At what age would you let a kid swim under these circumstances?

[Anonymous]

-fairly clear lake, with a swim area marked by buoys
-no lifeguard on duty
-parent at lake's edge, watching younger sibling, and not in a swimsuit
-kid about 20 yards (60feet) from shore
-water up to the kid's neck
-kid is a competent swimmer and very comfortable in the water
-no flotation devices or life jacket
-early sunset with light shining toward shore, so it was hard to see swimmers

I thought the age of the child (and therefore their size/experience) made the situation extremely dangerous, but my spouse thought I was overreacting and that it was a "fine if the parent thinks it's fine" type of thing (it was not our kid). Curious about what rules others have at the lake.

[Anonymous]

Most concerning thing to me in this (former lifeguard) is that the parent is watching another kid. That really shouldn’t be happening with a kid in the water. The other factors you mention aren’t as scary to me. If the parent is a good swimmer he/she could be at their kid in 10 seconds.

But, with those caveats I’d say probably 10 years old. If the parent was not distracted I might say 8, if I really knew the kid was a good swimmer.

[Anonymous]

14 or 15

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most concerning thing to me in this (former lifeguard) is that the parent is watching another kid. That really shouldn’t be happening with a kid in the water. The other factors you mention aren’t as scary to me. If the parent is a good swimmer he/she could be at their kid in 10 seconds.

But, with those caveats I’d say probably 10 years old. If the parent was not distracted I might say 8, if I really knew the kid was a good swimmer.

Yeah, I was just trying to give an accurate description so people wouldn't assume the kid was swimming in a shark feeding ground or some such

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most concerning thing to me in this (former lifeguard) is that the parent is watching another kid. That really shouldn’t be happening with a kid in the water. The other factors you mention aren’t as scary to me. If the parent is a good swimmer he/she could be at their kid in 10 seconds.

But, with those caveats I’d say probably 10 years old. If the parent was not distracted I might say 8, if I really knew the kid was a good swimmer.

Another former lifeguard and I agree.

[Anonymous]

Teen

[Anonymous]

Never but lakes scare the living sh@t out of me. You are more buoyant in the ocean and the waves usually push you to shore. Lakes are murky with underground hazards. 60 yards is far out for a parent not in a swimsuit standing in shore. If your kid went under it would take you over a minute to swim there and you might lose sight of your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never but lakes scare the living sh@t out of me. You are more buoyant in the ocean and the waves usually push you to shore. Lakes are murky with underground hazards. 60 yards is far out for a parent not in a swimsuit standing in shore. If your kid went under it would take you over a minute to swim there and you might lose sight of your child.

OP said 60 feet, not 60 yards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never but lakes scare the living sh@t out of me. You are more buoyant in the ocean and the waves usually push you to shore. Lakes are murky with underground hazards. 60 yards is far out for a parent not in a swimsuit standing in shore. If your kid went under it would take you over a minute to swim there and you might lose sight of your child.

OP said 60 feet, not 60 yards.

Honestly can most people imagine or picture in their heads what 60ft or yards looks like? Can most people estimate how many feet away something is?
If so, i have a deficiency I didn’t know other people could do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never but lakes scare the living sh@t out of me. You are more buoyant in the ocean and the waves usually push you to shore. Lakes are murky with underground hazards. 60 yards is far out for a parent not in a swimsuit standing in shore. If your kid went under it would take you over a minute to swim there and you might lose sight of your child.

OP said 60 feet, not 60 yards.

Honestly can most people imagine or picture in their heads what 60ft or yards looks like? Can most people estimate how many feet away something is?
If so, i have a deficiency I didn’t know other people could do that.

Just imagine how many 6ft tall men would lay end to end in the amount of space.

[Anonymous]

So the kid could stand in the water and you’re sure about that? I’d say 8 or 9.

[Anonymous]

If you are a lifeguard then yeah, you know how long it takes you to swim 20 yards. And there’s a huge difference when lifeguarding - you wouldn’t let a kid of any age go 60 yards out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never but lakes scare the living sh@t out of me. You are more buoyant in the ocean and the waves usually push you to shore. Lakes are murky with underground hazards. 60 yards is far out for a parent not in a swimsuit standing in shore. If your kid went under it would take you over a minute to swim there and you might lose sight of your child.

OP said 60 feet, not 60 yards.

Honestly can most people imagine or picture in their heads what 60ft or yards looks like? Can most people estimate how many feet away something is?
If so, i have a deficiency I didn’t know other people could do that.

Just imagine how many 6ft tall men would lay end to end in the amount of space.

I can’t! I just...can’t do that.

[Anonymous]

16-18 with life guard training. THat's insane to let them babysit a younger sibling and they aren't strong swimmers.

[Anonymous]

OP, how old was the kid? I’m one of the PPs that weighed in above and am curious!