Drowning In My Pool

Not long ago there was a post and article link floating around momstown message boards titled “Drowning doesn’t look like drowning”. I didn’t take the time to read it. Lots of other moms read it and I meant to go back to but I just didn’t.

Last week, July 8th, a friend and her two sons aged, 4.5 and 2.5, were visiting and playing in our pool with my children, 4.5 and 2.5 years old. It was a super hot day and we were in the pool almost 2 hours.

We have a permanent out-of-ground pool all one depth, my daughter just this year can touch on her tippy-tippy toes. The fact that it’s out of ground with a locked gate makes me feel safe. With lots of lessons and practise, my kids are confident in water, which makes me feel safe. My 4.5 year old daughter swims without water wings and glides thru the width of the pool underwater. My 2.5 year old wears water wings and shuttles around the pool independently. Most days I sit on the deck to supervise along with the baby knowing they are safe as I lifeguard.

The day of our playdate, we moms were in the pool too. The little ones had water wings and the bigger kids didn’t. Moms being in the pool provided the kids with even more safe supervision as they splashed, swam, argued and raced. It was a great afternoon.

We were watching the big kids jump off the edge and race to us while the younger ones  sat on the stairs. Her younger son had taken off his water wings just prior to play with her but she had placed him on the step to watch the race.

We were cheering on the race. The big kids reached us, we pronounced it a tie and watched them swim back to the stairs. There were 4 kids clamouring at the stairs.

No, wait, make that 3 kids.

One child was under water. You could see just the very top of his crew cut. Standing there. Drowning.

Wee almost 3 year old Dylan must have walked off the steps with the same confidence as he’d had with water wings and realised, too suddenly, he no longer floated.

My friend was 3 steps away max from her son and she reached and lifted him out of the water. As he gasped and gurgled out “Mommy!” it was evident that this was just way too close. God forbid, we had been distracted by anything else, just another 10 or 20 seconds longer. That gurgled exchange and view of his head scared me to the core.

He was drowning in my pool. He was silent. We were right there.

Still shaken, that night I came back to the momstown message boards to read this article about the silent signs of drowning. I urge you to as well. The most profound statement in it is “parents: children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.”

Mamas, don’t take your eyes off your kids in the water for one second. It can happen that fast. Stay safe this summer, and always.

Red Cross Canada Water Safety Tips:

Water Safety Tips for Families

Red Cross Swimming & Water Safety