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Or she wanted her kid to be able to swim in a way that any reasonable person would allow.
If we are so down on the teenage lifeguard's judgment abilities, why allow a teenager to be a lifeguard in the first place? Sounds like they're pretty useless.
And how many pools will remain open and available to the public if the lifeguards were adults fully educated and in legal issues making $80,000 a year?
That was uncalled for. The kids are there to make sure everyone is safe, to make sure that people follow safety rules, and to jump in to rescue someone who's drowning if need be. They need to watch the pool constantly without distraction, and they aren't allowed to have discussions of more than a word or two with visitors while they're on duty. Again, the concern is that the kids will make snap judgements without questions. I'm not sure why it's a problem to have the individual requesting an accommodation to check in with the pool manager.
I was mostly being sarcastic. People keep saying that the teenage lifeguard can't be expected to make a judgement call on making accommodations as required by the ADA - how can you say that when they are expected to make dozens of calls a day in keeping a pool safe?
I don't think I've ever been to a pool with a pool manager on site outside of places like the YMCA. The pool I grew up going to had a 16 year old lifeguard and... that was it.
This has nothing to do with advocacy. If it had been me I would have known the rules beforehand. And if floaties are not allowed than having her child wear them is not having him participate the same as other kids; its making an exception for her child. Floaties are not toys. If the child had been using a life jacket, a noodle or even a swim ring I could see the mother having a case here but she didn't. She wanted to use what she wanted to use period. That is not advocacy.
What if the floatie worked to help her child balance in the pool better than a different device? Then it's perfectly appropriate. What works for an able bodied kid isn't the same as what works for a kid with disabilities. She wasn't dumping the kid in water up to her neck with a floatie on--according to the article she was right there in the water with her and the floaties helped her balance. A submerged life jacket would raise you up out of the water vs. letting you walk in the pool.
What if the floatie worked to help her child balance in the pool better than a different device? Then it's perfectly appropriate. What works for an able bodied kid isn't the same as what works for a kid with disabilities. She wasn't dumping the kid in water up to her neck with a floatie on--according to the article she was right there in the water with her and the floaties helped her balance. A submerged life jacket would raise you up out of the water vs. letting you walk in the pool.
You can "what if" this all day long I will STILL find fault with the parent.
Anytime I take my son somewhere, I check the rules first. If I think he will need something special I call about it before I get there and try to make arrangements. I do this for my son; not for me. I can't imagine how being thrown out a pool especially by the police would affect him. Aside from that I find it hard to believe that with all the special needs equipment available the floaties were the ONLY thing that worked for her child. Nothing else on the list of acceptable devices would have worked?
Even if I did feel I was in the wrong; I would have left quietly and took the issue up with someone in charge.
Two of my kids work as lifeguards at our local pool. They have the teenage lifeguards refer the request for accommodations to the adult pool manager (who is ALWAYS onsite) because they don't want to put the kids in the situation of making judgement calls on that issue--the city wants them to handle it that way for liability purposes. They also want the kids watching the pool vs. having a lengthy discussion with a visitor. I think the concern is that if someone doesn't look like they have a disability, a teenager might get a little too rigid about the rules without asking reasonable questions. Referring visitors to the adult pool manager to approve accommodations is a "cover your backside from a lawsuit" policy.
This makes sense.
I would just hope the manager had the common sense to accommodate people with disabilities.
oh well! If you don't think they should have called the police, perhaps she shouldn't have called the media either. I don't see this as a national news story. She should comply with the rules, and complain to her local city council or something. I don't have a problem with the way they handled it.
I am with the pool place on this one. Guess who is the first one who gets sued if that same disabled child slips out of the water wings and gets hurt or dies?
It also sets a bad president for other kids to see that and do the same.
What would I do? Require a life jacket in the pool for such a severely disabled person or child in these litigious days.
I would have the mother support him, which she did for awhile, but she got tired. That's her problem.
Lifeguard was my high school job (and did some at my college pool too). Anytime I saw a kid with arm floats inch away from where he could stand (or god forbid on the diving board) "oh crap" started to go through my mind and s/he definitely received heightened attention (or if on the diving board me screaming "stop"). Water wings generally meant overconfident kid who nonetheless couldn't swim and was often times left unsupervised. I had to go in the water 4 times as a lifeguard, and 3 of them were for kids with arm floats.
I just wish the story would have concluded with the cop saying to the lifeguard "What are you doing on the phone calling me when you should have been keeping an eye on that boy swimming".
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