Boy in Pool and Underwater for Almost 5 Minutes

WHO IS VIDEOTAPING this? I dont think it's just a camera set up because it pans in and out. So scary. so ignorant.

WOW! what a miracle that he lived! I couldn't hear his Mom, but I expected more from her. She should have been kneeling down by his side. She was acting like this kind of thing happened every day. I would have been FUHREAKING OUT!!!

Shock is normal. This is an amazing video! Can't imagine what I would do in the event!
My nephew was killed accidentally by my sister and my BIL was the only one to witness what actually happened. He will NEVER tell my sister how my nephew actually spent his last minute. It haunts me to even know the truth. I'm so glad that my sister was in so much shock that she didn't know what it looked like....

Was his mom watching the toddler at all? I'm still a bit shocked that it took 4 minutes for her to even realize he's missing. To me, she seems very calm and collected (body language mostly) for her child to have no pulse and no breath. I would be hysterical, crying, I wouldn't have left my child's side. I don't know, there's just something about her walking all chill and her body language that really irks me and just rubs me the wrong way.

I agree with kjinhb, she acted like this stuff happened all the time. You know, I wouldn't be pushing for a case every time a child was close to drowning, but man with her chill reaction I really hope they investigate their home life. I hope he doesn't suffer any brain damage or die from it later.

You'll have to add what people are saying and what your thoughts are later :)
Is there a link for the actual article? I tried to google it, but apparently this is a common thing (so sad).

I agree with Sammii's mommy, she should've been sitting at the edge of the pool. All the other kids looked older than him so she should've stuck with him and kept an eye on the others by him. I disagree though, I don't lose track of my child and my 2 young cousins who I've watched all at the same time, not at the pool. I purposely choose a spot where I can see everyone constantly, whether in the pool or outside of it. It's just one of those things that I don't play with. If I couldn't watch everyone safely I'd take a friend or relative to watch with me.

If she wasn't capable enough to have full custody of him then why did someone (grandma or whoever) feel she was capable enough of taking him to the pool? Maybe it goes back to my refusal to gamble with water, but that is not something that she should've had responsibility of. Hindsight I know is 20/20, thank god the boy is alive, I hope he won't suffer any damage from it, and lets hope the grandma never leaves her alone with him like that.

This makes me so very very sad....my precious mother-in-law of 20 years drowned in her back yard pool Memorial day of this year and died a week later on June 4th when my husband had to make the choice to disconnect his mother from life support because she was brain dead. No one was with her, her husband was in the house putting dinner on so none of us knows what happened. Watching this video is very surreal for me because in some way, I can invision what it looked like for the 10 minutes my MIL was alone and drowning in her own pool. We have a pool as well and I have six year old twin boys that I try so desperately to watch like a hawk....accidents happen so quickly and easily but it is never constructive or helpful to massacre a parent after the fact...no one wakes up one day and thinks "today, I think I'll be a crappy parent and let my baby die"...we all come up short at one time or another in our responsibilities, fortunate for most of us, it doesn't end in tragedy

OMG!!! I'm sitting here bawling right now...this little boy is so very lucky and a reason why I never let either of my DD's near a pool without a life jacket.
To judge the mother, I couldn't hear what she was saying and everyone handles it differently. She wasnt sitting down with a beer and a cig she, from her body language she had a nervous pace but it is hard to see her facial expression and what she was saying, so I just don't know. I know I would of been hysterical crying and not leaving his side...
I am just thankful he lived and hopefully has no long term affects.

yes i agree the mother should have been watching the child more carefully but when she saw her child in the water, she did what she could, at this point there wasn't much she could do, there was someone who was helping the child. however, what you should be in an uproar about is the person who took the time to video tape the incident, saw the child drowning and did nothing. this video lasted 15 mins, during this time he/she could have jumped into the pool and save the child from such trauma, but instead, took the time out to video for 15 minutes and had the audacity to narrate the incident...where are the priorities.

Thank god that mans daughter noticed the little boy and got her dad.

A blame a few people. It looked like a party at someone's home and if we had a pool we'd have very strict rules one being mom or dad must be in the pool with you. They had no rope up separating the deep end from the shallow end

Mom should not ave allowed her kids in the pool without her and he should have had a life vest on.

Mom looked like she could barely swim she has no business having her children even near water if that's the case

I cannot believe that there was an adult that close and he never saw the boy go under.

The mother was distraught - the way she was yelling at everyone. The savior of the boy was tremendous in his perseverance in getting that child to breath! Amazing.

Now which one of us hasn't lost track of our kids at one time or other? What shocked me was with all of the people jumping around him, no one noticed he was in trouble! If I saw someone laying on the bottom of a pool, you betcha that I would be on top of it right away, whether it was my child or someone else's. It's also surprising that none of the kids noticed it right away either.

