangerous man made lakes like disused quarries etc.

In Canada swimming in lakes is encouraged from a very early age. However, along with that is taught safety. Neither of mine, nor any of my friends dc would dream of going in the water without their life jackets, even the ones who would be considered really strong swimmers. They know where they can play and have whistles attached to their jackets if they get in trouble. My two (5 and 3) know they are not to be in the water without an appropriate adult within arms reach. Some of the lakes have sudden drop offs into deep water. Some of them are still icy cold after being frozen solid all winter.

Water safety should be drummed in at a young age. Over here, grabbing your life jacket for a day at the lake is second nature even for adults. It doesn't prevent all accidents, but it certainly helps.

Prayers for the poor child and their parents.

In Germany they swim in anything - and make plenty of artificial ponds and lakes for this purpose - and for water sports of all kinds. I have no idea how the death rates compare but it's just considered a totally normal activity.

(((((((Hugs))))))) All. I hope all is well in the end

There are deaths every year on the Norfolk Broads too.

When boating, wear a buoyancy aid. Falling in to cold water from a boat is just as dangerous as leaping in.

Great reminder, Alexander.

With summer, comes drownings. Here, it's the beaches. Rips, under-currents, dumping waves, swells, quickly changing weather.

Barely a day goes by without another tragedy. Adults, teens, children, toddlers. And when it happens on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day it's just a whole nother level of awfulness.

There are not enough reminders in the world to stay safe around water.

Open water or wild swimming is done here too, Barbarian but it isn’t the same as piling into water to cool off.

Open water swimmers will have thought about the temperature and decided to wetsuit or not based on that. They will have the right clothes to warm up afterwards and chosen a place with other swimmers and probably a canoe patrol. They know to look out for swimmers on their backs as a sign of distress and how to preserve life for as long as possible if they get into trouble.

DS open water swims (and I am far more nervous of that than when he trains in a pool) but he knows not to swim in the local river. It isn’t the same at all.

Well, bugger. This makes me think again about taking the kids swimming at their favourite mill pond.

Thanks op, we were in crickhowell over the weekend where there is a shallow fast river with a weir. Lots of children were paddling in the water, but then some started jumping off the weir into the main river, and then some started diving.

I know there's a deeper patch of water there, and those children were fine, but if someone didn't know to look out for that, that could be a broken neck.

Basically don't dive into water where you're not absolutely certain there's enough depth for it - anywhere!

where we live its teens swimming in disused quarries. usually 16/18 year olds.

I live right by a tidal river. At some times of the day it is ankle-knee deep and looks ideal for paddling in. An hour later it can be a hell of a lot deeper. Every year there are helicopters/police out searching for teenagers who have disappeared in the water. There's been several deaths over the last few years. A few weeks ago, a boy jumped straight in not realising that there's several feet of thick mud on the bottom - he got stuck in it up to his chest, with the tide coming in fast. He was very lucky indeed that police got there quickly and pulled him out.

Every day at this time of year I see groups of teenagers hanging out on the banks, jumping in and swimming - often drunk. They'll hang out round bends where they're not see easily spotted so they don't get moved on, so people also don;t see when there's a problem. It terrifies me and my children know that should never, ever set foot in the river.

Some teens were apparently seen swimming in the Severn estuary yesterday

Water safety is so important but time and time again you see people being so blasé about it. Parents not supervising kids in the pool ( I actually left one gym due to one parent laughing and joking with the “lifeguard” ignored her 4 year old jumping into the fast swimming lane -apparently she was alright as she had arm bands on -couldn’t swim - mother stood on other side of the busy pool. People in beaches setting out to swim in the rips because it avoids the waves. People getting close to violent waves in a storm. People diving into pools without checking depths. People swimming without any water knowledge in cold lakes, eg jumping in (cardiac arrest) not recognising hypothermia signs ( you loose heat so fast in cold water, get confused) so much harder to make your muscles work so can’t swim as far, sudden temp changes as depths change, Debris, undercurrents, dark water gasp reflexes Those poor parents.

@welshmist I might be being dense here, but how does a wetsuit prevent drowning? (Genuine question).

Oh this is horrible the child's poor parents must be going mad with worry

There's a flooded gravel pit near Godstone in Surrey where a close friend, who was an excellent swimmer, drowned when I was a teenager.

The gravel pit is fenced off now, but several times every summer, people cut the fencing to get access so they can swim. Just stupid.

I thought I was going to drown on the Norfolk Broads when I went swimming in Horsey Mere. The water was so cold I felt as though my chest was in a vice and was struggling to breathe. Luckily, I was very close to the boat and managed to get near enough for my friends to pull me back on board.

Eliza - a wetsuit traps body heat so helps prevent the body going into shock when the water is cold.

The first thing I did this morning was look to see if there's been an update on the boy. It's absolutely heartbreaking, and as time goes on its looking less likely for a good outcome. I live near rivers and canals and am always stressing to dc about being careful, not falling in etc.

A wetsuit won't prevent drowning per se. But it will prevent you going into shock when hitting really cold bits of water (forgive non technical description) and drowning as a result.

Swimming in lakes or rivers isn't really as common here, in Oz. But loads of people have pools. Most people learn to swim from a young age but drowning is still common. Usually under 5's.

My dc's swim at the beach every summer and I watch them like a hawk but it still scares the crap out of me.

This thread is a bit of an eye-opener for me - I've been swimming in open water ever since I could swim and never thought of it as an especially dangerous activity (barring obvious hazards I mean). My children are tiny but I'd like them to grow up being able to enjoy swimming in natural water too. Surely it can be a (relatively) safe thing to do if you're experienced and take sensible precautions?