The amount of people in this thread that think a consumer device could ever be better at recognizing a drowning person than a human being is staggering.
Sounds like a completely reasonable belief!
Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
151–160 of 394 posts
Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
#152I would like to point out that any flotation device in a pool besides a life jacket is just asking for problems. I life-guarded for almost 10 years, the only way I would ever let anything that supported a human floating __besides__ an approved life jacket was if the pool was almost empty (such that the one person got my undivided attention) and if I knew the child to already be a strong swimmer. I highly encourage ev…
water wings are also terrible at teaching kids to swim: they can't properly use their arms wearing wings. I had both my kids (currently 3 and 5) learn to swim by having them wear inflatable vests. When they started they had fully inflated vests. every week or so I would deflate it bit by bit, until they are wearing a fully deflated vest. At that point the vest is just for emotional support, and they can pretty much h…
The funny thing is that I remember as a kid using a borrowed set of water wings (I'm assuming those are the inflatable things that go on the upper arms?). I was like 9 years old, and could barely swim by doing a back stroke (floating on my back, and somewhat making my way across the water). But when I put those water wings on, it gave me just enough support that I learned that afternoon how to do a breast stroke and side stroke, and ended up being a fairly strong swimmer after that (only used them that one time though).
Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
#153Scary video, reminds me of camping as a child. My mom was a life guard growing up and she taught us all to swim and was pretty good at spotting other kids in the pool. Had a friend of mines little brother responding just like the kid in the video. His parents? Watching and laughing because they thought he was swimming funny. Thankfully my mom dove in and pulled him out of the lake, she knew exactly what was happening and made sure everyone knew what to look for after that.
edit:
Rules of the pool:
1) Don't run around a pool
2) NEVER push someone into a pool
3) Don't dive into a pool unless it's meant for diving (I recently dove into a pool and ate the plaster on the other side, if it hadn't been for her voice parroting in my head to stay calm I may have freaked out and drowned...in the shallow end, in front of my family
4) Absolutely no flotation devices in the pool that were big and round, especially innertubes (tell me how fun they are until you jump onto one and have it flip back and whack your head against the concrete side of the pool).
Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
#154Friendly reminder: rescuing a drowning person (even a child) is incredibly dangerous if you have not been trained in how to do it. They will try to climb on top of you if they get a hold of you and unless you are an exceptionally strong swimmer they will then proceed to drown you. The drowning reflex overrides most people's abilities to process other thoughts, with the result that a loved one is just as likely to dro…
The Boy Scout lifesaving training says, when that happens (the victim climbs on top of you) then simply dive. They will let go. Then surface and try again. And always approach from behind them, get an 'arm bar' across their chest and tow them to safety with your other arm.
Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
#155I'm about to go swimming, I do so every day. The truth is that lifeguards at pools rarely ever see "drowning" and almost never have to pull people from the water. It's a one-a-year thing. Heart attacks are more common. I know of one pool locally that in 40 years has only seen two deaths, one heart attack and one murder. Drowning isn't an issue.
More people are hurt in the showers than in the pool. And far more on the deck. It's a matter of energy. A fall in a shower hurts, whereas there is no real falling while swimming. And barefoot elderly people on slick tiles are far more likely to injure themselves than the worst swimmers once in the actual water. Poor swimmers rarely get into trouble in modern pools. Instinct protects.
But the article is correct. THIS is what a drowning child really looks like: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b7/NirvanaNeverm...
Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
#156These videos are pretty shocking to watch. It's seeing the contrast between a bunch of children having fun and someone close to death right next to them.
Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm still curious about this: "What does it look like when an able swimmer encounters trouble?" Do adults drown as often as children?
Thanks for the replies. What about able swimmers? I've played water polo for several years. When participating in an activity where it's mandatory to wear a life jacket, I do, but is there really a point?
When I've been required to wear a life jacket in the past (as an adult) it's typically been in a situation where there was a chance of some other sort of injury occurring that would render you unconscious or unable to swim normally.
Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
#158Just me, or is this vid not a great example?...the kid is pretty clearly struggling.
Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
#159Friendly reminder: rescuing a drowning person (even a child) is incredibly dangerous if you have not been trained in how to do it. They will try to climb on top of you if they get a hold of you and unless you are an exceptionally strong swimmer they will then proceed to drown you. The drowning reflex overrides most people's abilities to process other thoughts, with the result that a loved one is just as likely to dro…
this is pretty true, having nearly drowned once I freaked out and grabbed all over my savior. Thankfully he was at least 5-6 years older than me and had no problem containing me as he dragged me to the side of the pool.
There is a reason life guards grab from behind and disable the arms.
Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child
#160I'm just shocked at how I could've overlooked this. This was probably the first thing we were told to look out for but it was in a simulated environment when I took my life guarding course 12 years ago. It's surprising how indifferent people are around the drowning person.