Why are toddlers always drawn to water?
By gemini_rose
@gemini_rose (16264)
October 18, 2008 9:01am CST
Just down the road from where I live is another small town, and on Thursday 16th, two year old twin boys escaped from under the watchful eye of their mum and wandered off from their home. When Mum discovered they were missing, she raised the alarm and neighbours joined in the search to find them. The boys were found floating in a neighbours pond, they were quickly dragged out and a neighbour performed resusitation on them, he is a true hero.
Sadly, one of the little twins died yesterday. My heart truly goes out to the family of those dear little boys, and I just cannot imagine how they must be feeling. I did not know them but the little boys are the same age as my daughter and it makes me realise that I have to make sure that she is watched over constantly as although there are no ponds in gardens near me, there is a very busy main road.
It is strange how children are always drawn to water, are your children always drawn to water?
Have you ever had a scare with your children? Have they ever wondered out of the garden or house?
4 people like this
18 responses
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
18 Oct 08
They are drawn to it because they hear not to go there, it just must be something special. Water is a fascinating toy, few kids distaste playing with it. Top it off with the glittering light reflecting of the water...
Here people with ponds or pools are usually required to have a fence around it or their property of some sort so kids and animals can't get in it and drown. Now they have those big inflatable pools and there is no requirement for those to have a fence. I'm waiting for the first drowning deaths to be reported from there.
Parents have to be extra diligent if they know that there are unfenced pools and ponds in the neighborhood. Even a little kiddie pool is enough to drown kids that age. Very sad indeed.
1 person likes this
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
18 Oct 08
It is sad, I think that I heard somewhere that a toddler can drown in an inch of water, dont know how true that is though. I just feel so sad for them all.
@zalilame (880)
• Malaysia
18 Oct 08
That is very sad. Send my condolence to them. I also have a 2 year old son. He is very active and very curious with almost anything that seems interesting to him especially anything moving, shiny or make sounds. Child cannot differ between whats dangerous or whats not. For them, the world is them to explore. Let it be a lesson to learn to us parents.
@gemini_rose (16264)
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18 Oct 08
It is a lesson, I look at my daughter and I always think she would never wander off, she seems pretty mature for her age. I really have to review the way I see her.
@ellie333 (21016)
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18 Oct 08
Hi Gemini, Oh this is so very sad, also as a parent myself I couldn't even imagine how the twins poor parents must be feeling. I think children have a natural sense of adventure so therefore anything that is taboo is something they are drawn to whether it is water, railway lines or busy roads. My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of this poor child bless. luckily I have never had a scarey situation with my own children but I have experienced a very close friends childs beign murdered and that still hurts like it was only yesterday rather than 10 years ago now. Huggles. Ellie :D
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
19 Oct 08
It is sad, I just feel so sorry for them, it always seems to be this time of year that sad things happen.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
18 Oct 08
gemini rose hi I dont really know why little one always drawn to water, but parents really should be watching their kids a lot more carefully especially at age two. good heavens, I always knew just where my kids were when they were two.Mykids were never drawn to water. but yes when my son was three and we were in an old five and dime store, my son let go my hand, and suddenly I could not find him. my husband and I searched the store and then my husband saw my son with another woman, she had his hand and was walking away from the store. He ran up to her, grabbed myson from her and asked her what the hell she was doing, she claimed she heard him cryhing and was taking him to the police station, well we knew she was lying as the police station was the opposite direction. I was scared sick from that, as she was surely kidnapping our son. we were a lot more careful after that, it just takes a second to mislay a littleone like that.
@gemini_rose (16264)
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19 Oct 08
That is really scary, and it is something that frightens me when I am out with my daughter, someone snatching her. I am glad it all turned out OK for you.
@yuna15 (2706)
• Philippines
18 Oct 08
When I saw the title of you discussion it made me smile because I wanted to tell you how my daughter loves to play in the water in a small tub in our bathroom. But when I read your entire discussion it made me sad and at the same time scared. 