Whenever there is a pool situation, I have everyone look out for each other! I know I can't be eyes and ears to everyone. That is particularly true when I go to a lake with the kids - I watch them, but also have them watch out for each other. I also know for myself, if there is a traumatic incident, I respond completely calmly and rationally. I go into action mode without much emotion. Finally, the next day it will hit me what really happened, and I'll be emotional about it. So you can't judge the mother on her reaction, either.

That man is an ANGEL!!! I can't believe that NO ONE offered to help and that so many kids stood there and WATCHED but did NOTHING...

Outcome appears to be much better than it was for my cousin, who lost his life just like this - everyone thought that someone else was watching him - by the time someone realized NO ONE was watching him - it was too late...they tried like this man - but never came back...

Doesn't matter the size of the pool...people MUST watch!!

The mom? Well - can I say cow? she didn't even get down on the ground and help - oh my word...cow!

I once pulled an 11 year old drowning kid out of the river. I went to find his father and told him to get the kid swimming lessons. I was soaking wet and the father never even thanked me.

Everyone of you who reads this please take your child to swim class. The life you save will be your own as you won't have to grieve an unnecessary drowning.

What are people saying about the mom? I think that since there isn't sound of the live event (at least not on the video you posted), it's kind of hard to judge her actual reaction.

I think it is very scary to see something like this but a good reminder of just how dangerous water can be for children. You can't take your eyes off them for a second. A child that young should never have been swimming in the pool without direct adult supervision.

I hope he doesn't suffer any permanent damage.

OM goodness! As a mom (and former lifeguard) this is soooo disturbing to watch. The fact that there were sooo many adult there and only one person reacted. . . such an amazing outcome.
I fault mom for not being dilligent, not for not helping with CPR. If one person has it, no reason to interupt unless they say they are tired/wearing out, etc. also, mom may not have known how to do CPR??
A great reminder to all of us as parents that we all need to know and be current in basic lifesaving courses (1st aid, cpr) You never know when you'll be called on to be someone's angel.

I watched that WHOLE THING. Oh my. I HATE this. This is exactly why I don't trust my grandson with his mom. She refuses to even acknowledge that it could happen and that she can't EVER leave him alone, not even for one second. She says she doesn't. But I see her with that boyfriend of hers. They roughhouse and act like teenagers.

Mammas.... WATCH your kids.

Where was his mother when he went under???? Where was this? That is really disturbing. It's a shame...more kids drown under supervision than alone! That's why I'm a FREAK, my kids couldn't swim anywhere without my supervision until they were 9 years old.

I do not blame the mother. She looked to have maybe 5 or 6 kids with her. She was panicking.
In a true emergency some people panic and shut down. Thank God the recuer did not and was obviously trained.
I am more upset about the other adults, yes the mom should have kept an eye on him too, but there were adults right there.
This also looked to be a community pool. Where were the lifeguards?

When my son was little I was with him constantly when ever water was involved.
He HAD to wear a vest (secured under crotch) for the longest time whether we were at a pool or in the ocean and still wears a vest when we're on the boat (we've passed every ad hoc safety inspection).
If you have more than 2 or 3 kids and can't keep watching them (I know it's hard when they go off in different directions - but I HAVE seen Mom's talking (on phone) or text-ing away and totally not caring what the kids are doing) - then a pool is no place for you to be bringing the family - stick with a lawn sprinkler and/or a slip n slide at home - it's certainly more fun than drowned child and a funeral.
This video is right up there with the public pool that had water so cloudy that a body on the bottom of the pool was not detected for TWO DAYS.
I won't do public pools anymore.
Budgets are too cut for many of them to be run safely.

I can just think - that mom is negligent. She should not have that many kids in a pool with just her, she should have a life jacket or water wings on a kid that could not swim, a non-swimmer should not be in the deep end with just a tube. The ignorance by all is staggering. The kids sat and watched because no one has taught them the dangers of drowning. The mom was upset and just didn't know what to do. I don't fault her in that - I fault her in the reason it happened at all.

I spotted where he was in the pool right away and I couldn't stand watching it... I wanted to jump into my computer screen and get him out. I didn't have any sound, so I wasn't sure who the mother was. I would've been in a panic and possibly thrown up just at the sight of it. I will never forget the day when I was 7 and I saved my brother from possibly drowning. My mom was dealing with my sister and I just happened to ask myself "hey, where's my brother?" So as I scanned the area, I saw in the deep end my 1 year old brother underwater trying to swim to the top. I ran and jumped in after him and remember him being so heavy, but adrenaline helped me get him out of the water. I was so mad that nobody else swimming in the deep end noticed, especially the adults! Ugh it makes me teary eyed when I think about the possible outcome, but because of that my children are always in arms reach when it comes to water in great amounts, even baths! Breaks my heart that little boy went through that :(

Omigosh Is all I was thinking to myself during this video... I can't believe how long he was under and this man is so a hero in my book!!!!
This goes to show how quickly it happens and how we should be arms length away from our kids. Yes the mother was distraught but where was she while he was drowning? Having a drink? She should've been sitting at the edge of the pool or in the pool with him. Well I'm glad the boy is ok. But I'm sad inside thinking it still happened.

