Near drowning

[aibuprofile]

My daughter was taking part in a swim lesson with school last week. During this lesson she panicked in 2m deep water and the swim teacher tried to throw life saving aids to her but she was going under and could not grab them. The lifeguard sounded the alarm and dived in and pulled her out. She was ok.
But... I was not told about this until the end of the school day. When I was told it was in a very casual way and a brief version of events given. This version does NOT match those of several other children there or indeed my own daughters (who is very sensible and not dramatic).

I am angry that I was not at least called. I'm angry that when I phoned the school to discuss (took a few moments for it to sink in when I was told in person, by which time the teacher had walked off) I was fobbed off and told she did not nearly drown and that her head only went under water for a brief moment.

AIBU to be angry with the school for the lack of communication and would I be unreasonable to go over to the swimming pool and ask for their version of events?

But this should never have happened. When you leave a child at school or school activity, you assume they are safe and have measures in place to prevent this kind of stuff from happening.

But she was under supervision and action was taken straight away? She was safe.

Obviously children learning to swim might get into a bit of difficulty sometimes, but that's why the instructors and lifeguards are there. To do exactly what they have done in this instance.

I can understand why the school would wish to downplay it. Definitely talk to the pool staff and get the facts. Also check their policy regarding non-swimmers in deep water. Sounds like some mistakes were made. While it is obviously fantastic your daughter was saved, she could be very nervous around water after this and it really should have not got to the point where she had to be saved anyway. Not on a teacher-supervised trip.

@50ShadesOfCatholic

I'm shocked that they're in water 2m deep, that's ridiculous, even for adult learners.

You must feel very upset to have discovered your daughter had a close call and that you were not informed until much later.

Quite right to let the school know. I'd make an appointment, go in, ask for the facts (there should be an incident report) and let them know how you felt about what happened and how you'd really have liked to have known sooner. I'm guessing it just hasn't occurred to them. Likely the message was passed along and it was the job of someone who hadn't been there to tell you. It'd be helpful for them to have your feedback so they can review their practice.

There is a protocol where such incidents are concerned. As they are in loco parentis they must within that remit of course inform the parents - if only to protect themselves should there be further consequences and of course to alert them to possible after effects. Immediately.

It sounds as if the teacher needs to do more risk assessments of these sessions . She didn't seem to be in control.

I'm shocked at how posters are underplaying this.

To require a LG to dive in and rescue a child is appalling when it's supposed to be a safe and supervised lesson.

I would be fuming too, and would expect to have been told. There is a risk of secondary drowning, which you needed to be aware of.

But she was under supervision and action was taken straight away She was safe

This is such a silly comment.

Being under supervision is very different to thinking and planning the event ahead and making sure that no child should need the emergency intervention of a life guard.

Would you take the same view if a child crossed a busy road but a policeman happened to scoop her up from being run over?

I would withdraw her from school swimming lessons.

But she was under supervision and action was taken straight away?

That isn’t a plus. She should not have been in such a dangerous situation in the first place. When the alternative to taking action straight away is serious injury or death, questions need to be asked. It was a near miss.

Your being dramatic, if she'd almost drowned she would have been taken to hospital and would have need hospital treatment !

SHe shouldn't have been in deep water if she cannot swim.

The lifeguard should have jumped straight in, especially if she was submerging, rather throwing life aids first. If you are 8, panicking and can't swim, the guard should have jumped in immediately.

I should say this happened in one of my school swimming lessons. And we could all swim. We were doing laps and one girl got too tired and started to go under. The teacher (who was standing on the side of the pool) did not piss about with life aids but dived straight in. And we were teenagers.

@tommyhoundmum

Go and ask the lifeguard/pool attendant for their version.

Yes, you should have been told earlier but I expect the swim teacher wasn't authorised to ring you.

Its not that easy to just 'go and ask the life guard'

1. They mostly do split shifts and rotate on the pool.
2. You can't just walk on to pool side and start talking to the lifeguard - as you then become a hazard.

The swimming teacher wouldn't have rang anyone nor would they have been inclined too.They dont have to.

This possibly wasn't a near drowning. It was a incident where some one got in to difficulty.

The child would have had the class teacher supposedly watching her and the life guard scanning the pool. I would put money on it that either

1. inexperienced swimming teacher put themself in a position they could not see the whole class and didn't see the child getting in to difficultly

OR

2. Inexperienced Teacher was well aware they were struggling but tried to push the child to swim to the other side - the worst method ever. Child got scared and started sinking.

Both need discussing with the swimming coordinator who managers the teachers

@Saladovercrispsanyday

You absolutely should have been told

Risk of delayed drowning death

OTT she didn't even need to go to hospital, so many drama queens !

It's all very well saying it's OTT when it wasn't you in difficulties! The girl has had a frightening experience.

@MatildaTheCat

Secondary drowning is real but not that well known. If she went under and took in water then it would have been responsible for the school to contact you and advise you to get medical advice.