We always look after my daughter while she's playing good thing she never leaves the tub and just uses bottles and spoons to play with the water.
I guess we have to make sure that they don't leave our watchful eye. We need presence of mind when our toddlers are around us.
We always look after my daughter while she's playing good thing she never leaves the tub and just uses bottles and spoons to play with the water.
I guess we have to make sure that they don't leave our watchful eye. We need presence of mind when our toddlers are around us. @gemini_rose (16264)
•
19 Oct 08
I am sure she will be fine, you check on her and watch her so there is no reason she should come to harm, I used to love playing in water too.
1 person likes this
@yuna15 (2706)
• Philippines
19 Oct 08
I know thank you so much 
. I guess its normal for moms to be worried about their children.
. I guess its normal for moms to be worried about their children.
@tessah (6617)
• United States
18 Oct 08
only had one scare like that with my oldest. ws at the mall and the person i was with id asked to keep an eye on her for a sec... he didnt hear me (or ignored the request) and when i came back i asked him where she was.. his blank look set a panic into my throat and as i spun around to look for her.. i heard her voice. she was talking to the policeman telling him her name. smart lil cookie at the age of 18 months. i practically killed the dipshit i was with tho for not looking after her, and never again trusted anyone else to tend my girl.
@gemini_rose (16264)
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18 Oct 08
I know how heartstopping it is, when we went to a fair in the summer, my daughter was stood with me, next minute she had disappeared. I felt sick, I ran looking everywhere, turns out her brothers had taken her to look at something but had not told me. I could have quite cheerfully throttled them.
@marciascott (25529)
• United States
23 Oct 08
I guess because they are thirsty, we took one of the twins to the store with us lastr night and he was by a water foutain. he was in the cart and he pointed to the water foutain. I held the button so he could drink he didn't want to stop. I had to tell him ok, that is enough. I told my daughter that boy is thirsty. Sometimes I will put some juice or something in the water for favor not a lot.
@dorypanda (1601)
•
18 Oct 08
That's awful about that poor child, I bet his poor Mother doesn't know what to do with herself. In my 15 years as a parent and 9 years as an Auntie, I know from experience that children will disappear from their carer/parents sight, it doesn't matter how watchful or careful you are, there will inevitably be at least one second when you're not sure where the child is, most of the time it's nothing to worry about as they've just nipped to the bottom of the garden or something, but there are a lot of children who just seem drawn to water, my son and one of my nephews have a fascination with water, my son's now old enough to know not to go too near, but my nephew is a worry. It's very wise and sensible to watch over children as much as you can, but you can't keep your eye on them all day every day. The best thing to do is teach children to swim and to explain the dangers of water to them, also it's a good idea to teach them about stranger-danger, that way at least they're prepared.
@gemini_rose (16264)
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19 Oct 08
Children are so curious, and they are not daft if they want to go they go, they know when to wait for the right time when we are distracted. My daughter is two, she seems to have no interest in exploring on her own, she will not even go outside on her own. All of my children have been home birds, the only mither I have is bathtime, I would never leave any of them in the bath alone!
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
22 Oct 08
[i]Hi gemini,
That is very sad and tough situation for the family....It never happened to any of my friends and relatives, although, I remember before when I was a kid, every 24th of June that is St. JOhn people will celebrate it by swimming in the beach,bringing food and staying there for the entire day, I was learning to swim that time and I didn't notice I was far already from the seashore and when I tried to stand because I was tried, I was drowning and couldn't shout anymore, good thing my Mom saw me and save me! It's necessary really to be vigilant with kids because they can be adventurous most of the time![/i]
@enola1692 (3323)
• United States
18 Oct 08
I know its sad about a week ago there was a mom that notice her 2 year old daughter was missing an then they found her floatting in the family pool an as they were puling the body out of the pool the mother is like omg wheres my son the pool was so nasty you couldn't see the bottom of it so a fireman dove to the bottom of the pool feelin around an sadly found the son to they think the kids were playing with the dog an that is how they got over the fence that was aroundthe pool an maybe the lttle girl fell in an the brother went in after her
@mag_keizer2007 (1282)
• Canada
18 Oct 08
That is a horrible and sad story. My 3 year old is drawn to puddles...but big sourses of water...like the lake she is not attracted to. I have had a scare from her when she was about a year old she was playing on the edge of the lake with her sister and I was out swimming. Her sister decided to come iut to me and she decided to come with her...of course she ended up ace first in the water...thankfully the lifegaurd was watching and grabbed her before my hubby or I could reach her. She was fine just scared and of course I was scared...hubby wasn't soooo much he said she would be fine but she is nervous in water now that is over her head...which is reasonable considering....My heart goes out to that mother, but my child is very mischeivous and I never let her out of my sight for any length of time.
