Near-Drowning on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas Revives Cruise Ship Lifeg

accidents happen and im not going to blame parents, but at 6 years old , you should be with them at all times in a pool or anywhere really. you can prevent accidents, not all but a lot of them by keeping close to them. glad he is ok , and i hope lesson learned.

Parents should have been IN the pool with the child. Period. Done deal....no excuses.................

Good grief, not making light of the child's accident I have to say - Whoa Nellie on that. There are so many kids in the pools as it is throw in their parents and the rest of us might as well go gambling because there will be no room left!

As was pointed out - by the news link on the first page - drowning isn't what you think it is. I don't think parents have to actually be in the water but close by so they can tell little Johnny to get out of the deep water if he can't swim. Of course that conversation should be held before getting to the pool, but Mom or Dad should be near by to enforce.

I think a lifeguard would be useful to monitor the pools to see which kids can swim and which are dog paddling in the deeper water. More of a preventive measure which should reduce the need for lifesaving.

You can sit on the edge of the pool with your feet dangling in. You don['t have to be physically in the water. But you damn well better be close enough to be able to grab them. It's called responsibility. Anything less is neglect

Everyone is quick to blame BUT, we just don't know the facts. The parents may have been there, maybe not, WE DONT KNOW!

Or if someone does know --- then state it as Fact!

And where were they for the past 6 years, when the child should have been learning to swim? No one should let their kids get this old without learning how to swim.

Could you tell me where you ascertained that the child couldn't swim?

Everyone is quick to blame BUT, we just don't know the facts. The parents may have been there, maybe not, WE DONT KNOW!

Or if someone does know --- then state it as Fact!

+1 ^^

Let's all get the facts before we blame anyone. Accidents can happen even under the best of circumstances.

Parents should have been IN the pool with the child. Period. Done deal....no excuses.................

IIRC, there were a couple airlifts... one for the child, others (two?) for family, immediate or extended. SO, presumably there were more adults travelling with the child than mom and dad. What if the grandparents, aunts, uncles, or older cousins (or siblings) were supposed to be watching the child? Do the parents still get blamed?

Now, if the parents were up on deck reading, talking, going to the bar, or otherwise leaving the child in the pool alone, yes, make them walk the plank. I just think it's too early to blame the parents when we don't know if the child was even under their care at the time.

A negative side of having a lifeguard on duty is they are often thought of as babysitters and there will be even more parents not be watching there children. Parents think the lifeguards are there to control their children's behavior and this takes away from the lifeguards ability to watch the entire pool.

A negative side of having a lifeguard on duty is they are often thought of as babysitters and there will be even more parents not be watching there children. Parents think the lifeguards are there to control their children's behavior and this takes away from the lifeguards ability to watch the entire pool.

YES! As a former lifeguard, I can attest to this, sadly, being the case far too often!

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Lets not get ridiculous Cathy. The only way that could happen is if the child drank the water and it saturated his brain.

She is actually correct. One of my patients young child drowned in about an inch of water accumulated from rain water left in a kiddie pool.

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And where were they for the past 6 years, when the child should have been learning to swim? No one should let their kids get this old without learning how to swim.

Good grief I am a lot lot older than this child and I cannot swim, not for the want of trying but I just cant do it.

We were on FOS 2 weeks ago. I was sitting in the overflow area of the pool. 2 little children came into the area intending to jump in the pool. They both had swimmies on. One child was barely 3, if that, and wearing a diaper/swim diaper...the other about 4/5. The parents were behind me on the first row of chairs and encouraging the kids to get in the pool while they SAT back on the chairs. When I saw the diaper, I gently verbally stopped the little one from getting in the pool....he ran back to his mother. I turned around and explained that NO diapers were allowed in the pool and pointed to the sign which was RIGHT in front of her! I am sure she didn't appreciate my interference with her child's swimming. She continued to allow him to play in the overflow area! WHAT is wrong with people. NO pool attendant was anywhere around.

I agree with those who question whether a RCCL Lifeguard would actually enforce anything....as much as I love RCCL, they truly are lacking in that area.

IIRC, there were a couple airlifts... one for the child, others (two?) for family, immediate or extended. SO, presumably there were more adults travelling with the child than mom and dad. What if the grandparents, aunts, uncles, or older cousins (or siblings) were supposed to be watching the child? Do the parents still get blamed?

