Can you spot the drowning child before the lifeguard?

[Tanaqui]

If you think you see the drowner, click on the spot.

 

I'm sure many of us have heard before that "drowning doesn't look like drowning", but if you've never had the bad luck or training to witness this yourself, I think that the "spot the drowning child" game will be eye-opening. It certainly was for me.

[displace]

I was surprised how difficult it was to identify. I thought for sure they would call for help. Scary. And with a lot of people around swimming it was hard to focus.

[Soror]

I didn't see the kid, there was so many other kids it was hard to focus and watch them all. I would hope they would have plenty of lifeguards with a place that busy.

[Lanny]

There was a horrible tragedy for a family we know because DD was in the wonderful private school in Cali that has accreditation in both the USA and here in Colombia, for 3 school years (K4, K5 and First grade).  A man we know who had twin boys in the same grade DD was in, is the uncle to the girl who died. She was 10 years old and she was an excellent swimmer. My wife read something, a week ago, that indicated that she was not wearing a cap. If true, that was her last mistake and it was fatal.  Apparently her hair was stuck in an inlet for a pump (?) and she couldn't escape from that. Someone noticed her after 2 (?) minutes and cut her hair off. This happened in a Hilton hotel in Turkey. I believe it was some days, before she was transferred to a hospital in Tel Aviv. Possibly if the accident had happened in Israel, or, if she had been transferred there earlier, they might have been able to save her. Only God knows the answer to that question.  I believe she was underwater for so long that there was no brain activity. Her organs were donated in Israel.  She was a student in Cali.  There was no "Panic Button" near that intake, so that she might have stopped the operation of the machine, had she realized what was happening.  Her name was Sofia.

 

http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/cali/noticias/murio-sofia-khoury-hermana-menor-carolina-soto-tras-accidente-turquia

[RegGuheert]

I thought for sure they would call for help. Scary.

 

After a couple of scary incidents in our pool, we have decided that drowning is nearly always a silent event.

[OneStepAtATime]

My son, just barely over a year old, was playing beside me while I watched my 4 year old daughter swim in our pool.  She was an excellent swimmer..  I got a phone call from my dad.  There was an emergency.  I was trying to help him.  I asked my daughter to get out of the pool and sit on the side until I finished my conversation.  My attention was not fully on my kids for maybe a minute.  I thought I heard (faintly) someone shout something.  I looked around.  I did not see my son.  I did not see my daughter.  The entire yard was silent.  There was no splash.  I stood up and ran to the pool.  I still didn't see them.  I looked closer.  DD was underwater in the deep end.  She was trying to save my son.  He had fallen into the pool.  THERE WAS NO SOUND.  She pushed him above her and I pulled him out then her.  She saved his life.  She said she was sitting on the side of the pool when she looked up and saw DS racing for the deep end with a grin on his face.  He had seen her diving.  He went in.  She shouted my name as she dove in to grab him.  All I heard was the faint call of my name.  Once they were underwater I heard nothing at all.  No shout, no splashing.  It terrified me.  I always subconsciously thought there would be splashing.  If DD hadn't tried to call to me as she dove in I hate to think how long it would have taken me to realize where they were.  Seconds count.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

Something like this happened to me at a public pool when I was 10 or 11. I was a decent swimmer who swam multiple times a week for as long as I can remember. I went to a pool with a friend. We both jumped in together but we're too close to each other and she landed on me. I was disoriented and tired from several hours of swimming and couldn't get back to the surface. I'm not sure if I looked like this child or not but I felt like I was stuck under water and remember thinking that no one could see me because I couldn't call for help. Fortunately a life guard saw me and pulled me out. I remember being surprised -and thankful! - that he was able to recognize that I needed help even though I wasn't doing the "right" things to signal for it. At the same time, I didn't realize that what was happening was that I was drowning. It didn't seem that extreme for some reason and I went right back to swimming after I caught my breath. I still love swimming. I feel like I should have been/should be a little more freaked out by that incident than I am though.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I could actually.  But this is why I hate going swimming.  I am constantly watching everyone because I'm worried about it. 

