I could have lost her. For what was a split second, the outcome could have been very different hadn’t I been there to scoop her out and pull her up from going under. Struggling. Scared. Heart beating out of our chests. Fear was in her eyes as it was in mine. We both knew how lucky we were in that moment and it’s something that has haunted me for days now.
We arrived at the pool with friends and the excitement was on overdrive. The big kids dashed for the pool as I was setting our stuff down and claiming our chairs for the day. I turned around and this sweet girl was no longer by my side. She had chased after her sisters and friends and I spotted her right as she was getting to the deeper side of the pool. I could tell from afar that she was in trouble. Running as I belted out my mother’s cry for help, big belly and all, dashing into the pool trying to get the other adults around to grab her, yelling for the lifeguard, so scared that I wasn’t going to get to her in time. And then my arms, which felt like they magically stretched, got to her. Others around not even aware of what was happening or what could have happened.
I’m sharing this because I don’t want an experience like this to rest on anyone’s heart. That fear is real and it can happen within seconds. I’m sharing this because despite the fact I could clearly see she was struggling, drowning is often silent and the early stages can be mistaken. Like in our case. She was gasping, she was taking in water, she had this fear in her eyes that I wish on no one to have to experience.
She didn’t leave my side for the rest of the day and the days that have followed. After arriving home that day and during her bath, she looked up at me, both hands placed over her chest and said, “mama, you saved my life!”.
It breaks me to think what could have happened if I didn’t notice her gone from my side when I did. Those seconds were everything and I feel so grateful for the angels that tapped on my shoulder that day.
It’s not easy to share a scare story like this because judgement can be past so easily. But I wanted to open up about it and share because we can never be too careful. We can never be too cautious when it comes to children and water. Often times we hear the horror stories that end tragically. Our hearts feel the pain of the loss and thank the angels above that it wasn’t our story. We may know someone that has experienced a close call, yet maybe only learn something from their experience if we’ve been blessed to hear about it.
I have felt the pull to share mine because, like I said above, I don’t want a similar experience or the worst outcome to rest on any of your hearts. The number one cause of death among children 1-4 years of age is drowning. It happens in seconds. It’s a silent death that sinks deep in our hearts and swallowing a loss that is difficult to bear.
While driving down to visit my Dad in Missouri, we stopped at a couple hotels to break up our drive. On our way home, we stayed at a hotel that so happened to have an indoor water park. While fun for them, indoor water parks make me even more nervous because of they typically involve not one pool but many. So it’s more open water to cover and scan, adding another challenging layer to overall supervision.
There was a pool of water that two big waterslides went into. The depth of it was 3.5ft and the water rushing in from the waterslides created a heavy current. Our big girls were tall enough to ride the slide, however, due to the current and the depth of the water, I or Aaron stood in the water and waited for them to come down to ensure their safety.
As we were getting out, I glanced behind me to see two little boys coming down the slide. No other adults in the water. No lifeguard on duty. And no other adults around claiming these two boys. One had a lifejacket on and the other did not. The one with the lifejacket swam about the water, safely to the latter of the pool. The other, smaller boy with no lifejacket on, trying to rid way from the current of the water. Seemingly looking like he was struggling. I told Aaron to grab our children, as I swam to retrieve the boy and get him to safety. As I lifted him out of the water I noticed his feather like weight and his short stature, one that didn’t seem fit to even go down the waterslide. He later grabbed the adult persons he was with and went down the waterslide again. Only this time the adult persons were having so much fun themselves and within close feet to the boy, to notice the little boy coming down the slide. Once again, struggling the current and trying to keep his head above the water. I’m screaming at his caregivers to grab him, close to jumping back in myself, when a pool staff person jumped in the water fully clothed and brought him to safety. The caregiver saying, “oh he’s fine. He was fine. He knows how to swim”.
The point of me sharing this experience is we can easily overestimate the skill level of our swimmers. Just because “he’s a good swimmer” doesn’t mean that he is strong in all situations. In addition, it’s easy to put trust in lifeguards or others. When in fact, caregivers, parents, and the adult persons that bring the child/ren to the pool is lifeguard first. The others are secondary. The other layer of protection and supervision.
I recently came across some helpful articles that I wanted share with you. You can find them linked below :
All in all, we can never be too cautious. In fact, it’s better to be annoyingly protective than to ease up on the reins. The pool or beach is not the place to let our children free to spread their wings.
Aaron and I will be keeping the things mentioned in the articles above in mind when it comes to water safety. We also came up with this list of water safety rules moving forward as it applies to our family and some experiences we’ve had.
- If Aaron or I can’t go to the pool or beach, our children don’t go either. While we love and trust the girl’s grandparents and close friends, we have decided that we will not let the girls go swimming without one of us along. We understand that our big girls may not like this fact, but we will not negotiate this rule.
- DESIGNATE the swim areas before entering the pool or beach.
- No one enters the body of water until it is okayed by a parent and designated swim areas have been determined.
- Match each child/swimmer up with a buddy. In our case, Kaia and Kendi need to know where one another is at. While we aren’t putting them in charge of supervision, it’s an added layer of safety. It’s also teaching them to be aware of their surroundings.
- Potty breaks. Everyone finds a safe place to rest and wait. If only one parent is along, everyone goes potty. If both parents are along, one will take whomever has to go potty while the other waits with one or two in an area of the pool that has been designated for the break.
We also avoid staying in poolside rooms at hotels for three reasons. One is safety. Two is it’s less noise and commotion away from the pool. And three, better air quality staying away from the humidity and chlorine fumes.
We can never be too cautious. I know I have said that various times here, but I think we can all agree that this fear is something that sits near our hearts. Let this be a gentle reminder to keep a close eye and to take all precautions before heading out for a swim. Because this life is just too precious not to.