Health and Safety - whats that? Life in Switzerland

[heather1]

There are many things I love about Switzerland, and some I dont. But their attitude to health and safety always makes me smile or roll my eyes.
Today we want to the local swimming pool. I noticed the complete lack of lifeguards (totally normal). One of the mums told me last year a child drowned in the pool. As she explained the Bademiester cant keep an eye on all the children. So no children in armbands allowed in the big pool now. The have to stay in the babypool.
Probably a good idea. But introducing lifeguards would surely help too.
I think its a case of your child, your responsibility.

Belgium is like this too. Contractors come along, dig a huge hole in the pavement, go away, leave it there. No cones, , no barriers, no nothing.

Also in restaurants in Belgium there's none of that "two doors between any toilet and the cooking area" nonsense. The toilet in one restaurant I used to go to was in cubicle (with gaps at top and bottom) in the kitchen.

I sort of get it - I mean don't fall into a hole! But then what about the visually impaired etc...?

I think a lot of this stuff comes from our more advanced diisability legislation which has got to be a good thing. Although that doesn't explain toilets in the kitchen

I can remember going to see a glassworks in southern France. The glassblowers were walking round with huge blobs of molten glass on the ends of glassblowing 'rods' in shorts and open-toed sandals, flipflops etc.

My DD and I went paragliding for our first time ever in Switzerland. We met the chaps we were tandeming (is that a word?) with at the cable car, shook hands, they strapped us to them, told us how we would be taking off, and then we were straight off the mountain

Margo
I have been in a cafe like that in Geneva - the loo was right in the kitchen.

And we had a bonfire night where the bonfire wasn't cordoned off. The kids all run around and everyone looks out for them. It works because there is no, "oh, I had better not say anything" - if you see a kid doing something he shouldn't be doing, you get involved.

We went to the celebrations in our ND village where the children parade round with candles on their head covered with tissue paper and card holding swedes with candles in.
It was brilliant.