 

There was a drowning in the city pool a few years ago. 

 

I find having all those tubes makes it more difficult to see what is going on.  That sort of stuff is not allowed at the city pool.  It's a bummer in a way, but I get why it's not allowed. 

[Angie in VA]

There are few videos. Keep refreshing to test your skills at recognizing who needs help. Wow. Lifeguards have such a difficult job!

[PeterPan]

Well it was obvious which child it was.  What was stupid was that the lifeguard kept asking the boy if he "wanted me to come get you" instead of telling him to get out.  The pool clearly didn't have good safety policies.  Our pool requires a challenging swim test to be in anything over your head, something that boy clearly would not have passed.  They had a large pool without enough lifeguards and allowed kids in deep water that shouldn't have been in there.  And I agree, all those tubes were a safety hazard, allowing non-swimmers to go in deeper water than they should have been in, thinking they were safe (because of the tube) when in fact they were not.  

 

It's just totally ironic that those people were spending their "swim" time floating, when they should have been given actual swim lessons so they could be safe.  My ds has had over a year of intensive swim lessons, can pass a challenging swim test, can swim laps in a competition pool, and I wouldn't put him in that pool for free time, not at 6 feet, not unsupervised and with a pool that wide.  That setup was utterly, utterly dangerous in the video, and places are redoing their pools (literally), to make them more shallow and eliminate these dangers.  I wouldn't have even allowed my dc in that situation and he CAN swim.

[gardenmom5]

I spotted him before the lifeguard jumped in the water. 

[gardenmom5]

I was surprised how difficult it was to identify. I thought for sure they would call for help. Scary. And with a lot of people around swimming it was hard to focus.

 

it's hard to call for help with a mouth full of water  - even if they are temporarily getting their head above water they don't have time to spit it out and yell, before they're back under.

[beaners]

Those wave pools make me super nervous, even with older kids. It's that much easier to misjudge in the water and not be able to recover because those waves keep hitting you.

[ErinE]

I think the video had a lot more splashing than most near-drownings I've witnessed. Most of the time, the child can barely keep the head above water or he is in the water. You shouldn't just look at the surface of the water; you should be looking in the depths as well.

[TheApprentice]

I actually did spot him. I backed out, then pressed the link again, and it was a different scenario. I was able to spot him again. But that is because I'm deathly afraid of the water, and constantly on high alert when around it. But still very scary how there wasn't any fanfare and there were people just feet away.

[Kerileanne99]

Yesterday at the pool my hubby saved a four year old boy. The lifeguards never saw him until hubby pulled him out, and this is a small community pool. They had just arrived and the morher( still in clothes) was struggling in with bags and floaters. The boy just ran in the entry and kept going, sinking silently like a stone. Hubby was playing with my dd5 and turned around when he felt something bump his leg underwater and then just saw bubbles on top. No sound at all

Very frightening, and that poor mom about had a panic attack.

The boy was just fine after a bit, and I saw him later playing in the splash pool portion...with both a full life jacket and inflatables on his arms. I think his mom had her quota of scares for the day:(

[catz]

I know locally of a child that died at a birthday party in a pool that had many lifeguards on duty.  Not only is it silent, it can happen fast.  And to young kids without good judgment about distances, depth, and safety.   Even if they are good swimmers.  This kid was considered a strong swimmer for age, working on red cross level 4/5.  I think the child was almost 7.  I hear about a few cases of this kind of thing every summer locally.

 

I am not a helicopter parent, but when it comes to water safety?  I'm neurotic.  My kids are old and good enough now that I will let them out of my site or go swim with a friend.  But at under 10?   I don't get having pool parties for kids under that age without every parent attending. 

[Amy in NH]

I saved a man a couple of years ago at a local swimming hole.  He was walking in, and when he got up to his neck he freaked out.  His thrashing pushed him a bit farther out so that his mouth/nose kept going under.  I knew if I gave him my hand he would drag me in, so I threw him the end of the pool noodle one of my kids had and pulled him out. 

 

A young adult drowned at that same swimming hole last week.

