Will and I met some friends at our neighborhood pool on Monday for the first time this summer. It is a very kid friendly pool with large areas that are max 2'6" deep and the deepest it goes to is 4'. We were having a blast playing. I took Will around in the shallow end to make sure that he could walk through it and he was doing great and I helped him "swim" in the deep end. We had no floaties because I could only find one after the move. He was walking through the shallow end which came up just past his waist. I was maybe 15 feet from him chatting with my friend while watching him. I looked at him walking towards the steps and looked back at him 2 seconds later to see my childs head bobbing in the water and his arms thrashing. I have never moved so fast in my life. He swallowed a bit of water and of course was scared but I made sure that we got right back in the water and swam around because I do not want him to have a fear of water. It really shook me up and made me learn a very valuable lesson. I thnk he slipped or just got distracted by the other kids in the pool and didn't realize he could stand right up. I thought as long as the water is not over his head or even close to it he'd be fine. He was in 24 inches of water and he is about 38 inches tall. The next day we went to the store and got floaties, goggles, a noodle, and a pool for the backyard. He is also signed up for swimming lessons that start in 2 weeks. He has had lessons before and we were definitely planning on continuing but I will now have him in lessons continuosly until he learns how to be safe in the water. He is not traumatized at all and keeps asking me when we can go back to the big pool. Here are a few pictures of Will modeling his new gear. 
3 comments:
Katie, how frightening. My niece was playing on the steps of a pool and she stepped off into the deep end without anything on and went completely under. It's so terrifying. Who would have thought in 24 inches of water. You poor thing. How scary for Will. You were strong to put him right back into the water. I bet your years of BLS/ACLS training came flashing back in your head for a split second. Speaking of that my BLS is expired, I need to get it renewed. I am so greatful you are both ok.
Oh, how scary. I'll bet your heart was pumping so hard!!! Good job with the quick thinking and getting him right back in. I don't know if I would have thought to do that... Glad he's ok, and those pictures are priceless! So cute and so funny too! : ) How ya feeling these days???
How scary!! I'm glad he's okay. And that's awesome you got him in swimming classes! We're going to start Ronan is swimming classes this summer. It's actually a good time to start. The Am. Ped. Assoc. do not recommend anything earlier than 3 years old. They think even if a kid can swim before 3, they are not strong enough to "save" themselves"..and then it gives both parents and child a false sense of security --and the child thinks he can go deep or has no fear of the water and will just go without asking. So a little fear can be a good thing. I'm so glad he and you are okay.
I love his goggle photo with that cute swim shirt!!
BTW we made it to St. Andrew's pool last weekend and it was fun like you had mentioned last summer!
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