Yes, this. I am glad your Dd is okay now but it is worrying & will have shaken your trust (hopefully not hers too much) I'd contact the Pool and ask to see the incident log. My ds fitted and vomited on a (state day) School trip. An ambulance was called by the venue (not staff). He has Autism. He was 8. I was not told by the School at all and found out later. NOT okay.

If I can offer an alternative perspective I used to be a qualified lifeguard (too old and fat these days) and an a watersports instructor.

Based on what you’ve described it sounds like the swimming teacher and lifeguard did the right thing in regards to the incident and the risk of secondary drowning was low as she wasn’t at that stage yet.

Where I would be asking questions is why she was in such deep water, with the swimming teacher more than a step away (if the teacher was having to throw stuff they were too far away)

Why didn’t school call you, I wouldn’t expect them to call immediately if she didn’t need medical attention, the teachers are probably a bit shaken themselves, and had a class full of shocked / hyper / upset children to deal with as well as looking after your daughter, but once everyone was back at school safely they should have phoned.

How are they going to ensure this can’t happen again?

If a lifeguard entered the water the swimming pool will have recorded it as an incident so it would be entirely reasonable to ask to see the report and what steps they are taking to mitigate the risk, they may also have CCTV footage that you can watch, if you want to.

I personally would be asking the same questions of the swimming teacher, how was this able to happen and what can you do to stop it happening again.

As a side note - can you get your daughter back in the water at a fun session so that she can have a positive experience? Kids who have an unpleasant experience (capsizing a dinghy or falling out of a canoe) seem to do better if you can follow it up with a positive one soon after.

I wouldn’t set too much store by the children’s retelling of what happened, a couple of times people have been “trapped in canoes and nearly drowned” when the reality is that they fell straight out and popped up within a couple of seconds when people panic and get the accompanying adrenaline rush it can skew their perception, particularly of time.

The big question here is, as PPs have said, why was she in the deep end when she couldn’t swim?They should all be in the shallow end until they’ve assessed swimming ability.

She shouldnt have been in the deep end full stop

i would look into it aswell op

The lifeguard jumping in seems dramatic because it is!
This is a really frightening event for the child, the other children, the parent and me the reader. The amount of downplaying in this thread amounts to gaslighting.
I would want to know about this immediately and to ensure that measures are taken to prevent it happening again. Was she a none swimmer out of her depth??

RestingPandaFace's post is very good and gives good advice to follow up with a positive experience.

info on secondary drowning: www.todaysparent.com/family/family-health/secondary-drowning/
had never heard of this until doing a first aid course years ago where we were told that only a tiny amount of water needs to go into the lungs to cause it.

With all due respect, sometimes “officials” do downplay things to cover their own back.

With all due respect, the words of 8 year old children are often what they think they see and hear rather than what they actually see and hear. My daughter is as honest as the day is long, but at that age, she sometimes misunderstood what she had been told or what people had done because she saw it through a different lense. I can imagine the “Judy nearly DIED in the pool” chatter surrounding this.

I wouldn’t set too much store by the children’s retelling of what happened, a couple of times people have been “trapped in canoes and nearly drowned” when the reality is that they fell straight out and popped up within a couple of seconds when people panic and get the accompanying adrenaline rush it can skew their perception, particularly of time.

This is a good point. I was nearly drowned at school back in the early 90s. I couldn't swim but the teachers made us all go in the school pool for PE. Basically it was just a free-for-all with me standing by the edge of the pool wanting to get out. Someone swum under me to knock my legs out (on purpose I found out afterwards), I went sprawling face first into the water. Like I say, I couldn't swim, I just went down and then up again, gasped for air, down and up again, gasped for air, down a third time and fortunately I came back up almost upright and got my feet on the bottom, and managed to grab the pipe thing running around the edge of the pool.

While it was happening time slowed down drastically. Honestly I felt it was going on for thirty seconds, I can still remember it with perfect clarity - normally I can't keep my eyes open underwater, on that occasion they stayed open automatically. When I popped up for air I clearly heard someone shout "There's Harriet, she can't swim" the first time and "Get the teacher" the second. A couple of other children who knew I was about to get dunked watched me and said it was a) hilarious and b) no more than ten seconds start to finish.

I hope your daughter is ok! I was in a similar situation when I was younger and my school mates came and helped me...it's extremely frightening. I enjoy swimming now although I am extremely cautious.

I agree they should have told you at the earliest opportunity. The fact that there was significant intervention (i.e. the lifeguard jumping in) obviously means she was in danger and I personally would've liked the opportunity to speak to my child to make sure he/she is ok. She had the rest of the school day thinking about this without reassurance from a loved one. For some children, this is not ok.

I agree with both sides...yes officials can downplay events and yes sometimes things seem worse than they are to children - but you know your child best at the end of the day and this situation centres around her.

If she is a non-swimmer...she should not have been in water that depth. Full Stop.

@Macncheeseballs

I'd be thankful she'd been saved

Of course but the point is that young children shouldn't be unsupervised in or around water to be able to get in such a predicament!

Near drowning should warrant a medical check.
I would not be at all happy.
There is a risk of "secondary drowning".