Community Chat

[Lipstickdiva]

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@ccassaday wrote:

With all the people around the baby should of had a life jacket on running around the pool area. My niece cant seem to get the swimming thing don. She is 6.5. When we are at my aunts pool if we are inside and she is running around the pool she has a life vest on.

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@ccassaday, The child was inside the house and got out the door.   I doubt many people put a life vest on their child when they are inside the house. 

[Lipstickdiva]

As a general statement, I think some would be surprised at how lax people can be with their children around water.  DH and I are boaters.  I cannot tell you the number of times we are sitting on a dock and someone has their small children on the dock with no life vest on.  Docks are not all that wide and you get a couple people walking back and forth, a kid could easily go in or get bumped in, etc.  Sometimes it makes me a nervous wreck seeing kids running around the docks without a life vest.

Also, different areas have different regulations regarding pools.  We only have to have our yard fenced in if you have a pool, with a locked gate.  You do not have to have a fence right around the pool.  We do not have to have alarms, etc.  In rural areas and many townships, there isn't even a fence requirement.

[Lipstickdiva]

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@SydneyH wrote:

Have the police investigated?  The drowining of 19 month old child I'd think would require some attention.

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@SydneyH, I just hope the people who owned the house/pool don't get sued over this.  I would imagine they have to be pretty upset about all this. 

Regardless of the situation, if I had a pool and someone's child drowned in it, I would be devastated.

[CatsyCline]

 So heartbreaking.   That poor liitle girl.  Mother must be devastated that she could'nt save her.   It's possible that part of this neighbor's home was open to the pool patio area.  Floor to Ceiling sliders from the living room or family room?   Maybe the sliders were open. and the pool had the underwater lights on and the baby just ran out to see the pretty pool. Could happen in a flash

Some of the original RHOC lived in Coto when the show started and if ircc none of them had fences around their pools but that was over 10 yrs ago

 ed: typo

[happycat]

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@JJsMom wrote:

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@Nancy Drew wrote:

Growing up in So Cal where most everyone has a pool I never knew anyone who drowned or even near misses. Yes this was an accident but it was preventable. Someone just didn’t put the child as a priority. You are at a pool party with a small child you have that child right next to you. You don’t just get distracted.

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I grew up in Orange County, and drownings are very common. I know of several people whose children have drowned. Drowning literally takes a minute or two.

According to OC Health Care Agency:

Drowning consistently remains the leading cause of death for children 1-4 years of age, and among the top five leading causes for those under the age of 18 years, both in California and in Orange County.

Also, I don't think it was a pool party. It was an indoor party, and she slipped out. I do think as a pool owner, you have a responsibility to put up alarms on all exits. Maybe these neighbors don't have kids, so they didn't think it was necessary. Even if you don't have kids, you should always have safeguards because more than likely you'll have kids at your house at some point.

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My husband told me today he had seen on the news where a person can drown in 20 seconds. I hadn't heard that before. That is so quick.