One British Child dies every month on holiday whilst abroad

[JohnF]

Exactly what responsibility did you take for your child's safety or did you concentrate on improving your tan and assume because you had paid for your holiday that your child's safety was someone else's problem.

"Dad Steven was at the toilet when it happened, having left Cally with no fewer than eight relatives at the pool area. The circumstances surrounding how Cally fell into the water remain unconfirmed."

Source: http://www.sundaypost.com/news-views/scotland/coma-girl-s-dad-i-blame-myself-1.458147

JF

[JohnF]

it was purely MY responsibility to care and protect my children.

Absolutely correct - too many parents seem to switch off when they get off the plane and forget that when you go on holiday with young children, you're not having a holiday from being a parent.  Want to spend the whole holiday beside the pool drinking or staying in bars/restaurants till the wee small hours, then leave the kids with granny and go yourselves.

When our two were young we accepted that holidays with them were going to be different.  Letting them run around the pool area unsupervised or leaving them in the apartment on their own were complete no-no's.  To us that was just part of taking young children away on holiday. 

Careful as we were though, its surprising how quickly something can happen - like bewva, when our youngest was three or four she ended up in the pool and had to be hoicked out by another parent.  Scary stuff at the time.

JF

[kevin3]

A couple that I know used to take their two sons to Holiday Camp type holidays, some where the camps weren't gated.
They would get them hire bikes, give them money each morning (far too much in my opinion) and would boast that they
didn't see the lads from when they left for breakfast until the kids found them at bedtime.
They are both professionals and she works with children.!!!  The lads were under 12 years old on these holidays.

It seems to be the done thing in some circles.     

[sadler]

Having worked in education for over 20 years and some of this time with disaffected youngsters, nothing surprises me. I know that through many unpleasant experiences I have witnessed that these poor parents will beat themselves up for the rest of their lives, but that of course does not excuse their negligence.  I can only hope that lessons will be learned, but I secretly fear they will not!

[Scunner]

My turn to get shot down in flames then - you should try being this omni-observant perfect parent with twins!! I have lost sight/control over one of them in the kitchen with the door closed, when the other provides a decoy for them - so you can imagine a large crowded pool is not easy..!

Everyone seems to imagine it's drunken parents, crashed out asleep on the sunlounger, without a care for their child's safety. I bet it is not, these things don't just happen when you leave your kids in the apartment to go out socialising with your chums (McCannesque) - they also happen when someone stops to ask you where the toliets are, or what time it is.

You all sound like you were/are far too good parents to take your eye off the ball for even a second. I'd say you sound like very lucky parents.

[Colwyn]

I wonder how many parents have lost a child on a beach, in a supermarket, or in a town centre. And then run about in a panic shouting out their name. I lost one of my daughters on Weston beach while picking up her little sister who had fallen over and was crying. Ten minutes later she turned up again smiling happily wondering what the fuss was about. It took me a lot longer to recover.

[sadler]

I agree, things happen, they have happened to me. I just hope in this case that the parents do not get vilified. People can be so cruel, let's just believe that everything possible was being done to protect this poor child. I have seen so many parents live their lives encapsulated by guilt and in many cases where there was absolutely nothing they could have done such as in road accidents or illnesses where parents feel they should have been aware earlier.

[Jacqui Harvey]

I know it's easy to take your eyes off a child but I think it's time parents were warned that one child per month  is dying, who knew??  This is a serious issue and needs to be publicised.   
I also accept a child could wander off, but one child mentioned in the article was 2 years old. I really wonder how a child that young could be out of it's parents sight?   

[Scunner]

Children can drown in 20 seconds - you only have to go looking in the playground for them while they went to the pool for enough time to pass. Or in the time it takes to find something in those ridiculously overfilled handbags you women have.

I agree it needs a big raising of awareness as any is too many, my point was about jumping to conclusions that those affected were neglectful parents. I can lose all my parental responsibility for enough time just reading an email on my phone.

And also it needs bearing in mind that the World isn't full of two parent units with one child. One keeping an eye on three, all under five for example is permanently no holiday.

[sadler]

As a child I grew up in an area on the North Sea coast where there were dykes ( the water variety) marshes ponds and of course the sea with sinking mud as we used to call quick sand. There was hardly a school summer holiday which went past without us loosing a school friend to one of these. Not acceptable, I know, and parents should be more vigilant, but things happen. We seem to think that in this day and age we should be protected from everything. Things do happen and with the best of intentions, if him upstairs wants one of us then he will take us one way or another! Is there a comparison study of children deaths to road accidents etc etc over the same period.