Great America Owner Implements Life Jacket Rule at All Parks

The parent company of an amusement park where a 4-year-old boy drowned last week will now require children under 48 inches tall to wear life jackets in all its pools.

[ginag]

I feel bad for the loss of the child, but at the same time, what type of parent allows their 4 year old child to go in a pool with an 8 year old supervising them? I feel the mom is at fault, not the park. She should have been with her child. Not only to make sure he didn't drown, but what if some crazy idiot decided to take him out of the pool and do some harm to him? I'm a parent, and I find that what she did was caused by her own negligence. Not those at the park. The lifeguards probably didn't see him because there were so many people in the pool. She should have been supervising him, not his sister. That's the problem with parents now days.

[Anonymous]

It shouldn't be the parks responsibility to force people to put life jackets on their children. The mother should have been in the pool with her 4 YEAER OLD CHILD! Who let's a 4 year old into a public pool without a flotation device..especially a wave pool. Even the best swimmers can lose thier footing in one of those things..this is not the Parks fault.

[parent]

I don't think you understand the severity of losing a child, it is not time to blame the parents. There were several factors that went into his passing. You should be thanking the company for putting this new policy into action, so this tragedy can be prevented in the future.

ginag wrote:

I feel bad for the loss of the child, but at the same time, what type of parent allows their 4 year old child to go in a pool with an 8 year old supervising them? I feel the mom is at fault, not the park. She should have been with her child. Not only to make sure he didn't drown, but what if some crazy idiot decided to take him out of the pool and do some harm to him? I'm a parent, and I find that what she did was caused by her own negligence. Not those at the park. The lifeguards probably didn't see him because there were so many people in the pool. She should have been supervising him, not his sister. That's the problem with parents now days.

[HO HO SACRAMENTO]

IT MAY NOT BE THE PARKS FAULT BUT I COMMEND THEM FOR TAKING ACTION !!!

MOM SHOULD HAVE BEEN WITH THE CHILDREN IN THE POOL !!!!!!!!

[meowpuppy]

Hagarfan i totally agree with you! It's almost like she did it purposely to get a fat paycheck!! I hate to say, or even think that but what could she have been thinking to allow a four year old child into a crowded wave pool without being right there beside him? I hope the park doesnt pay this negligent parent for a tragedy that could easily have been avoided with a bit of common sense!! Where is the personal responsibility?

[luis]

It is the parents job to watch their kids at all times anytime you deal with water you cannot let your guard down at all.

[ljameson]

Some parents just don't seem to care about their children. I would NEVER let a child of 4, 10 or even 12 swim by themselves - ever. That child should have been holding on to his mother while in the pool. I live in a condo complex with 2 pools, kids from neighboring duplexes jump the fence and let all their friends in when the residents aren't around. Some of these kids are as young as 3 years old. We've changed the locks, we've talked to the parents, sent them letters and have had the sheriff come & talk to them. Guess what, 3 of the parents came over last week to scream at us for not letting their kids come swimming when it was hot. They come in while nobody is around, they've broken the toilets, spit in the pool, leave garbage lying around, stole all of our chairs and lounges. Ripped the signs from the gate & threw them in the pool, busted off the payphone & threw it in the pool & we are the ones not being fair? Guess what, our Homeowners Association is threatening to drain the pools & fill them in. These so called "parents" are the same ones that let their kids run loose all night & day - the 3 year old is locked out cause the parents don't want to be bothered by him. He will come to the fence crying and asking if we will give him a drink of water. He is in shorts, barefoot and has no shoes on. We've called CPS at least 3 times and they have not responded once. You always get voicemail and no one ever calls us back. The sheriff won't come out either, we've been told that unless we feel threatened, they won't come out. It's up to the HOA to call. I think the mother of the deceased child should be facing charges of child neglect. As far as a lawsuit, I would toss it out of court and make her pay some kind of settlement for all the people that had to witness this and are traumatized.

[Guess]

First of all it's amazing that such judgemental people live among us. Searching for blame does not bring the child's life back. As a mother I wouldn't even allow my 4 year old anywhere near a wave pool much less be unsupervised near any water. That's my choice. However, the parents are going to need our prayers right now NOT our judgement. God Bless them.

