Swimming and Parenting

[GTADiver]

Yesterday when returning home, I noted that my neighbours 4 year old daughter and another neighbours 5 year old was with her swimming in their inground pool without any supervision. The parents were inside watching TV. The pool is an inground 40 feet by 20 feet and has a deep end that is 10 feet deep. Apparently, this occurs all the time. When my kids were this young I never was out of reach while they were in the water. What would your course of action be?
1) Mind your own business and do nothing
2) Stay outside and descretely monitor the children
3) Tell the neighbours that the kids were in the pool and ask if they new
4) other

 

[Natasha]

I pick #3.
My guess is they will say their kids know how to swim, and they could see them from the TV room.
However, I do think you should say something and not let it go, just to give yourself peace of mind.
Especially, since you are considering moderating it yourself.

 

[cobaltbabe]

If I saw children that age without supervision in a pool I would be over there so fast. If the parents don't seem to care and aren't paying attention then it may be worth while getting others involved. I for one couldn't stand by and just not say anything. There are too many children who die each year from accidental drownings, to let it pass, whether they can swim or not. You can dive but it doesn't mean that nothing is going to go wrong. Leg cramps for example. Talk to them, Please.

 

[Mojarra]

I agree with Natasha, my brothers and I were taught to swim at very young ages and would swin everyday, alot of times without supervision since there were always two or three of us together. But there were times we were told to stay out of the water for some reason or other. (Sometimes we listened sometimes we did't). So it sort of a check and balance to just mention it to the parents.

 

[FredT]

"Watching" can get you in trouble with pedophile haters in search of a target.

1 Allows the Darwin effect to go into action.

3 Does too, but it lets you sleep at night after the funeral.

There are ways to lessen the risk of youngish kids in the water, the easiest of which is training and several low profile floaty things (foam mats, etc) in the pool they can use as emergency rest spots.

My kids were "drown proofed" before they could crawl. Both are still good fish imitators over 20 years later.

IMNSHO ANYONE who has an available body of water (pool, creek, beach, drainage ditch. lake, cess pit, etc) should have their kids trained in how to survive in water as early as possible.

A kid is NEVER too young to start water and weapons safety training. Both are mandatory for their safety in the US and both are often ignored by those parents who hope "the danger will go away if we ignore it." Regretably these are the same parents who plant their kids (or worse yet a neighbor's kid) because THEY ignored this basic resposibility. Strange how these folks always have to blame "someone or somethig else" and refuse to accept the concept that THEY are the problem!

Soap box=off...

FT

 

[Big-t-2538]

Kids and pools.....

For one, I can't remember a summer I didn't spend at least 3 days a week at the pool until this year.

Children of any age, wether or not they know how to swim need to be watched when at the pool. They are kids for crying out loud....they can and do get into anything

I would not let this go...but that's just me

 

[KBulla]

I voted #3 all the way. I'm curious as to whether or not you ever talked to them about it. What was the outcome?

I have a six month old son who is going to be signed up for swimming lessons through the Y hopefully next month, and I plan on following through on swimming lessons/classes throughout his childhood. Then, of course, he'll go through PADI's Bubble Blower program and eventually graduate to SCUBA down the road. Even with as much swimming experience as he will have by the time he reaches 4 or 5, there is no way I would just leave him in the pool with no adult supervision, especially if I'm responsible for somebody else's child on top of that. If my son was swimming over somebody else's house, and I found out there was no supervision, there would be H*LL to pay!!!