[AK_Mom4]

I could not recognize them. However, DS19 who has his lifeguard certification spotted them right off (there are multiple videos). He said it was easier in the video than real life because you aren't distracted by all the noise.

[Daria]

Well it was obvious which child it was.  What was stupid was that the lifeguard kept asking the boy if he "wanted me to come get you" instead of telling him to get out.  The pool clearly didn't have good safety policies.  Our pool requires a challenging swim test to be in anything over your head, something that boy clearly would not have passed.  They had a large pool without enough lifeguards and allowed kids in deep water that shouldn't have been in there.  And I agree, all those tubes were a safety hazard, allowing non-swimmers to go in deeper water than they should have been in, thinking they were safe (because of the tube) when in fact they were not.  

 

It's just totally ironic that those people were spending their "swim" time floating, when they should have been given actual swim lessons so they could be safe.  My ds has had over a year of intensive swim lessons, can pass a challenging swim test, can swim laps in a competition pool, and I wouldn't put him in that pool for free time, not at 6 feet, not unsupervised and with a pool that wide.  That setup was utterly, utterly dangerous in the video, and places are redoing their pools (literally), to make them more shallow and eliminate these dangers.  I wouldn't have even allowed my dc in that situation and he CAN swim.

 

It's a wave pool at a water park.  I've never seen an amusement park, or resort pool that had a swim test.  I've only seen that at private pools with a membership that is static.  Do you live somewhere where that's different.

 

I'm also not sure why you say there are not enough lifeguards.  In the video I watched there are at least 4 who are clearly visible standing on the side of the pool (2 on each side of the pool), plus on at least one video it's clear that someone has stepped in to replace the lifeguard who jumps in, and who helps the child up the ladder.  It's probably a good assumption that there's someone similar on the other side.  Plus in my experience, there are usually lifeguards on both sides in chairs up by the wave machine, and at least one lifeguard watching the beach entry.  So, 3 on each side, 2 in chairs, one at the beach entry.  9 lifeguards for a medium sized pool seems reasonable to me.  The fact that they got to the distressed swimmers so quickly was pretty impressive.  

 

I agree that we need more resources for accessible swimming lessons for kids.  I'm not going to touch your comment about "those people".  

[Soror]

The thing is as well, we were looking for someone drowning, you never know when it might happen and the life guards don't either.

[displace]

My son, just barely over a year old, was playing beside me while I watched my 4 year old daughter swim in our pool. She was an excellent swimmer.. I got a phone call from my dad. There was an emergency. I was trying to help him. I asked my daughter to get out of the pool and sit on the side until I finished my conversation. My attention was not fully on my kids for maybe a minute. I thought I heard (faintly) someone shout something. I looked around. I did not see my son. I did not see my daughter. The entire yard was silent. There was no splash. I stood up and ran to the pool. I still didn't see them. I looked closer. DD was underwater in the deep end. She was trying to save my son. He had fallen into the pool. THERE WAS NO SOUND. She pushed him above her and I pulled him out then her. She saved his life. She said she was sitting on the side of the pool when she looked up and saw DS racing for the deep end with a grin on his face. He had seen her diving. He went in. She shouted my name as she dove in to grab him. All I heard was the faint call of my name. Once they were underwater I heard nothing at all. No shout, no splashing. It terrified me. I always subconsciously thought there would be splashing. If DD hadn't tried to call to me as she dove in I hate to think how long it would have taken me to realize where they were. Seconds count.

How scary! I can't even imagine being in that situation.

[zimom]

A three year old lost his life last night in our lake.  It is just heartbreaking.  Water safety can not be taken lightly.  

[Audrey]

I spotted him within the first few seconds of the video, but I was a lifeguard as a teen.  I'm surprised it took so long for the lifeguard to make the assist. 

[PeterPan]

I missed that it was a wave pool.  The tubes make more sense, thanks.  I just thought it was a camp pool, and it's quite wide compared to where we swim.  I'm googling wave pools, and what a guarding nightmare.   :scared: 

 

The curious thing is the spread in safety rules.  There are 0-8' wave pools letting kids 42" and up with no life jacket, and 0-6' wave pools requiring lifejackets and parent close for 48" and under and recommending life jackets for weak swimmers.  I'm not seeing many life jackets in the wave pool pics.

