'Where the hell were the lifeguards?'

southsiderosie · 27-08-2010 10:35AM #1

Normally I would never quote from the Daily Mail but...

A distraught mother yesterday demanded to know how her eight-year-old son drowned in a family leisure pool despite it being watched by several lifeguards.
Kaimen Ward’s lifeless body was pulled from the water by a lifeguard as soon as he was spotted.
Staff tried desperately to revive him before paramedics arrived, but their efforts were in vain.
His mother Caroline Ward, 41, said: ‘What I want to know is: where the hell were the lifeguards? It is peak season at the swimming pool, so how did he go unsupervised?’
Yesterday a police inquiry was under way to establish the full circumstances of the tragedy.
Kaimen and his twin sister Hope-Ella had celebrated their eighth birthday exactly a week before.
The incident happened at Hambleton Leisure Centre in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, at around 4.25pm on Wednesday.

Kaimen was in a group with two friends and three adults. His parents and his sister were not present at the time.

Source

First off, this is a heartbreaking story and I feel awful for the family.

The full details of the case aren't available yet, but I have to add - and I say this as a former lifeguard - if you have small children please, please PLEASE keep a close eye on them at a crowded swimming pool or beach! Even if there are lifeguards around! Most kids think they are better swimmers than they actually are, and in a crowded pool, they can go under very quickly. And even if the guards are vigilant, by the time they get to your child - especially at a beach or in a large pool - it may be too late. I can't tell you how many near accidents and possible deaths I've seen because parents are not paying close attention to their children.

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children under 12. Please don't let this happen to any child you care about!

Kiera · 27-08-2010 10:38AM

The pool didnt look that big so dont know how the lifeguards missed him. Its very very sad

Stercus Accidit · 27-08-2010 10:40AM

Lifeguards aren't babysitters, where were the adults who were responsible for him?

Sofiztikated · 27-08-2010 10:45AM

A distraught mother yesterday demanded to know how her eight-year-old son drowned in a family leisure pool despite it being watched by several lifeguards.
Kaimen Ward’s lifeless body was pulled from the water by a lifeguard as soon as he was spotted.
Staff tried desperately to revive him before paramedics arrived, but their efforts were in vain.
His mother Caroline Ward, 41, said: ‘What I want to know is: where the hell were the lifeguards? It is peak season at the swimming pool, so how did he go unsupervised?’
Yesterday a police inquiry was under way to establish the full circumstances of the tragedy...

Where the hell was the mother?

Kimono-Girl · 27-08-2010 10:48AM

it is a sad story, but it says

"Kaimen was in a group with two friends and three adults. His parents and his sister were not present at the time"

what the hell were the three adults doing???

southsiderosie · 27-08-2010 10:48AM

Sofiztikated wrote: »

Where the hell was the mother?

According to the article he was there with other adults, but the mom wasn't one of them.

Sykk · 27-08-2010 10:49AM

Parenting fail.

Stupid bitch should never be allowed kids again, tragedy.

WindSock · 27-08-2010 10:50AM

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

Lifeguards aren't babysitters, where were the adults who were responsible for him?

No, but it's kind of their job to be looking out for the pool users.

Cookie_Monster · 27-08-2010 10:51AM

Musta been guarding someone else's life at that moment

SeaFields · 27-08-2010 10:52AM

RE - where the hell was the mother.

Last year I was swimming with herself at the local beach when we saw two young girls getting "into difficulties". We swam out to them, and swam them back to shore. Both of their mothers were sitting on the beach having a chat.

One got really embarrassed and starting giving out to her daughter (as she was coughing up a lung full of water) for causing myself and the girlfriend to go out of our way :rolleyes:

Had we not been there those two "mothers" would have sat gossiping as their two ten year olds drowned. Stupid bitches.

irishgrover · 27-08-2010 10:52AM

Sykk wrote: »

Parenting fail.

Stupid bitch should never be allowed kids again, tragedy.

FFS, I know this is after hours an all, but that's a bit harsh!

The Big Red Button · 27-08-2010 10:53AM

Sykk wrote: »

Parenting fail.

Stupid bitch should never be allowed kids again, tragedy.

Wtf.

She let her eight year old son go to a supervised swimming pool with two friends and three adults who she presumably trusted.

I really don't see anything too awful about what she did!

27-08-2010 10:53AM

Sykk wrote: »

Parenting fail.

Stupid bitch should never be allowed kids again, tragedy.