 

 

 

Now, if the parents were up on deck reading, talking, going to the bar, or otherwise leaving the child in the pool alone, yes, make them walk the plank. I just think it's too early to blame the parents when we don't know if the child was even under their care at the time.

The helicopter landed four times, once to drop medical professionals to ascertain whether the child was stable enough to be transported and then it came back a further 3 times. No one knows what happened initially I don't think. The child could have bumped his head and been knocked out but I don't know and I was on board. I'm just so relieved that it didn't turn into an even worse situation for all involved.

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Parents should have been IN the pool with the child. Period. Done deal....no excuses.................

Amen

Parents should have been IN the pool with the child. Period. Done deal....no excuses.................

Okay, everybody. No more posts. Kaye said this so it must be the law. There will be NO more debating. No room for argument as Kaye has stated this. End of this thread. Period! LOL.

I think we all can agree that a child stands a much better chance of NOT drowning if a parent is with them and focusing on the child and not their Bahama Mama or anything else for that matter.

So, I will give any child I am responsible for at any pool a better chance by giving them my undevided attention.

Only at cruisecritic..... a thread breaks down to people debating life-saving parenting skills on a board that is intended to discuss Royal Caribbean cruising.......:rolleyes:

Check out the latest Royal Caribbean News from Cruise Critic:

 

Near-Drowning on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas Revives Cruise Ship Lifeguard Debate

I missed this story and am glad it had a positive ending. It serves to remind all of us to take care in the water and to watch out for others.

Didn't we already beat this story to death on another thread that got locked? :confused:

When my son was about 8 years old, we went to Moody Gardens. He got in the pool, which was a GIANT pool, almost like a mini beach. I sat poolside watching him.

He went out, was having a great time. He was bobbing along, having fun. I was sitting there looking RIGHT at him. He smiled and waved. I smiled and waved back. He bobbed some more. He waved again. I waved again. He bobbed a little further. Then he waved again. I waved back. Then finally, over the noise and music, I heard "HELP". Then I realized that what I thought was a smile was him in distress.

There had to have been 10 people around him in the pool. No one noticed he was having trouble until he managed to get out "HELP!"

When he yelled help, I jumped up and RAN out to him (it was a wade in pool). At the same time, a man who was RIGHT NEXT TO HIM turned and picked him up. He met me in the more shallow end. When I got him out of the pool, he threw up.

He was surrounded by people and yet he almost drowned. I almost WATCHED my son drown. He didn't realize (and neither did I) that there was a drop off. Like so many others have said IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT LOOKS LIKE! The bobbing motion when he was in distress was the same as when he was having fun.

And as for those who say the parents should have been IN the pool, not all parents can swim. Should the kids not be allowed to swim simply because the parents can't? My mother is afraid of pools and water. However my sister and I both love the water and are GREAT swimmers. But according to many of you guys, we should never have been in a pool because she wouldn't/couldn't get in with us. :rolleyes:

When my son was about 8 years old, we went to Moody Gardens. He got in the pool, which was a GIANT pool, almost like a mini beach. I sat poolside watching him.

 

He went out, was having a great time. He was bobbing along, having fun. I was sitting there looking RIGHT at him. He smiled and waved. I smiled and waved back. He bobbed some more. He waved again. I waved again. He bobbed a little further. Then he waved again. I waved back. Then finally, over the noise and music, I heard "HELP". Then I realized that what I thought was a smile was him in distress.

 

There had to have been 10 people around him in the pool. No one noticed he was having trouble until he managed to get out "HELP!"

 

When he yelled help, I jumped up and RAN out to him (it was a wade in pool). At the same time, a man who was RIGHT NEXT TO HIM turned and picked him up. He met me in the more shallow end. When I got him out of the pool, he threw up.

 

He was surrounded by people and yet he almost drowned. I almost WATCHED my son drown. He didn't realize (and neither did I) that there was a drop off. Like so many others have said IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT LOOKS LIKE! The bobbing motion when he was in distress was the same as when he was having fun.

 

And as for those who say the parents should have been IN the pool, not all parents can swim. Should the kids not be allowed to swim simply because the parents can't? My mother is afraid of pools and water. However my sister and I both love the water and are GREAT swimmers. But according to many of you guys, we should never have been in a pool because she wouldn't/couldn't get in with us. :rolleyes:

That must have been terrible! My mother almost drowned in the ocean while my father thought she was waving hello… Thankfully the lifeguard knew the difference.

I am a big fan of swim lessons too, just a little insurance, not that they don't have to be watched very carefully if they can swim but it helps.