Home And Water Safety To Prevent Children Drowning

| |

Home And Water Safety To Prevent Children Drowning

February 19. 2018

Chain lock for doors

This past Friday, February 16, 2018, a child could have drowned where I live. A little boy who is about 3-years-old, who lives in the complex across from the one I reside in, got out of his family's flat and made his way towards the massive pond encircling the enclave. In the past, residents have spotted alligators in the water. No one goes in the water, but people go fishing from outside the fence encircling it.

After Hurricane Irma in September 2017, trees fell down and some of the debris became entangled in the fence. Previously, a small portion of the pond was not enclosed by the fence. After the hurricane the open section of the large pond became even bigger, when maintenance was forced to uproot the damaged parts.

The two complexes are owned by different real estate developers. However, the sizeable pond runs through the middle, encircles both complexes and leads into a nearby canal and lake. Alligators have been known to travel in this manner in Florida bodies of water and attack adults and children (Body Of 2-Year-Old Boy Recovered After Fatal Disney Resort Alligator Attack). Nonetheless, people fish in the pond and ducks wade through the water. Snakes and frogs are also present.

On Friday, as I was leaving home at about 5:00PM to run some errands and go grocery shopping, I saw a smiling little boy playing close to the pond across the way (on the other side of the pond). I quickly glanced around to see if there was an adult around, as the boy started slowly running towards the pond. I was in shock. I started rushing towards the other side of the pond while yelling, "Don't go in there! Back up! Back up!"

Thankfully my screaming startled him into stopping, as his feet/shoes were already in the water. Thankfully, he started backing up, because I feared the wildlife in it could surface and grab him. I knew I could go in and stop him from drowning if he had waded all the way into the water, as I can swim well. However, if something surfaced and grabbed him, it would have been a fight against an alligator and they are horrendous, horrific and vicious when they latch on to someone and I would not likely have been able to retrieve him under those circumstances. I would have tried if need be though.

After I startled him into not going forward into the water any further, he backed up, looked at me, smiled, then slowly began running towards the complex he lives in. He was just this happy little kid that didn't understand the dangers of the pond. I started rushing to catch him fearing something bad could happen to him wandering around unattended.

When I got to the first stairwell, I saw him go into an open apartment. I went up to the door and there was no one in the living room, but the little boy then sat back in front of the TV to watch cartoons. I didn't go into the apartment, but knocked loudly for nearly 2-minutes on the open door, while standing in the doorway.

A teenager came out from a room in the back of the flat with earphones in her ears. She looked shocked and her mouth fell open when she was me and I told her the little boy was going into the water and I had to scream to get his attention and stop him. I told her that she needed to keep an eye on him. She was so shocked that he had gotten out she couldn't speak. He stood beside her smiling, still unaware of what could have happened in the water, as he's just a kid.

She had left him watching cartoons in the living room and had gone into a back area of the apartment. She didn't know he was gone. The little boy had turned the lock on the door, released the light lever/handle, which is within his line of vision and gotten out of the apartment.

I decided I was going to pay the maintenance man from my building to go back with me and install a chain at the top of the door and high enough that the little boy couldn't reach it to get out of the flat by himself again. However, my friend who works from the police department in Jupiter, Florida demanded I call the police, because it could happen again. I was concerned, because I did not want the person to lose their child (the government sometimes takes children into care under certain circumstances). There are security cameras as well.

After all, I remembered when I was about 5 or 6-years-old, in a matter of seconds I slipped way from my mom in the shallow end of the pool and decided I was going to touch the bottom of the pool in the deep end and did (Parents Of Boy That Fell Into Gorilla Pit At Cincinnati Zoo Leading To Animal Being Killed By Staff Are Under Investigation By Police). At that age I did not know the danger. My mom was properly supervising me, but sometimes energetic kids do unsafe things in a matter of seconds, as I did that day. I could swim well, as my dad (an athlete) then his friend (an Olympian) taught me to swim.

But the little boy at the pond was a little child who couldn't even speak in sentences. So, I heeded my friends advice and called the police. Two cops arrived, I explained what happened and implored them, "I don't want anyone to lose their child. I just want a welfare check regarding the little boy."

Turns out the teenager was babysitting and the little boy's father is a cop, who had reached home at that point. The two responding cops know him. The dad was stunned and livid when he found out. He was angry with the babysitter, who confirmed to police that I did find and bring the little boy back. However, he assured his colleagues nothing like that would ever happen again. So, as the phrase goes, "All's well that ends well." Thank God the little boy is okay. He's a sweet child. I wish him the best in life.

When I went back with the police, I noticed there was a chain on the door, towards the top. However, the babysitter had forgotten to put on the chain on and that's how the little boy got out of the apartment by opening the bottom lock. The poor little boy didn't know better. He emulated what he saw others do in opening the door. He was by the water, happy and smiling. He was looking out at the water like it was something fun and running towards it, then got his feet in it and was trying to go further. However at that age, they don't know the dangers, especially in a Southern state like Florida (alligators and snakes).

It is important to keep the chain on your doors. Families should also be careful regarding children and bathtubs, as drowning have happened that way as well. Be careful sending your children to pool parties, as sometimes people become overwhelmed in trying to keep track of all the children present and an unintentional drowning occurs when a child becomes inquisitive. If you have a pool, properly fence it in and never leave it open or the lock off when you are not using it.

The whole thing made me sad, as it reminded me of how my brother Norman died when I was younger. Two kids were playing after school during their walk on the way home and fell into the choppy part of the ocean that people do not swim. People gathered at the spot in shock and horror. My brother, who could swim, jumped in and got one child out. However, when he went back into the ocean, the tide pulled him and the second child under the water. When the tide is bad it is difficult to survive. Their bodies were recovered by emergency services. They were transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Once again, children must be properly supervised, especially around water. It only takes a few short minutes for tragedy to strike.