parental stupidity

I am not the worlds best parent. Like everyone, I make mistakes, but safety is one thing I am very aware of. Obviously this is not a priority with everyone!

In Ontario this summer, there have been a record number of drownings. Kids left unsupervised, or unattended at beaches and pools. The news has been rife with stories - there is much talk about the necessity of teaching kids water safety and basic swimming for free- through the school system.

Last week we went to a birthday party held at a pool. Attendees ranged in age from 4 to 6. Both my kids went. I took a bathing suit and planned to be in the pool - after all, I did not know the pool, and I did not want someone else to have the responsibility of looking after my kids in the water. I was the anomoly. Parents showed up with 4 and 5 year olds who were unable to swim. Parents were unprepared to get in the water - and the water was quite deep! I was astounded. My kids are good swimmers, but they are never in the water without an adult at hand. In fact the pool rules state that children under six must be no further than arms reach away from an adult at all times. I have been in public pools many times where kids are not properly supervised. It does not matter how good a swimmer they are. Accidents can happen.
It shocks me how unaware some parents are!

And yesterday, I found child in the mall. Approximately 2 yrs old, he jumped onto the down escalator beside me and almost fell down the stairs. I put a hand on his shouldere to stablilize him and looked areound for the parent. No one was around. At the bottom of the escalator, the child turned and ran toward the subway. I stopped him, asking where his Mom was. He did not understand. I kept him with me for 5 minutes waiting for an anxious parent to appear. After 10 minutes, I was going to take him back upstairs to the Information desk, when a smiling woman sauntered over to the child, took his hand and walked away. There was no distress what-so-ever! This was obviously the child's parent, but she was so unconcerned about the fact the child had been missing for so long. I would have been frantic. I wonder if she even knows how lucky she is that the child was spotted by me - not someone might cause some harm!