 

We typically have a 1:10, 1:15 ratio (guards to swimmers) at the Y pools where we swim, and even with that I hawk my ds.  

[Angie in VA]

We're not necessarily talking about the same videos. There are several and every click and refresh brings a different one (perhaps a handful over and over). 

 

Ds is going to a pool party in a few weeks. We hardly ever get any pool time. Good reminder to be careful and for me to watch him like a hawk!

[J-rap]

I was always neurotic about my children and water too.  They did go to public school for kindergarten, which was a mixed K-2 class.  At the end of the year, they all went to the city pool, with only parents as lifeguards!  I would always go not as a general "lifeguard," but simply to hover over my own children, even if it looked weird.  A few years later (my children weren't there anymore), a little boy drowned at this end-of-the-year pool event, even with 6 parent "lifeguards" there.  It was horrible.  I'm so glad the school has now discontinued the event.

 

[wintermom]

I spotted him within the first few seconds of the video, but I was a lifeguard as a teen.  I'm surprised it took so long for the lifeguard to make the assist. 

 

Our visual scan on the video is a lot smaller than the lifeguard, and we know what is about to happen.  

[Lady Florida.]

I spotted the child each time either before the lifeguard or just as the lifeguard was jumping into the pool. However, I live in a state where accidental drowning of children under 5 is higher than in any other U.S. state. Some years we drop to # 2 but usually reclaim the top spot before long. Not a statistic to be proud of, but one that tends to make you hyper-vigilant.

 

 

Well it was obvious which child it was.  What was stupid was that the lifeguard kept asking the boy if he "wanted me to come get you" instead of telling him to get out. 

 

 

What video did you watch? The one linked doesn't have any lifeguard talking to any child. 

[PeterPan]

They're rotating the videos.

[bettyandbob]

I spotted the child each time either before the lifeguard or just as the lifeguard was jumping into the pool. However, I live in a state where accidental drowning of children under 5 is higher than in any other U.S. state. Some years we drop to # 2 but usually reclaim the top spot before long. Not a statistic to be proud of, but one that tends to make you hyper-vigilant.

 

 

 

What video did you watch? The one linked doesn't have any lifeguard talking to any child. 

 

 

To be fair, accidental drowning will be naturally be higher in states where 

1. the weather is warm most of the year or year round

2. there is a high percentage or bodies of water or aquatic facilities

 

So, I would expect high rates of drowning in certain states. Some good PSAs and water safety information is issued by governmental offices in these states, simply because this is a high priority public health issue in these states. 

 

Lifeguarding is a hard job. Even the best lifeguards will miss or notice problems late. When I teach swimming I tell parents the first responsibility is on the parents, the lifeguard is the backup. 

[TheReader]

Some of those were harder than others (thanks for those mentioning there are several videos), but I do feel like when I am watching my own child I'll be able to recognize drowning signs should it happen to him. 

 

In the videos, I had about half & half spotting the child before the lifeguard vs. after, but in real life, my eyes are on my own child pretty much at all times (and we only swim at the Y, and all kids under 16 have to do a swim test every.single.time. they come), so the fact I *can* spot drowning in the video reassures me that, should it happen to us, I'll recognize it. 

 

Very good training tool, these videos, to get comfortable with what it actually looks like, though. Thanks for posting. 

[sassenach]

I spotted the child each time either before the lifeguard or just as the lifeguard was jumping into the pool. However, I live in a state where accidental drowning of children under 5 is higher than in any other U.S. state. Some years we drop to # 2 but usually reclaim the top spot before long. Not a statistic to be proud of, but one that tends to make you hyper-vigilant.

 

 

 

What video did you watch? The one linked doesn't have any lifeguard talking to any child.

Everytime you refresh it's a different video. I went through at least 6 different videos. I didn't see any with a talking lifeguard, but I don't think I saw them all.