You should actually try reading the source material sometimes before passing judgement - it says that she wasn't present. However - she should be asking where the adults were.

southsiderosie · 27-08-2010 10:57AM

Deleted User wrote: »

You should actually try reading the source material sometimes before passing judgement - it says that she wasn't present. However - she should be asking where the adults were.

OP edited to make it clear that the mother was not present, but other adults were.

syklops · 27-08-2010 10:58AM

Kiera wrote: »

The pool didnt look that big so dont know how the lifeguards missed him. Its very very sad

To be fair, if you look at the size of the Seat in the top left hand corner, and the height of the Seat compared to the size of the pool, that is quite a decent sized pool.

I dont what the limit is, but you could easily fit 100 maybe even 200 kids in that pool. Thats alot of kids to be keeping track of, even for a large dedicated team of LifeGuards.

27-08-2010 11:12AM

We used to goto the pool by ourselves and do loads of stupid stuff when we were young.. If I had died, I wouldn't like to think that someone was held to blame. It's an accident, not neglect or bad parenting.

southsiderosie · 27-08-2010 11:14AM

WindSock wrote: »

No, but it's kind of their job to be looking out for the pool users.

It is their job to look out for patrons, and it's not clear what happened in this case, but in a crowded pool, it is very easy for a kid to quickly and quietly slip underwater. And if this happens near a wall, the lifeguard may not be able to see it, based on their vantage point. If there are 3 guards and 200+ patrons, all adults present need to be vigilant.

SeaFields wrote: »

RE - where the hell was the mother.

Last year I was swimming with herself at the local beach...
Had we not been there those two "mothers" would have sat gossiping as their two ten year olds drowned. Stupid bitches.

Ugh.

I think a lot of parents don't realize how fast a drowning can happen. One of the worst incidents I remember from being a lifeguard was when a woman and her boyfriend decided to take a dip and they left her toddler on the beach. Of course, being a two year old (at best), she wanted her mom, so started to go into the water after her. I saw all of this happening, and just as I started to yell at the mom (who was closer to the kid than I was), a wave smacked the baby in the face and knocked her down. Had there been a strong undertow that day, that kid could have drowned, but luckily between my yelling and the baby shrieking, the mom turned around, started screaming hysterically, and plucked her out of the surf.

Of course, since this happened in the US, I/my employer probably would have been sued if the kid had drowned, even though the mother was an idiot. :mad:

27-08-2010 11:17AM

southsiderosie wrote: »

It is their job to look out for patrons, and it's not clear what happened in this case, but in a crowded pool, it is very easy for a kid to quickly and quietly slip underwater. And if this happens near a wall, the lifeguard may not be able to see it, based on their vantage point. If there are 3 guards and 200+ patrons, all adults present need to be vigilant.

Ugh.

I think a lot of parents don't realize how fast a drowning can happen. One of the worst incidents I remember from being a lifeguard was when a woman and her boyfriend decided to take a dip and they left her toddler on the beach. Of course, being a two year old (at best), she wanted her mom, so started to go into the water after her. I saw all of this happening, and just as I started to yell at the mom (who was closer to the kid than I was), a wave smacked the baby in the face and knocked her down. Had there been a strong undertow that day, that kid could have drowned, but luckily between my yelling and the baby shrieking, the mom turned around, started screaming hysterically, and plucked her out of the surf.

Of course, since this happened in the US, I/my employer probably would have been sued if the kid had drowned, even though the mother was an idiot. :mad:

Jesus, I really don't think i'd like a job wher i'd see that sort of thing..

Sykk · 27-08-2010 11:21AM

Well what I meant was... I wouldn't trust the life of my child in the hands of someone who's probably getting paid €6 an hour and doesn't give a ****.

The lifeguards were brutal not to have seen this alright. Maybe it's just me, but I'd never leave my kids under the supervision of someone I didn't know without speaking with the adult first.

-K2- · 27-08-2010 11:21AM

http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

funkyjebus · 27-08-2010 11:22AM

WindSock wrote: »

No, but it's kind of their job to be looking out for the pool users.

and i thought it was the mothers job to ensure her child safety.

southsiderosie · 27-08-2010 11:24AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Jesus, I really don't think i'd like a job wher i'd see that sort of thing..

Well on the one hand, it was awesome: I got to work with my friends, had mandatory PT on the clock, played a lot of beach volleyball, got really tan, and made decent money for a teenage summer job.

