DaisyDay Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 The area we live in seems to get more than its share of rain and it frequently floods. We live out in the country so flood water is likely contaminated with animal feces (horses, cows) and chemicals like mosquito spray, among other toxins. Ds12 and his friend are unable to resist the standing water. I make him wear rain boots (think snakes, fire ants) but the boys always end up rolling around in the water, wrestling in it, etc. They think I'm the meanest mom ever because I don't allow it. This is the same boy who needed antibiotics last year after contracting a severe case of impetigo following a mud fight with his friend in the flood water. Am I being unreasonable? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prairie~Phlox Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 I would not let them. Be the mean mom. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No. That said, when we lived through a severe flood (1.5m in our yard which had a septic tank, 30cm in our house) it didn't even occur to me to wear boots or disinfect: we scraped out the mud, washed everything down and moved on. No one got sick. I probably wouldn't roll around in or drink the flood water, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No, but I know a lot of kids and former kids who were forbidden to do stuff. They still did it and lived. Flood water is gross and often dangerous, as a parent I would say no,but I also know 12 year old boys might do stuff out of my sight. With floods where I'd get truly hyper is playing in/near water with currents. That little creek looks so fun and exciting when it becomes a fast moving river. It is also immediately deadly. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eliz Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 My daughters have always loved to play in rain water puddles, but flood water, absolutely not. There's too great a possibility of gross contamination. Why take that kind of risk? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No. Dh is trained in/works in situations with all sorts of contaminated water, including flood water. He'd flip out if our kids went anywhere near it. As it is, I already have to go around locating and draining standing water from all sorts of contraptions our little boys set up, because they WILL soak each other in disgusting, stagnant water, given the chance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No, no, no. And because they'd do it anyway I'd force a tetanus booster and a research paper on antibiotic resistant bacteria and other dangers in flood water, including drowning. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No. But I did when I was little (we often had tidewater floods, 1-2 feet max, no current.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Good for you for being the "mean" mom. I wouldn't let mine do it either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Puddles in our yard, yes. Flood water in the street/ditch or culvert? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in FL. Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No, you're not a mean Mom. Outside of the nasties that could be living in that water, I've read horror stories of children being sucked away by currents right in front of their parents eyes. Splashing in puddles is one thing, standing flood water is another. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 minor flooding such as a very small lake (I know bigger farm ponds) near where we live will flood the trails around it - gross, but probably okay. one thing I guess to be grateful for aspergers sensory stuff - they think it's gross too. major flooding where there will be contamination and currents - no. way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Good for you for being the "mean" mom. I wouldn't let mine do it either. yes. tell them they can get you a "mean mom" badge for mother's day - and wear it proudly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 (edited) nm Edited April 22, 2016 by _ ?^.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Small rain puddles, sure. Flood, no. That sounds disgusting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No. It's never been an issue where we have lived, but no, I would not. Contaminants and vermin and unseen things in the water, plus the risk of additional rising water? No. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 It's not an issue where I live - even during hurricanes we are high and dry. If it was a thing here, no I would not. I have let ds splash in rain puddles when he was young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No. Sewage (human included), creatures, power lines that may be down, not being able to see sharp objects/hazards, oil, gasoline, other chemicals. No. Lots of the illness/death after a hurricane is from the flooding, not people killed by the winds. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 We've definitely splashed in puddles, mostly with rubber boots. But in those conditions, it sounds disgusting! I'd tell them that's just like jumping and playing in a toilet. LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Floating fire ant mounds?!!!! That's the stuff of nightmares. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Heck no. I let my kids play in puddle, in mud, in briars. But flood waters, no. Flood water = sewage. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Nope. If dd wants to splash in the water, we're two blocks from a lake. She doesn't need to play in sewage. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 A friend of mine in Houston posted some video this morning of kids (not hers) tubing down the street in a nearby neighborhood. Tubing with the fire ants and the snakes and the general grossness. It was disgusting and, it would seem to me, a drowning risk. No way I would let my kids do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Oh, hell no, we don't play in floodwater! We live in an urban area and we have severe contamination, even if it is of a different kind than you might have (knew a kid who wound up hospitalized because of it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Absolutely not. Don't feel bad. My dh is a civil engineer and we know what is in that water. It's awful. Be the mean mom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/extreme-weather/floods-standingwater.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto3innc Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 (edited) No. In Houston so dealing with lots of flooding. Absolutely not. During the last flooding last year we knew someone who got dysentary from getting stuff out of their flooded house (and lived very close to us). So definitely no. And yes my kids think I'm mean :) Edited April 21, 2016 by momto3innc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No, and I live in an area that occasionally floods. There are warnings issued about not getting near the water because it is dirty. The very idea just grosses me out. My kids are fairly fastidious, so while it might seem tempting at first, they won't go near it once I remind them what is in it. A quick "have fun playing in the poop water" would do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 (edited) No, I wouldn't allow it. However, I can remember playing in flood water when I was 7yo, and I lived to tell the tale.Same here. I wouldn't let my kids do it, but I remember doing it myself! But then I also remember closing my eyes and holding my nose to run through the cloud after the "fog man" drove by (aka mosquito control😆). Edited April 21, 2016 by Seasider 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalytic Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 My mom lost her "good" fingernails after we had to wade through floodwater to check on our home 30ish years ago. She had beautiful nails prior to that and after they because brittle and thin. Doc said she probably picked up some bacteria in the water. Her nails never recovered :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 (edited) nm Edited April 22, 2016 by _ ?^.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 (edited) Well, my DD spends a good chunk of time out doing frog/tadpole/siren surveys and testing water quality in vernal and ephemeral ponds-which is simply scientist for "mud puddle". So yeah, after flooding or heavy rains, she's out in them a lot, especially since contamination is something that needs to be recorded and tracked. Having said that, the field study protocol involves boots, gloves, and water proof clothing that can stand up to bleach or chlorhexadine, and to disinfect every time you go in or out of the water so you don't risk spreading disease from puddle to puddle, so she's also disinfecting a lot. I sometimes think she likes herpetology because it's an excuse to play in the mud. Edited April 21, 2016 by dmmetler 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 What about getting your kids waders like hunters use for duck hunting? I've let my kids play in flood waters, but not like what you are talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 When I was a kid, we lived in the country, and would sometimes wade in the roadside ditch of running water. It didn't rain very often, so it was a novelty, and we wore rain boots. It was running off of a cow pasture, now that I think about it. We had been warned to stay OUT of the culvert, whether it was wet or not. I wouldn't let my kids do it here. I'd be concerned about upset snakes floating along looking for something to grab onto. Floating fire ant mounds... brrrr! Horrible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No. Never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 no. I live right at the estuary of a large ( to Australia) river system, it floods regularly. We see what comes down in that water and we see the destruction that water causes. It is not just muddy water like as puddle at all. Enough people have died that Australia is atm having a big advertising program warning people to never go into floodwaters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 No you are not. No way I'd let my kids play in that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 Same here. I wouldn't let my kids do it, but I remember doing it myself! But then I also remember closing my eyes and holding my nose to run through the cloud after the "fog man" drove by (aka mosquito control😆). OMG. That made me LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 (edited) . Edited April 22, 2016 by Acorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 No way in an urban area. That is so contaminated. Nasty. In a rural area in which the flood water is as pure as the ground or surface water they regularly play in, I'd consider it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 No. I grew up in a place where our land sometimes flooded in the spring. We never played in the water. We rafted on it occasionally, but that water is nasty! Even in a raft we had issues with water moccasins trying (aggressively) to get in the boat with us. We were pretty rural, but the river flowed past towns with sewer systems that would get flooded and through yards with flooded septic systems. There is no such thing as flood water that is safe to play in. Stay mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 No. Where is the article about the kid who died from a parasite he contracted from playing in flood water? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted April 22, 2016 Share Posted April 22, 2016 (edited) Would I let my kids, no. Mainly because of the above reason. Did I as a kid? Every chance I got. Edited April 22, 2016 by foxbridgeacademy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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