There are 23 more days til Christmas.
There is only 8 more days til Hannah's 10th Birthday.
I should be preparing a house full of near teenage girls partying with their horses and eating cake but instead I visit a grave and watch other parents do the same this time of year. Other parents are also heartbreakingly watching their child die slowly from their injuries because they too drowned not so long ago and their medical complications are nearing the end. Its all too darn tragic. Its an awful time for everyone but what is frustrating me most right now is that we can't change the past of those victims who are suffering and those on the outside of our world aren't listening to the messages of saving kids lives and their own.
This morning I received a phone call from Lee. She raved about our safety messages and said she shared them when she could on social media. Thanks Lee, we need more people like you.
Lee's phone call had me wild, angry and shaking my head but honestly I wasn't suprised by it at all because we are seeing it time and time again. Lee's story was only recent and its impacted her severely that she had to call us. Whilst visiting friends with a pool all the kids were swimming in Swim vests with Lee in the pool. No one was on the pool deck supervising, leaving the onus of responsibility to Lee. She felt rather uncomfortable. Another parent dropped her child off with just a kickboard. A non swimmer to which Lee is unaware. Mum leaves to go visit the home owner and Lee is now watching three non swimmers, two in vests and one not. Seconds later she is swimming frantically to get to the non swimmer who is now on the bottom of the pool and the kickboard swimmingly on top. Its all happened in a blink. Blocking her view too was a bean bag floating in the pool. The child was under it.
These occurrences are too frequent and they must stop.
Parents need to think. Just because one person is there doesn't mean all kids are safer. Infact the more kids to less adults the more the risk, the higher risk is no adults at all with kids in the pool. Whilst Lee was rescuing this child, the other two children were NOT supervised. When swimmers are in the water including Adults EVERYONE must be supervised ON DECK. Where was that supervision on deck?
Drowning has no sound, it is silent. When the victim is vertical in the water their arms will angel push their bodies to the top of the water in an attempt to survive and to get AIR. They can't call out, they are fighting for AIR to live, to breathe. Drowning is called the Silent killer for a reason because its deadly silent. Ask only parent who has witnessed this eerie silence of death.
Swimming is a fun part of Christmas with family. Very quickly though as Lee recounted it could have been very different. Whilst the child was okay coughing and spluttering with her little heart racing what astounds me further is that the mother of this child was oblivious to the whole situation. Dismissing it as Lee's fault and that nothing serious happened. Whilst Lee took her supervision seriously and with three kids, a quick accident of this child losing her kick board, her sole floatation aid turned to horror under the water. I feel for Lee and this child, this would and was a scary and very real situation. Of course if the situation was fatal the public would be turning on Lee and the blame game starting. Happens every time.
It astounds me that so few parents don't take water seriously when it involves children. They are oblivious to their own actions. Other actions are propping open pool gates. This killed 7 children last year and I am angry that NOT one pool owner/carer/parent or tenant who propped that gate open were charged. They breached safety. The safety in this case? Supervision was there but there were no barriers. A barrier in this case would have been a Life jacket compliant to standards. Not a swim vest although with three non swimmers a vest is better than nothing. The child should have been instructed to not go outside the depth of the shallow end. Lee didnt know this child or her ability, yet the onus was placed on Lee to fully watch this child. Again, its always the supervisors fault or the carer at the time, which was Lee.
Lee stated she will never, ever accept the responsibility of another child in a body of water again. The pressure was enormous and she is angry. I feel her anger.
It takes 20 seconds to drown. Then the brain starts to die. Slowly. Its a timed race against time that truly no one should ever experience.
There are many stories out there of frightening events like this. We try to tell the facts of drowning and how quickly they occur.
Please I urge you to help your children around water, be with them, play with them, get them familiar and for pete's sake TEACH them survival skills at a swim school. Roll over and float. Do not teach them breath holding it, too, is dangerous.
A message for today, keep an eye on your kids, and actively supervise them. If they are non swimmers get in the water with them to keep them at arms reach it wont hurt you.
A message this Christmas.... Stay Alive and Supervise your children
Just because kids can swim doesn't mean they can't drown, many swimmers drowned last year.
Kat Plint
Learn to Swim Instructor
Drowning Prevention Advocate
