KGA29 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/12/BAG3OQVMH55.DTL 4 year old drowned in the wave pool in its first year. How sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Changed the topic title to be a little more descriptive. The incident is sad, though it seems highly irresponsible to have a child that young in a wave pool. How young do kids learn to swim nowadays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterdude5 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 The lady in our neighborhood that does swimming lessons won't allow kids to start until they're 4, and even then, they're still not ready for something like a wave pool. My prayers are with the family... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingScooter Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 /\/\ I couldn't agree more. Very sad. Where were the parents????!!!!! Well said about nowadays, Wes. When my sisters and I were growing up, my mom saw to it we could swim almost before we could we walk. I have no recall of learning how, but her and my dad took pics. Mom's thinking, as she told us later as grown=ups: you spent the first nine months of your life in water. why get the chance to be afraid of it or forget. again, where were the parents? This could've been PARENTALLY AVOIDED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastn07 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I sure hope they don't close down the wave pool, I'm actually going to Great Americ tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublex98 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Someone also drowned today at oceans of Fun in KC, MO. it was also in a wave pool. how freaky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airtime&Gravity Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 This is a really sad accident, and I'd guess the kid fell of a raft. However, you have to wonder where the kid's mom was, and this just shows how people are irresponsible even with their kids. Of the many appropriate attractions at Boomerang Bay, this mom had to let her kid in the wave pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 How young do kids learn to swim nowadays? It depends on the parents, some learn at quite a young age. I learned over time when I was a little kid. The question is was the kid supervised. It seemed like an accident that could have been averted if his relatives were paying attention to him. Little kids may know how to dogpaddle if they have learned, but little kids are weak swimmers. And in a pool churning out waves, its hard to swim. The parents are at fault for not supervising him. The little kid is in my prayers tonight, but seriously, let this be a lesson to parents. If you have young kids (say under the age of 9), ALWAYS look after them when they are in the water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinacaniac Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 anyone think it may be possible that the kid had swimming lessons before and the parents thought it might be okay for the kid to go? I am not trying to say it was right to let the kid in there, but just thinking of possible reasons for the kid being in the pool. I do hope for the best for the family regardless of the situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbbelle Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 We took our girls, ages 4 and 7 at the time, to Wild Rivers last summer and I was a little surprised when they would not allow them in the wave pool without life jackets. Both girls had taken lots of swimming lessons and I figured they could handle it. Once we got in there and the waves got going, I was VERY happy they required those life jackets. I don't know how the waves at Great America compare to Wild Rivers however the waves were very strong and even with the life jackets I was a nervous parent with the girls. I feel so badly for the family. I can't imagine losing a child. jen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sound Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 The lady in our neighborhood that does swimming lessons won't allow kids to start until they're 4, and even then, they're still not ready for something like a wave pool. My prayers are with the family... We have swimming lessons at school when we're four, and most people start lessons before then, i think i was at least 3 when i started swimming, perhaps 5 when i went in my first wave pool (although, it was at the edge of the wave pool). But yes, it is a very sad incident. And when i did go in the pool, or wave pool, i know that i was always supervised, even now when i go to the beach, i am always supervised. Was this kid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Gumball Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Now, everyone seems to think Great America as "Dangerous" as they've had 3 deaths within it's life span...which 1 of them so far was out of pure stupidity. (The Top Gun incident.) As far as parents watching the kid, the 4 year old shouldn't have been out of the parent's eyesight/reach whenever they're out in the public like that as a number of things could happen. Not trying to push the blame at the parents, but I'm beginning to feel that they got carried away with their own amusement that they forgot that they had a kid with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopThrill182 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 While this is certainly tragic, it's not at all surprising to me. I like to consider myself as a pretty good swimmer, but even I have had scary moments in the deep end of wave pools. Not being able to swim well and not being supervised can be a horrible combination when in water parks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moinab Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Don't be so quick to judge the parents, without knowing the full story. I have a 4 year old daughter and a 6 (almost 7) year old son. Personally, I wouldn't let them in a wave pool without life vests on and close supervision. We live on the beach. My husband takes the kids to the beach several times a week. This is the first year they've been allowed to play in the surf, but only ankle deep during low tide. We've seen too many drownings and near-drownings here over the past 6 years. It's always people who don't live on the beach, who don't understand the power of waves and riptides. But, I also know that even the most vigilant parents lose sight of their children momentarily, every once in a while. It's inevitable. And, unfortunately, these are the times when horrible accidents can happen. Two years ago, the kids were upset with my husband when he told them it was time to leave the beach. Our daughter started running toward the water, and our son started running up the beach. My husband ran after the 2 year old running toward the water, first. When he ran back up after our son, he was nowhere