Water safety

[Anonymous]

Please tell me if I’m off base. My impulsive ADHD 13 yo ds went fishing with some friends. A boy From the neighborhood and another kid. Then they wanted to swim. I brought him swim trunks but I would not leave because no life guards were on duty. I sat at a distance and and my son said other kids made fun of him. Then I made him leave because he was making rude gestures at an adult who told them not to swim in a certain area. We are bringing him back in district this year and he said I ruined his chances od being friends with these kids.

Was I in the wrong? I can’t Believe these other parents let middle schoolers swim without lifeguards. And, even if I am embarrassing, I’m someone’s mom. Moms are often embarrassing

[Anonymous]

You did the right thing

Don’t give it another thought

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You did the right thing

Don’t give it another thought

He needs friendships and I feel bad if I embarrassed him. But I need to have some boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Too many stories out there about good swimmers finding trouble in similar situations. You did the right thing.

[Anonymous]

I had an overprotective mom growing up and I would have reacted like your son. The reality is, other than a little light teasing (more so directed at my mom than me) it really wasn't a big deal. But I was young and embarrassed and annoyed so blew it out of proportion.

That said, you were 100% in the right here staying. DS is also 13 and I would have done the same. Honestly, most of his friends' parents would have too.

And, you can remind your son that he proved that he's not mature enough to do something like that alone given the fact that he was making rude gestures towards another adult. He wants you to trust him to be alone with friends then he needs to show he can be trusted. He didn't.

[Anonymous]

You were 100% right, and his rudeness proves it. He can earn your trust in the future. And if this is all it takes to ruin his future with these kids, he's better off not being friends with them anyway.

And you were 10000% right to stay at the water. In a natural body of water there can be submerged trees and rocks, odd currents, any number of things that are dangerous. The visibility underwater is poor. If anything happened, God forbid, having an adult present could be the difference between life and death.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me if I’m off base. My impulsive ADHD 13 yo ds went fishing with some friends. A boy From the neighborhood and another kid. Then they wanted to swim. I brought him swim trunks but I would not leave because no life guards were on duty. I sat at a distance and and my son said other kids made fun of him. Then I made him leave because he was making rude gestures at an adult who told them not to swim in a certain area. We are bringing him back in district this year and he said I ruined his chances od being friends with these kids.

Was I in the wrong? I can’t Believe these other parents let middle schoolers swim without lifeguards. And, even if I am embarrassing, I’m someone’s mom. Moms are often embarrassing

No you were 100 in the right here. If these kids teased him for supervision while they were swimming, they are not good friend material.