The first video, I didn't spot the kid first, but after watching several, they've become much easier to spot.

[sassenach]

Am I the only one who cries uncontrollably while watching these? I can't even explain why. We did have a near drowning with my oldest, but I don't feel especially emotional about it. I've been passionate about pool safety and Infant Survival Swimming for many years. Idk, but I. Ant watch these without crying.

[Lady Florida.]

To be fair, accidental drowning will be naturally be higher in states where 

1. the weather is warm most of the year or year round

2. there is a high percentage or bodies of water or aquatic facilities

 

So, I would expect high rates of drowning in certain states. Some good PSAs and water safety information is issued by governmental offices in these states, simply because this is a high priority public health issue in these states. 

 

Lifeguarding is a hard job. Even the best lifeguards will miss or notice problems late. When I teach swimming I tell parents the first responsibility is on the parents, the lifeguard is the backup. 

 

Yes, I know and almost alluded to it when making my post. Some of the other states that are high also have warm temperatures much of the year and/or have long coastlines. In addition to our weather which makes pools much more common than in many other states, Florida is a peninsula, so we can't escape the water water everywhere thing. I was only using the high drowning statistics to show that I'm not so great and wonderful that I can spot the drowning child easily. I just happen to live in a place where we have to be on guard for such a thing.

[Lady Florida.]

Everytime you refresh it's a different video. I went through at least 6 different videos. I didn't see any with a talking lifeguard, but I don't think I saw them all.

The first video, I didn't spot the kid first, but after watching several, they've become much easier to spot.

 

Yes, I refreshed quite a few times and still didn't come across one with a talking lifeguard. Maybe there were more and I didn't see all of them.

[jenn-]

I clicked and saw the wave pool video and spotted the kid before the lifeguard.  That kid was me in high school.  My friend's 6' 5" boyfriend saw me and pulled me up as I was pulled out deeper then I realized with the larger waves.  I was popping up off the ground right as another wave crested over my head.  Lifeguards never even noticed.  Needless to say, I'm terrified of wave pools.  My kids have been in one exactly once now and I made sure they are all on a float.  We will go back to the water park on Wednesday and my anxiety level is already climbing.

[Daria]

Yes, I refreshed quite a few times and still didn't come across one with a talking lifeguard. Maybe there were more and I didn't see all of them.

 

In the video with the little boy in the float that gets stuck on the rope, the one that has a break in the middle, you can hear the lifeguard call out "Do you want me to come get you?" in the first half of the video.

 

I'm not sure I understand the idea that he should have told him to get off the rope.  It was clear that he couldn't get the float off, and late becomes clear that he couldn't swim without the float.  

[AMJ]

 

There was a horrible tragedy for a family we know because DD was in the wonderful private school in Cali that has accreditation in both the USA and here in Colombia, for 3 school years (K4, K5 and First grade).  A man we know who had twin boys in the same grade DD was in, is the uncle to the girl who died. She was 10 years old and she was an excellent swimmer. My wife read something, a week ago, that indicated that she was not wearing a cap. If true, that was her last mistake and it was fatal.  Apparently her hair was stuck in an inlet for a pump (?) and she couldn't escape from that. Someone noticed her after 2 (?) minutes and cut her hair off. This happened in a Hilton hotel in Turkey. I believe it was some days, before she was transferred to a hospital in Tel Aviv. Possibly if the accident had happened in Israel, or, if she had been transferred there earlier, they might have been able to save her. Only God knows the answer to that question.  I believe she was underwater for so long that there was no brain activity. Her organs were donated in Israel.  She was a student in Cali.  There was no "Panic Button" near that intake, so that she might have stopped the operation of the machine, had she realized what was happening.  Her name was Sofia.

 

http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/cali/noticias/murio-sofia-khoury-hermana-menor-carolina-soto-tras-accidente-turquia

 

 

A very good point to make.  We have been telling our girls to tie up their hair (I braid my youngest's, now that it is long enough) when swimming at their grandparent's.  That's mostly for hair management (fewer tangles) and to keep long hair out of the pool filters.  Now, however, I will share this story with them, too, so they know that there are very real dangers to swimming with loose hair.