to be seen. An agonizing 45 minutes later, after many volunteers on the beach and the police had been searching, he was found at the elementary school, which is on the way back to our house from the beach (a total distance of 4 blocks.) We were very, very lucky. This story could easily have had a tragic ending. It only takes a moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfmman2000 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 It is a requirement in all articles relating to an amusement park accident, that they reference all previous accidents that have happened at the same park, no matter how unrelated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquacoach Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 As my screen name suggests, I was a lifeguard for 10 years, a swimming teacher for 13 years, and a swimming coach for 2 years. Infants are natural swimmers, and I myself taught an infant class. Infants should be taught with parents, guardians, or siblings at all times. This class usually included all children from 6 months to 3 years of age. At 3, the children, usually reluctantly were allowed to have private lessons in our less than 3 foot "baby pool" most times kids were afriad to do anything and sat on the side. At 4, they advanced to the 3 foot and started their real swiming skills. Swimmers were not allowed to go to the deep end until they had swum across the pool. The was usually when they were seven or eight and even then, most were not really ready for a wave pool. What is really all comes down to is that parents have to be responsible for their kids and say no when it is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Now, everyone seems to think Great America as "Dangerous" as they've had 3 deaths within it's life span...which 1 of them so far was out of pure stupidity. (The Top Gun incident.) Actually, in it's 31 years of operation ther have been 5 deaths--2 of which were out of stupidity. Here is the list: -Whizzer has two separate accidents, one of which causes a death when while boarding a trian in the station another train hit it from behind causing a boy to fall to his death -At the dare of his friends, a boy jumps out of a log at the bottom of the second lift on Logger's Run and gets caught underneath the next log and drowns -An autistic boy somehow manages to get free of his restraint on Drop Zone while the car is at the top of the tower and falls to his death -A guest ignores warning sign and climbs a fence to enter a dangerous restricted area to retrieve his hat that fell off when he was riding Top Gun, the area he entered was the bottom of the loop, a train came through while he was retrieving his hat, the train struck and killed him and broke the leg of the passenger that actually hit him -4 year old drowns in wave pool Of these, the Top Gun and Logger's Run deaths could have totally been prevented but unfortunately people are sometimes stupid and without common sense and things like this will happen. If Great America would have installed a coaster insted of the wave pool this would not have happened. I am NOT saying it is at all the park's fault, but 4 year olds don't drown on rollercoasters. Not trying to be cold just stating a fact. - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Clear Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 ^ Just out of curiosity, what is the point of your sig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goliath513 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 When will parents learn that amusement parks are not a day care and they need to take responsibility!?!? Seriously, this could have easily been prevented (and not by the lifeguards either). And the worst part about this is that the family of the boy will probably sue CF for more than they can afford to pay now. -Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loco Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Its tragic but this is what happens when parents don't supervise their kids. If his mom was in the wave pool with him, this kind of incident could have been avoided. BTW why was that article pointing out all the accidents GA has had. I swear media likes to make amusement parks look bad, Next they're probably going to blame the park for this too, if they haven't already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingScooter Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Looking back, It was a scenario similar to this that made WildWood Park (columbia station, Ohio) close its doors. It was like a 3 or 4 year drown in a large, 12" deep kid area pool. Light crowd, about 40 kids in the water, guards spced out about 15feet from each other, totaling about 12 in that area alone. the kid was found face down in about 6 inches of water. Sad. Whats really sad, they cleared the area, made an announcement over the PA for childs parents to go to guest relations. Kid had a name tag on that listed an alergy to pencilin. It took the parents about two hours to show up. there was speculation that they weren't even there when the accident happen. Well, the parents sued, won big money and Wildwood shutdown... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freestylenut Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 This is a scary thread. I wouldn't let my kids alone in a wave pool no matter HOW good they show me they can swim. I have a 2 year old & 6 year old...I'll be damned if they're even out of my site for an INSTANT at Adventure Island (which I have APs for). Truly tragic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Although we obviously don't know the specifics on this case, I think that unsupervised kids is a big problem at amusement parks these days. We were at Knoebels last Sunday, and saw a parent send his 3 or 4-year old son to ride the Sky Slide completely unsupervised. For those of you who haven't been on this slide, you have to climb a pretty steep spiral staircase to get to the top of the slide. The steps were more than half as tall as the little boy. We helped the kid climb his way to the top, but why the HELL did the parent send him up on his own? They don't collect your ride tickets until you get on the slide. It doesn't take a Nobel Laureate to ascertain that little kids and stairs don't mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemmy Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 I am glad my parents had me in swimming lessons since I was in diapers for a number of years. Really helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfmman2000 Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 Someone said that if they had just put a roller coaster in place of where Boomerang Bay is, this boy would not have drowned. Well I'd like to take that a step further: If Great America never existed, this death would never have happened. Just sayin... Yeah? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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