[WHAT]

ljameson wrote:

Some parents just don't seem to care about their children. I would NEVER let a child of 4, 10 or even 12 swim by themselves - ever. That child should have been holding on to his mother while in the pool. I live in a condo complex with 2 pools, kids from neighboring duplexes jump the fence and let all their friends in when the residents aren't around. Some of these kids are as young as 3 years old. We've changed the locks, we've talked to the parents, sent them letters and have had the sheriff come & talk to them. Guess what, 3 of the parents came over last week to scream at us for not letting their kids come swimming when it was hot. They come in while nobody is around, they've broken the toilets, spit in the pool, leave garbage lying around, stole all of our chairs and lounges. Ripped the signs from the gate & threw them in the pool, busted off the payphone & threw it in the pool & we are the ones not being fair? Guess what, our Homeowners Association is threatening to drain the pools & fill them in. These so called "parents" are the same ones that let their kids run loose all night & day - the 3 year old is locked out cause the parents don't want to be bothered by him. He will come to the fence crying and asking if we will give him a drink of water. He is in shorts, barefoot and has no shoes on. We've called CPS at least 3 times and they have not responded once. You always get voicemail and no one ever calls us back. The sheriff won't come out either, we've been told that unless we feel threatened, they won't come out. It's up to the HOA to call. I think the mother of the deceased child should be facing charges of child neglect. As far as a lawsuit, I would toss it out of court and make her pay some kind of settlement for all the people that had to witness this and are traumatized.

Wrong place to Vent.......... need direction?

[pete]

I strongly agree with ljameson. Many parents today are irresponsible and let their children fend for themselves. These people should not be allowed to have kids. They abuse the welfare system and keep breeding because they are lazy and ignorant Unruly and ill-mannered children grow up to be unproductive, rude adults that are sucking the life out of our society. This woman was not watching her child. What was she doing? Talking on her cell phone, texting, checking out a someone in the pool. Her kid is dead and it is her fault. I applaud the park for enforcing the life jacket rule.

[Mad at mom]

Who lets ther 4 year old swimm alone??? Or without a safety harness like a life vest or swim vest. I am sick of reading stories of parents who leave there small children in harms way and we have to feel sorry for them, IE the parents who somehow forget there kids in the car on a hot day...COME ON PEOPLE wake up

[Doug]

Parents are ultimately responsible, lifeguards are there to help out. I NEVER let my children out of my sight. This will NEVER happen to my children. Don't blame the lifeguard blame the parents!!!!

[Cath22]

I don't understand why these amusement parks don't employ some skilled lifeguards to help watch over things. All other waterparks have some certification to keep their areas safe. This place should be just the same.

[John]

Two hours?? Two hours in the pool and only 4 yrs old? I am very sorry about this but....

[LNC]

In this case I blame the mother for not keeping a close eye on her child. I've been in a similar situation where my nephew jumped into the 5 feet section of the pool. And I was still busy fussing with my sons. This all happen in a blink of an eye, thank goodness there were people around to pull him out. I felt so guilty and bad that he had to experience this. BUT we were lucky and what I learned out of it is no matter what age your child maybe put them in swimming lessons and keep your eyes on them at all times... When you're out of the pool take them out because it only takes 30 seconds for everything to turn to the worse.

[ACLU-Tom]

What makes you think that there aren't lifeguards? There were six on duty at the wave pool when the drowning occurred. The pool appears to be exactly the same as one of the pools at Dorney Park near my house, and it is staffed with six lifeguards as well.

Cath22 wrote:

I don't understand why these amusement parks don't employ some skilled lifeguards to help watch over things. All other waterparks have some certification to keep their areas safe. This place should be just the same.

[Mike H]

The wave pool is emptied out every so often to give the pumps a cool down period so saying the child was in the pool for 2 hours must be saying not 2 hours straight but 2 hours overall im guessing???

And with all those lifeguards working...whats the deal???? Previous stories report 6 working so there has to be some type of liability on the parks behalf also.

[justice]

the boy's mother should be charged with child neglect for not properly supervising the 4yr old. I'll bet she's suing the amusement park for her incompetence in taking care of her child. I hope she doesn't get a dime.

[50 inch non swimmer]

Who's to say you can swim when you are 50" tall? What makes the distinction between 48" and under? I have seen adults who cannot swim. To say someone under 48" requires a life jacket is crazy, what about adults who are short, the Roloff's for instance? It all boils down to keeping an eye on your children anytime they are around water, even in the bathtub! I'm sure this mother is crying on the lawyer's lap and it's really her fault.

[Brutus-Citrus Heights]

It's the mother's fault - Bottom Line!! She didn't watch her kids, you should not have them if you are not going to watch them 24 hours a day -that's what you signed up for when you have kids 24 hours a day 7 days a week!! You had them you watch them!! By no way is this the parks fault