When should you allow your child to go to a pool or beach without adult supervision? How old is ‘old enough’? Stefanie (from PediatricSafety.net) alerted me to an interesting article last week that prompted the question – a 14-year old girl saved her 10-year old brother from drowning while the two played at a hotel pool, unsupervised. No charges were filed against the parent because 10 was...
Summer’s over! Labor Day weekend is upon us. The days are getting shorter and the nights a little cooler. I’m even seeing a few leaves beginning to drop. Kids are back in school or will be soon. Parents are scrambling to organize fall activity schedules. Sadly many of the outdoor community pools where so many of us spent relaxed and happy summer afternoons will be closing this weekend. The pools...
I love my neighborhood! One of the great initiatives came from a woman who started a mom’s e-mail network. We are 200 strong now and on any day a range of requests comes from our dedicated leader. The requests range from the simple – ‘Who knows a good plumber? Does anyone have a coonskin hat for the school play?’ – to the serious, ‘Who can provide meals for a family in crisis?’...
Do you remember the story about the boy in South Carolina who died of dry drowning last summer? My first thought was ‘I’ve never heard of such a thing…’, the response echoed by most parents I talked to as that frightening story made it’s way around the neighborhood grape-vine. I’ve been working on drowning prevention for a couple of years now, so I know all the scary statistics –...
