Beach Safety

[goodwitch58]

My granddaughter and I just returned from a lunch picnic at the beach...the wind is up, the waves are strong, and the sun is out. It was wonderful...except for several groups of people on the beach who had small children playing in the high, strong waves with no adult within "reaching" distance.

I know we've discussed this before--but I felt so uncomfortable seeing little two and three year old children in those waves alone; and scanning the beach to see adults laughing and talking, drinking, eating, and basically not paying attention to the children.

Am I being overly cautious? It just about ruined my outing..there was a red flag flying...

[TooFarTampa]

:shock:

[scooterbug44]

It makes me nuts too and I'm not even a parent! How can these parents neglect their kids and put them in harm's way like that? :bang:

We were never allowed in any water without direct supervision and certainly not when there were big waves and a danger flag flying.

If I had a dollar for everytime I saw kids lacking supervision and in potential danger I could hire a private lifeguard for all those kids!

[SHELLY]

Parents like that just suck out loud.

I remember an incident when we were in Maui and the waves were roaring. This stupid clueless "Dad" was playing in the surf while his little toddler was running up and down the beach where the waves were breaking crying out to him wanting to play (apparently he was the "babysitter" for the day). A time or two she fell down running away from the waves on the shoreline and one time the water actually washed over her tiny body :shock: All the while this bozo just continued body surfing. He'd ride in close to the shore, she'd run to near where he came in and he'd turn around and go back out again, totally ignoring her pleas.

I moved my towel down close to the water and prepared myself to rescue this little toddler when she got swept out by the waves--I was sure it was just a matter of time.

Well, this "dad" was wearing a pair of sunglasses, he was facing the shore and suddenly a huge wave crashed over his head and pushed him under and when he came up the sunglasses were gone. The look of sheer panic on his face was priceless--apparently the sunglasses were not. He dove down again and again and again looking for the sunglasses coming up empty every time. He eventually came to shore cursing out loud that he lost his $200 sunglasses :cool: and was running up and down the shoreline feeling along the bottom and dropping the "F" Bomb (all the while his little girl was running along behind him in the breaking waves and he didn't even notice.) He never did find them, in the end he took his little girl's hand and, pulling her behind him, stomped off the beach.

Mother Nature: 1
Idiot Father: -$200

Made my day.

:D

.

[Margarita]

I would have also been a nervous wreck. I was a lifeguard in college (a long time ago) so I would have done what Shelly did which was to position myself to help in case it was needed.

[MissCritter]

He dove down again and again and again looking for the sunglasses coming up empty every time. He eventually came to shore cursing out loud that he lost his $200 sunglasses and was running up and down the shoreline feeling along the bottom and dropping the "F" Bomb (all the while his little girl was running along behind him in the breaking waves and he didn't even notice.)

Obviously, the glasses were more valuable to him than his child. I am amazed, appalled and infuriated by jerks like that.

[Smiling JOe]

I see it every day a red flag flies. Last week, I saw a lady on the dry sandy beach in Seaside, with Red Flag flying, and two little girls, maybe three years of age, were playing in the water, up to their belly buttons, with the waves pushing them around a bit. The lady never seemed be overly concerned, but she was watching them. Maybe she is an Olympic swimmer and knows about escaping from rip currents. I don't know. There was a fairly strong current pushing to the west, but I didn't notice rip current. There was a nice sandbar forming fairly close to shore, with the deep trough between the beach and the sandbar. I was a little less worried with that nice sand bar, and the current moving west along the beach.

What I've learned, it is tough enough to control myself, and it is usually pointless and frustrating trying to control others.

[peapod1980]

My kids aren't allowed in the water on red flag days. In fact, I don't get in, either. None of us surf, so we have no business being in there on days like that, IMO.

[organicmama]

We were out yesterday & I don't let the girls in farther than right at the edge where the water doesn't come above their ankle & then I am always watching them like a hawk & telling them to back up or their tushies will be on completely dry sand ASAP.

I saw a lot of kids just running around and in water up to their waist & higher with it being very rough. I think it becomes the "we paid for a vacation, so we expect to be in the water, etc." mentality.