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Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

spotthedrowningchild.com

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Re: Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

#241

Post by _ph_ »

vasco wrote: post #178
keanzu wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somehow people don't realize the danger that pools possess. Swimming is one of the few activities that children engage in which can go so wrong as to end up in their death. I would suggest that it is borderline negligence for a parent to put a child in such a dangerous situation without proper precautions (supervision). I wouldn't let a small child I am responsible for go into a pool alone regardless of the presence…

It depends on the child's ability. Plenty of kids were swimming by themselves in the ocean at 8 or younger because they had a lot of experience or even doing competive swimming from younger ages. Most parents when I was a kid would set rules as too how far into the sea you could swim and that'd be it. I think this is common throughout the world in places close to beaches as I was.

I think the key is: learn swimming in an early age and then regularly go swimming. Swimming, not using floating toys. Children, who regularly play in the water - we did all kind of water-wrestling :) - can get extremely proficient at it.

Re: Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

#242

Post by Igelau »

keanzu wrote: post #224
killjoywashere wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wouldn't let a small child I am responsible for go into a pool alone You would. Let me give you the scenario: you're home alone with the three kids, you've been chasing them around, doing laundry, cleaning up spilled grape juice, telling Jenny to stop cutting Tommy's hair, etc. Finally, you think everyone is down for a nap. You turn on the game. 5 minutes later, 5 minutes, you think "It's too quiet...". You get u…

I have a pool. I have a fence. A friend's son was visiting, also four years old, vanished for just a second and suddenly I thought Oh god, the pool. Sure enough there he was stuck outside the fence trying to get to the pool but frustrated that the latching mechanism can only be operated by someone at least 5 feet tall. I wouldn't let a small child go into a pool alone. Pool safety is life and death. Get a fence.

> Get a fence.

killjoywashere obviously just blocks the pool entrance with their enormous trophy case

Re: Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

#243

Post by keanzu »

mcv wrote: post #232
killjoywashere wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wouldn't let a small child I am responsible for go into a pool alone You would. Let me give you the scenario: you're home alone with the three kids, you've been chasing them around, doing laundry, cleaning up spilled grape juice, telling Jenny to stop cutting Tommy's hair, etc. Finally, you think everyone is down for a nap. You turn on the game. 5 minutes later, 5 minutes, you think "It's too quiet...". You get u…

I don't mind leaving my child unattended for a short period in a safe area. But not near a pool. Of course luxury homes with their own pool in the backyard put rather a big strain on safety around your own home. Put a good fence around it, I guess.

> I don't mind leaving my child unattended for a short period in a safe area.

...and safety is relative to this child's capability. My parents put me through extensive swimming lessons from a young age precisely so they could let me play unsupervised in the ocean. I'd been a half mile out to sea alone by the time I was 10. Turns out I wasn't as unsupervised as I thought; my mum was freaking out but, unable to swim, couldn't do anything about it!

But if the child can't swim, no alone pool time for them.

Re: Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

#244

Post by keanzu »

Igelau wrote: post #242
keanzu wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a pool. I have a fence. A friend's son was visiting, also four years old, vanished for just a second and suddenly I thought Oh god, the pool. Sure enough there he was stuck outside the fence trying to get to the pool but frustrated that the latching mechanism can only be operated by someone at least 5 feet tall. I wouldn't let a small child go into a pool alone. Pool safety is life and death. Get a fence.

> Get a fence. killjoywashere obviously just blocks the pool entrance with their enormous trophy case

If I thought it would help I'd send my fence off to be trained as a Navy physician but it seems to be able to handle the task fine without the additional training.

Re: Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

#245

Post by mcv »

keanzu wrote: post #243
mcv wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mind leaving my child unattended for a short period in a safe area. But not near a pool. Of course luxury homes with their own pool in the backyard put rather a big strain on safety around your own home. Put a good fence around it, I guess.

> I don't mind leaving my child unattended for a short period in a safe area. ...and safety is relative to this child's capability. My parents put me through extensive swimming lessons from a young age precisely so they could let me play unsupervised in the ocean. I'd been a half mile out to sea alone by the time I was 10. Turns out I wasn't as unsupervised as I thought; my mum was freaking out but, unable to swim, c…

Exactly. My oldest son, now 10, has been perfectly able to swim on his own. We live in a former port area with lots of great swimming spots that he visits with his friends. But he's got his swimming diplomas (two of them, which I consider the minimum for this situation).

Sea, though, can be tricky. Half a mile out to sea, currents can be very different. I know that I as a kid once floated on a tiny inflatable boat quite a bit out to sea, and my dad swam after me to drag me back. I thought I could get back on my own, but my dad clearly wasn't entirely convinced.

Re: Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

#246

Post by jschwartzi »

_ph_ wrote: post #241
vasco wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on the child's ability. Plenty of kids were swimming by themselves in the ocean at 8 or younger because they had a lot of experience or even doing competive swimming from younger ages. Most parents when I was a kid would set rules as too how far into the sea you could swim and that'd be it. I think this is common throughout the world in places close to beaches as I was.

I think the key is: learn swimming in an early age and then regularly go swimming. Swimming, not using floating toys. Children, who regularly play in the water - we did all kind of water-wrestling :) - can get extremely proficient at it.

Yeah I’m taking swimming lessons as an adult after totally failing to retain what I was taught as a child. You have to practice and play in the water constantly to develop any proficiency. To get a child to do that means they have to not be afraid of the water.

Re: Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

#247

Post by [deleted] »

young_unixer wrote: post #218
dmos62 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of intuition do you have about 1%-2%? I've a crappy grasp of probability. I'd say 1-2% is like being quite certain that you'll experience this or that within 50-100 tries/repetitions. That sounds rare to me. In case of life or death it's not a risk I'd tolerate, but I'd call it rare.

My intuition comes from other uses of "rare" and "very rare" in medical fields. "In Europe a disease or disorder is defined as rare when it affects less than 1 in 2000 citizens." [1] """ In the United States, the Rare Diseases Act of 2002 defines rare disease strictly according to prevalence, specifically "any disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States", or about 1 in 1,500 peopl…

[deleted]

Re: Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

#248

Post by tiborsaas »

rtkwe wrote: post #172
tiborsaas wrote: post #80

What's the point of this? Should I be surprised that I do a poor job at watching a camera footage compared to a person being present there with all sensory inputs, context, trained to spot drowning people?

It shows what actually drowning looks like which is quiet and very predictable movements that don't match how most people expect it to look from movies/tv.

Then I think this page does a poor job and overly dramatic. It took me 4 attempts to see the popover text box.

Re: Spot the Drowning Child (2015)

#249

Post by balls187 »

When I was 12, I went on a week long hike as a scout. We decided to swim across a lake, and 1/2 way through, I got tired, and tried swimming back, but couldn't.

I remember having the presence of mind to yell out help before blanking out. My closest friend in the troop luckily turned around, swam back to and drug me back to shore.

I was scared of the water after that, but some how ended up fighting my fear and earning the swimming merit badge, which for a weak swimmer, was no easy task.

For his heroism, and because I had overcome my near death experience, we were both recognized for embodying different aspects of scouting.

That incident in the lake inspired my friend to go on to become a life-guard.

Both my kids started swim lessons in infancy, and my oldest son gets compliments for his swimming skills while at the public pool. Though the pool we use has life guards, I never for a second take my eyes of my kids.

Maybe one day they'll go on to be life guards prior to college.

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