On the other hand, I worked at the kind of beach where parents would ask us to watch their kids so they could go drink malt liquor by the harbor, I was constantly sexually harassed by dirty old men, and there was a drive-by shooting in the parking lot not 100 yards away from me. So it was a mixed bag.

Craziness aside, the moral of the story is: watch your kids when they are swimming.

southsiderosie · 27-08-2010 11:26AM

ElectronEng wrote: »

http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for posting that.

The Big Red Button · 27-08-2010 11:27AM

Sykk wrote: »

The lifeguards were brutal not to have seen this alright. Maybe it's just me, but I'd never leave my kids under the supervision of someone I didn't know without speaking with the adult first.

And ... you somehow know that she didn't speak to the three adults to whom she was entrusting her son?

I don't see that in the article, and it seems kind of unlikely to me ...

SeaFields · 27-08-2010 11:27AM

southsiderosie wrote: »

I think a lot of parents don't realize how fast a drowning can happen.

A lifeguard can probably answer this better than me but i imagine all it takes to drown is to go under once and take a big inhalation of water? You'd go unconscious within a few seconds?

southsiderosie · 27-08-2010 11:39AM

SeaFields wrote: »

A lifeguard can probably answer this better than me but i imagine all it takes to drown is to go under once and take a big inhalation of water? You'd go unconscious within a few seconds?

Most people who are drowning take on a great deal of water before they actually go under, but in their stomach, not their lungs - which is why so many people vomit when they are resuscitated...lifeguard occupational hazard

.

I don't remember the exact statistics, but there is a 10-minute sliding scale of survival rates for drowning victims - for every minute that goes by, the chances of surviving decrease significantly. If I remember correctly, the basic rule of thumb is that there is about a 3-minute survival window, although kids in particular can stay underwater longer in cold water - some children who have fallen through ice in frozen lakes have survived up to 10 minutes.

27-08-2010 11:47AM

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

Lifeguards aren't babysitters, where were the adults who were responsible for him?

If it was my son, I would be more interested in knowing why the two adults whos care he was in, were not supervising him. I'm sure they feel unbelievable guilt, and it's something they will have to live with for the rest of their lives, but maybe if they had been closer to him, he would still be here.

WindSock · 27-08-2010 12:07PM

funkyjebus wrote: »

and i thought it was the mothers job to ensure her child safety.

In which she had put in the hands of 2 other adults and a few lifeguards. She is hardly at fault because she let her kids off to the local pool.

funkyjebus · 27-08-2010 12:13PM

WindSock wrote: »

In which she had put in the hands of 2 other adults and a few lifeguards. She is hardly at fault because she let her kids off to the local pool.

clearly the adults were no up for the job at hand, so thats a fail, i agree the lifeguards maybe should have been more vigilant but she cant start asking question as to where they where because it was high season as that just leads to questions of where she was (or her friends) as it was her own child.

cozzie55 · 27-08-2010 12:44PM

As a P.T. lifeguard myself its easy for everyone else to blame the lifeguards. I've seen plenty of incidents where accidents could have been avoided if the the parents controlled their own kids.
The amount of times I've given out to a child only for my correction to be laughed off by the parents. the child of course keeps doing what they were doing putting their own life and the safety of others at risk

I would like to know more about this story though. Other factors could have been the cause

Was the pool overcrowded?
Was there enough lifeguards on deck for the amount of swimmers?
Was there another incident at the same time eg someone doing something stupid in the deep end and had the lifeguards attention
Was there glare on the pool from the sun as this is the biggest hazard in every pool because the lifeguards can't see under the water from different positions
Had the lifeguard taken a break recently. A lifeguard is supposed to take a 10 min break every hour to revive them and ensure their attention is at its max.

Of course the lifeguards could have been talking amongst themselves if the place is quite. this happens in every pool and I don't think any amount of warnings from management will stop it. THey could have also been doing a pool test and not given the pool their full attention.

Since the drowning in Aura leisure centre in Trim in Meath a few months ago things have improved in terms
of safety in pools. More needs to be done to encourage parents to look after their own kids in the pool as the "lifeguards are babysitters", and ensure that the lifeguards maintain constant supervision.

I pity the lifeguards and adults they will have to live with this for the rest of their lives. Lucky I've never seen anything too serious at work

phill106 · 27-08-2010 12:44PM

3 adults minding the children fail, not a lifeguard fail.

'Where the hell were the lifeguards?'

Comments