@gemini_rose (16264)
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18 Oct 08
It is sad, I think it upset me more because I thought he was going to be OK, when I read the story on Thursday and they had both been resusitated I really thought that they would be fine. I can imagine how scared you must have been, thank goodness that there were plenty of people about.
@cinderella2007 (2662)
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21 Oct 08
I think its finding the unknown and children are always curious in things. parents have to wary about neighbours gardens especially if they have pools and the neighbours have to wary if there are young children living nearby. I know it is a very tragic accident but everyone needs to be aware of what could happen.
My heart goes out to the mother and family of the twins, to think that one will grow up not knowing his twin brother.
@ruby222 (4847)
•
18 Oct 08
Well I thank God that nothing equal to that has ever happened here.I am sure that the family must be devastated.As you say often children are attracted by the water,feeling the lure,maybe it is curiosity,a need to explore and find out what lays under the water.But it is a heartbreaking tale and one that so often comes into the headlines of the newspapers.It is always sad when anything happens to any child,but our thoughts can only be with the family.
@gemini_rose (16264)
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18 Oct 08
I guess the Mum will blame herself now, she will feel it is her fault and it is not. Twins are hard work and it only takes a split second for a child to disappear, I hope that they get through it.
@fancies30 (44)
• United States
18 Oct 08
I am sorry to hear of such a sad thing. Send them my prayers. I am a momof three biological and nine step and adopted children totaling 12 kids. I would not know what to do if I lost any of them. My sixteen year old had a facination with water as a toddler and still does. It was scary.Children are not born to fear anything, they learn it. Remember they came from water. They were in it for nine months. It is natural for them to want to be in it. Being a parent is hard and you cant turn your back on them because they do dissapeer in a flash. But at the same time it is impossible to watch them 24/7. We can only do our best. Again my prayers to the families loss.
@gemini_rose (16264)
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19 Oct 08
You are right, we can only do our best, it made me cross because I read about it online in our local paper and comments can be left, someone had left a comment saying that it was there fault for not watching them. Some people can be so cruel.
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
19 Oct 08
Vehicles and heavy traffic are a great treat to children in my area. I read the sad news in online newspapers. It's a really sad ending for one of the twins. I hope theirfamily overcomes this tragic moment. Kids like to have fun and don't have any idea what danger is. It is our duty to supervise them. © ronaldinu 2008
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
19 Oct 08
I don't know what it is but my son loves the water, always has since he was a baby. I have been lucky that nothing serious has happened in or around water. He is currently taking swimming lessons and learning how to swim.
I am sorry to hear about your neighbors children.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
19 Oct 08
When my oldest was about 4 I left him with a friend of mine while I went shopping. She had a child his age, and the 2 of them managed to get out of the house while she was watching them.
I arrived at the house while the boys were missing, but nobody had noticed yet. I asked her where they were, she looked at her boyfriend and nobody knew. We all panicked and ran outside.
Both boys were walking up the road back towards the house soaking wet. They'd climbed a fence and gotten into a neighbors pool!! How they managed to do all this without getting hurt or drowning is beyond me.. but both boys were perfectly fine, just wet from head to toe. Someone was watching over them that day... unfortunatly it wasn't the person who was meant to be watching them.
Needless to say that friend never watched my son again after that, and we actually stopped being friends shortly there after.
