This story is graciously shared by Melissa Abdo from Boynton Beach, FL.
Read what she wrote about how her son handled an accidental fall into their pool.
My husband and I were cleaning up our back yard while my oldest was swimming with his much older cousin. Our almost 2 year old was playing with the water hose and water table about 20 feet from the pool. I went into the screened-in patio to pick up toys and my husband came in to grab something to drink. I realized we were both inside the patio and looked for Owen and boom, he falls head first into the pool. He was reaching for a water toy. I ran out to the pool and he was already in his float kicking his way back to the side of the pool. This is the first time we have seen him use his ISR skills without coaching. The first time he has fallen in the water without an adult with him or near him. The relief of seeing him float and make his way to the side of the pool to safety is immeasurable. We are big ISR supporters and use layers of protection to protect our kids from our pool, but on this day he fell in on both of our watches. And on this day he knew what to do! Without ISR training those few seconds he was in the water could’ve had a much different outcome.
We, at the PPCD, LOVE sharing this awesome survival story and are so grateful to his Mom for so graciously sharing with us. When layers of protection break down, it‘s up to the child to know what to do and this child knew exactly what to do. Great job, little one!!!
For information on implementing layers of protection and high quality swim lesson, please visit www.parentspreventingchildhooddrowning.com