 

Very pleased to see this thread.  Water safety is a topic that needs to be reviewed periodically, to keep it fresh and to educate a new audience.

 

OP, thanks for starting, and thanks for sharing that "game" link.  It took me many tries to get to where I could spot the drowning person, but once I did I started spotting them almost all the time.  However, I had the benefit of noticing the pattern -- there's a particular area of the pool where it happens more often -- and I had a very clear video to watch without other distractions, and the video would stop when I clicked to explain when I got it wrong.  Such stopping doesn't happen in real life.

 

Lifeguards have a VERY tough job. 

[AMJ]

Tangentially related:  Please be sure to never:

• park your vehicle directly across from a driveway
• park in front of a fire hydrant
• park within 30 feet of an intersection

As is well discussed here, seconds count.  Emergency vehicles (which are sometimes private vehicles pressed into service to rush someone to help) need space to be able to maneuver quickly.  Parking across from a driveway cuts down the ability for vehicles to quickly get in or out of said driveway.  Parking in front of a hydrant, of course, blocks access to it -- the delay caused could cost lives in a fire.  Parking too close to an intersection not only constricts that intersection, but blocks the view of oncoming traffic, too, leading to more accidents.

 

Please be careful of your parking and insist that anyone visiting you also park with similar care. 

[AMJ]

I could actually.  But this is why I hate going swimming.  I am constantly watching everyone because I'm worried about it. 

 

There was a drowning in the city pool a few years ago. 

 

I find having all those tubes makes it more difficult to see what is going on.  That sort of stuff is not allowed at the city pool.  It's a bummer in a way, but I get why it's not allowed. 

 

I did notice that every one of those tubes was transparent.  There wasn't an opaque one in site, so that helped a little.  But I agree -- floaties make it harder to see what's happening.

 

My nephew once clowned around pretending to drown in the pool.  I promptly had him get out and lectured him on how dangerous it was to deliberately take the attention of the designated lifeguard when others were also swimming.  I also told him that crying wolf in this way in itself is dangerous because people would start to ignore him completely, and later I showed him a video of someone drowning at the beach.  He, like so many others, thought drowning was dramatic and noisy.

 

I nearly drowned once myself.  I don't take this stuff lightly.

[redsquirrel]

There was a similar story in the news, with video, at the beginning of summer. In this case a lifeguard pulled a child out of the water who was struggling in the water, while in between his parents! The child was also right next to a wall.  Those arm movements described kept him from grabbing forward onto the wall even though it was right there. The parents were on either side talking to each other and I am sure thought their kid was just fine and was splashing around a bit.

 

I have met two parents who dove into a pool to save their own child while the child was taking a swimming lesson. There were too many kids per instructor and it was easy for one to get lost in the shuffle.

[PeterPan]

My kids have been in one exactly once now and I made sure they are all on a float.  We will go back to the water park on Wednesday and my anxiety level is already climbing.

Have you thought about putting them in life jackets?  

[TianXiaXueXiao]

As a former lifeguard, I would say that these videos are pretty good! DD and I just watched them together and we both spotted the drowning child before the lifeguard each time (it looked like the same kid in each video, so maybe he is acting the part). I think everyone should take water safety classes. They should be a mandatory part of physical education in schools.

[jenn-]

Have you thought about putting them in life jackets?

I'll definitely consider this with my youngest. I'm pretty sure my oldest 3 would bulk at the idea.

[PeterPan]

I'll definitely consider this with my youngest. I'm pretty sure my oldest 3 would bulk at the idea.

Our family goes out to a lake every year, and when we swim in deep water (over our heads), we ALL wear life jackets.  It just makes it more fun.  Some of these wave pools are 6-8 feet at the rope, so to me anyone who's going to be out that far would have a lot more fun with one on.  But it seems like that's counter-culture to what is in the pictures.

[SKL]

I am surprised to say that I did identify the drowner before the lifeguard jumped in.  But the lifeguard was not slow IMO.