ETA I dis research it happened July 23 in ft Meyers FL and it was a condo complex pool. The video is from the security cameras.

All I can say is WOW!

The link worked for me.

I am wondering who was supposed to be watching all those kids?! That mom was there with 6? Is that right? I would never agree to supervise 6 kids ALONE in a pool. It is just too many. I get paranoid with 3 (our two plus a friend). My husband thinks I am too overly worried for the way I watch kids in the pool... I am constantly (yes, being rude during conversations poolside) looking around and doing head counts. And the "heads" don't count unless they are above water. I keep an eye on them until they surface, then count them.

I can't say what I would do if that were my child, but I wouldn't be just walking, I know that. I'd probably be on my knees...

Can some one clarify for me, I don't have my speakers hooked up. What i assumed was that this was something like a hotel pool. no lifeguard, not a public pool, more of a swim at your own risk, and i assumed the video was just surveillance stuff they had around the hotel or where ever?? Is that right?? and the guy narrating it is the guy that did the rescue, like after it happened they wen't back and got the tape and he narrated over it to explain what was happening. And was the mom heavy set?? not being offensive just trying to figure out who was who.

what a scary scary thing!!

Wow. That was very hard to watch. Especially since I did not know until after I watched it that the little boy survived, and is supposedly "the same as always", according to his grandmother.

For those of you who asked questions, I found the following information.
It was in Florida, at a condo community. The video was from a security camera, (not some cold hearted bastard that just wanted to get on the news!). The news report I watched interviewed the grandma, whom it appears the boy lives with, because it stated that the mother "stopped by" to meet the rescuer, Leslie Snyder, when Leslie went to check on 4 yo Chad. She (the mother) asked Leslie if he would teach Chad how to swim.

So, to me, it looks like the mother can't really swim, and she is not the full time caregiver for her son, so she probably isn't used to watching him carefully (and who knows, she may not be mentally capable of watching him, which is why he lives with his grandmother.) I think her reaction to the whole thing was all she is capable of. She was running around yelling because she didn't know what else to do. Obviously she's never had a first aid or CPR class, so she left that to the man who knew what he was doing. (Fortunately for little Chad!)

I cannot believe that Chad is completely unscathed by the incident. You would think there would be some brain damage or something. But thank the Lord, there doesn't seem to be.

One reason it was so horrible for me to watch was that we have a pool in our neighborhood that's just for our community. And I see unsupervised children (as young as one year) ALL the time up there. There is one mother who just lays in the sun - not even close to the pool - to get her tan. She talks on her cell phone and reads magazines, and I have watched her to see how often she looks up to find her two children......never! It is only by the grace of God (and those of us moms who feel compelled to keep an eye on these children because we know she isn't) that her kids haven't had an accident yet. One little girl - 2 years old - kept trying to get her mother's attention, while her mom stood in the shallow end talking to a friend. I was two feet away, watching my daughter, so I heard the whole thing. For at least five minutes, the little girl kept saying, "Mommy! Mommy!" Over and over and over again. The mother never acknowledged her. Did not even turn around to see if she were okay. Then finally, the mom turned around and SCREAMED at her little girl "WOULD YOU SHUT UP??!! I AM TALKING!!" Then she turned back around to her friend as if nothing had happened.

It is amazing to me that we have not had any incidents at that pool.

I cannot swim, unfortunately. I can kind of doggie paddle around to keep myself afloat, and I can tread water. But I know that I would never be able to save my children. Which is why I insisted they take swim lessons. They didn't want to at first, because they didn't want to put their faces in the water. So I told them we were not going back to the pool, unless they learned. At first they were stubborn, and said they still weren't going to do it. So I finally said, "You have to learn how to swim, because I do not want to drown. I'm too young to die yet." And my son asked why I would drown if they did not know how to swim. And I told him, "Because if you can't swim, and start drowning, I will jump in to try to save you. I will not be able to save you, because I can't swim myself. And I would never leave you. So I would drown with you." That got them to take lessons! : ) And now they swim very well. Well enough for me to feel comfortable just sitting on the side of the pool watching.

Accidents happen, even with those who are diligent. I pray that it never happens to any of us on Mamapedia!

Blessings to you all!

What is the point of this post? Not proper for this forum.