Very interesting essay.....I too, fell into a pool at about 4 years of age...I remember like it was yesterday.....my mother and I were visiting a friends house and they had an above ground pool, about 5 feet deep....I remember falling in and sinking and then kind of hovering there, looking at the sunlight streaming down through the water...I did not panic as I knew my mother was right there and would save me....she did jumping in immediately after me and pulling me up....maybe Jill thought the same thing.

Childhood drowning and near drowning happens everyday. Our littlest ones can't struggle and call out for help because they do not have the strength to keep their head above the water, not to mention yelling for help while treading. Even unskilled adults may not be able to thrash in the water for very long and particularly once they become fatigued.

I am a former lifeguard and have taught aquatic survival swimming to infants and young children for 25 years. There is a solution to prevent this needless tragedy which happens all too often. Your suggestion on supervision and "Safe Kids" water watcher is a great idea and Parents need to wake up and pay attention, "touch supervision" for little ones IN and AROUND the water is a must!

The fact that your daughter stayed in a upright position tells me a couple of things. She may have stepped off of the side of the pool and stayed in the very position where she was able to breath, or she was held vertical a lot in the water by Mommy or Daddy initially prior to this incident. Or, had she worn flotation devices prior to this incident?

Ann, who submitted a comment to your essay we believe has the more direct answer to what might happen when young toddlers are pulled out of the water. They will in fact, wait for help particularly if they have been pulled out before, jumped into water and have been caught by Parents or have a history of wearing floatation devices in the water. Babies trust their Parents to come and rescue them, especially if they have been held in the aquatic environment during water play. They know nothing different UNLESS they are taught how to swim and survive.

There is a wonderful,comprehensive program that offers peace of mind to Parents and has and is making a difference in the safety for children's lives around the water. It is called, Infant Swimming Resource. You can watch a video on this web site and at least observe what infants and toddlers are capable of learning. However, they must be TAUGHT by a professional instructor to learn these skills: www.infantswim.com

I am so glad your little girl was safely pulled out of the water before either losing her life or ending up with permenant brain damage which happens much more frequently than people realize.

Thank you for bringing this subject up to help create an awareness that Parents need to closely supervise their young ones in and around the water and not to assume that their child will not fall prey to this needless, quick and tragic event.

I nearly drowned as a 2 year old child. My babysitter was listening to Beatles 45 RPM Records and was completely distracted when I fell into an above ground pool. I remember hearing the refrain of 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah' from 'She Loves You' and thinking that I would just go to sleep in the water. My older borthers plunged into the pool and hauled me out. I remember large amounts of water coming from my tiny body and seeing my mother in shock. The babysitter's hysterics frightened me and I clung to my father like a tiny monkey, trying to hide. I have rarely gone into water since, and still to this day cannot swim.

Robin

Janis, Thanks for this timely story. I think many parents do not realize the need for constant guarding of kids in water.

My sister nearly drowned in a mountain stream at a park in NH when I was a teenager- it just takes a moment of inattention.

Jan - I suspect that Jill stepped off the edge of the pool (backwards, maybe?) and down she went. As I recall, we had an inflatable ring that we would bring to the pool sometimes, but she didn't like it (didn't trust it, I don't think).

I will look into the Infant Swimming Resource you suggested. I have two grandchildren now, a three year old and a five month old -- no wonder this is on my mind!

Robin - I'm wondering if you also avoid oldies radio stations! Hearing that "yeah, yeah, yeah" refrain must leave you gasping for air.

It is such an odd phenomenon that these young children remain motionless and don't appear to be bothered by not breathing. (From what Robin said, the fear comes after the rescue.) I wonder if anyone has done a study on the subject. Maybe it's a component of the mammalian diving reflex.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammalian_diving_reflex

Jan - I just went to www.infantswim.com. It looks like a wonderful program.

However, when I plugged a Charlottesville zip code in to find the nearest instructor, I discovered that the closest one is in Virginia Beach!

It would be great if ACAC would have someone on their staff trained in this method. (It would provide a good reason for people with small children to buy a family membership!)

My children are currently enrolled in the Infant Swim Program a www.infantswim.com I am AMAZED at what they are doing. I have a 15 month old that is now floating in the water on his own. His instructor puts him in the water in different ways and he is able to turn himself around, if needed, float up and stabalize his float all by himself. I never thought that it would be possible until I saw the video on the website.

My 4year old is also enrolled in the program. He is learning much more than just how to swim. He is learning survival techniques and gaining confidence in what he's doing.

I have already watched other children graduate from the program since I started with my children. I highly recommend it. I know that my children would be able to save themselves if they ever found themselves in that type of situation. Things happen so fast and even though I feel that my pool is well gated and my husband and I do a good job of watching our children, we need to equip them with the skills that they need if something does happen, either at our house or somewhere else.