Did I do something wrong?

[PandaDad]

Hi,

I went for a nice walk with my LD this morning, which was abruptly ended when she jumped in the pond. I thought the pond would slowly get deeper but it was a sheer drop so she jumped in and all I saw was her hair.
She was only under for half a second, but I'm still stressing about it now. I gave her milk and showered her after coming straight home.
She seemed fine, and completely normal but I feel like I've failed her that she was put in danger like that.
It didn't help that a random dog walker told me I wasn't fast enough and should have run to get her. (I didn't run because I thought AHH she can have a little paddle and I was behind her anyway).

My question to you folks is did I do something wrong? I feel like avoiding walking anywhere near dangerous stuff like this with her until she's older. She's almost 4 now and I feel like she thought it was shallow too because she just walked into the pond like there was a floor there.

Man kids are stressful 😞

It’s wrong to allow her in any water. Even a puddle can be deeper than you think.

You should keep a closer eye on your child when near water and teach them to keep away from the edge! Whether its a pond/lake/river/canal etc you just never know how deep the water is.

What is "L"D? I initially thought this was about a dog. I'm not a parent but can't imagine why you would let a kid jump jn any kind of pond at all especially in October?!

Jesus! Yes! She's 3, this could have been so much worse

Stay close by as in touching distance when neat water for sure

@UhOhGuys I initially thought dog too I was quite shocked when I read "hair"

If her head was under water at all you need to get her checked out at the hospital she could have ingested or inhaled the manky pond water with god knows what algae and/or bacteria

I thought a dog too at first, but you were too far away to stop her but close enough to pull her out after half a second ?

I think she probably needs more than a shower and some milk.

Is LD little daughter?

You probably should have been near enough to prevent her going in the pond at all tbh, but no harm done on this occasion so all's well that ends well.

It's just that sometimes events don't end well, and the stakes are so high that it's worth pre-emptively preventing what could happen.

It's quite normal to feel shaken up after your child has apparently been at risk. The honest truth is that you did put her in danger and your feelings now are telling you not to do it again!

Not entirely sure why you’d let her paddle, are you in the UK? I would say that though we all do things that we learn from. With water I keep my DC close by

What does LD mean? Little daughter? Little dog?

So you thought a 3yr old 'AHH she can have a little paddle' in a POND!!!! 😱

Are you in a tropical, hot country OP, or the UK? You'd really let a toddler have a swim in a pond in October??? YABU!

Wtf does LD stand for?

I assumed it was "Labrador" until you said "kids are stressful". Honest to god it is terrifying that you just let your 3 year old jump in a body of water you had no idea of the depth of!

I don't think you should beat yourself up. You have learned a valuable lesson.

Something similar happened to me at a beach, once. My daughter was a bit older - 7 - and was in the sea with her brother. I was nearby at the edge and they weren't far out but she got knocked over by a sudden big wave.

Never moved so quickly, it was terrifying.

She was fine, thankfully, but I am much more cautious now.

I think the problem is the assumption it would be shallow. Never assume something will be ok. We have all done assumption and regretted it. Often it mainly involves getting felt pen stains off the cat. But sometimes the wrong assumptions can be deadly.

Don't stress about it, but don't forget it.

And also teach your child not to jump in random water. I lived near an old quarry filled with water as a child and sadly there were deaths as quarrys are deep and near impossible to get out of.

Are you having a giraffe?

was this a child or a dog?

you should hold little ones hands near water and yes, you should have run. I’m glad she is okay.

https://www.iowscp.org.uk/water-safety-for-parents
Toddler water safetyToddler’s want to explore the world once they are walking. Never leave children unattended and always hold your child’s hand near water.
Drowning can happen in under 30 seconds, remain as close as possible in order to react quickly should something occur. Make sure the brake is on a pram or pushchair when stationary. Garden ponds should be filled in while children are small or securely fenced off. Take special care when visiting other people’s gardens.

• Toddler safety at home – Baby Centre UK
• Pond and garden water safety - RoSPA
• Toddler water safety - Canal & River Trust
• Water Safety at Home - Royal Life Saving Society UK

I thought you were taking about a dog until the last line!

Jesus Christ - no you can’t let her jump in a pond without checking. Are you an idiot?! And yes you should have run to get her out.

I am sure she is fine, but call 111 to check she shouldn’t be seen because she’s swallowed pond water.

Get a grip ffs

I'm sorry but at that age my DD would have been holding my hand or within arm's reach if we were anywhere near water or anything else dangerous like that.

Oh, wait.
This is a wind up, right?

This can't be real 😅 ahh she can have a little paddle? Bollocks

Oh for Christs sake - let’s all just pile on and make the OP feel even worse. OP - you are clearly new to MN if you’re asking questions like this on here and expecting any support or sympathy.

You made a silly mistake and you will learn from it. It doesn’t make you a bad mother. In my 20 years of parenting I have had many mishaps occur with my children that happened when I took my eye off the ball or didn’t move fast enough. Luckily, like your dd they were all minor. People on here will have you think they’re perfect and their child has never had an accident, ever.

You misjudged the situation. You’re human, she’s fine and you will be more careful next time.

I feel like avoiding walking anywhere near dangerous stuff like this with her until she's older.

Until you get some common sense more like.

This post was written to be unclear and its stupid. Obvious troll is Obvious.

Thanks for the honest replies. I have been very stupid on this occasion and am considerably lucky. Trust me I have learnt from this, but I just wanted to clarify a couple of things. One side of the pond is literally something you can walk in and gradually gets deeper, I wrongly thought both sides were like this. I thought LD meant loving daughter but I think I should have written DD.

I hope that this post and my error can serve as a reminder to parents out there to always be vigilant and keep your kids at arms length. (In this case it was just a little over arms length, which still isn't good enough).