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25 comments:
Katherine said…We have always taken the same tact with our dog (65lb female choc. lab). Our dog was crate trained from the beginning, and so slept in her crate in the porch. This of course doesn’t work as well in the winter, so she sleeps in the main bedroom with my parents then. They have had no trouble with taking this step in terms of her dominance. I should also note that we don’t need to use the crate for her anymore, because she has gotten used to just going to the porch when we go to bed or leave the house.
sarah said…I don’t have a dog at the moment but when we did we let her sleep wherever. The last day I had was a miniature dachshund so she was in the bed. When it came to “sexy time” we pushed her out of the bed and into the other room. ha ha. When I was a kid I had 2 large dogs a German Shepard/Golden mix who never attempted to sleep in my bed and a Golden who slept in my bed (this dog was HUGE too). But everyone is different so you are going to get different things. I think now that I am an adult (really) I wouldn’t want a dog in my bed. The cats sleep in the bed with us though. Which is awkward when the try to climb in with you during our romantic evenings. lol
Amy said…We have a Boston Terrier—he’s our first dog and I believe we should do a lot of things differently in the future. Soba sleeps with us in our bed—-it helps that he’s 21 pounds and only has a little hair that doesn’t shed much. I wanted a dog since I was five and by the time we got our dog at age 29 I was not thinking down the road. He whimpered the first night (he was four months old), I slept next to the crate downstairs for all of 20 minutes, and he’s been in our bed ever since—total lack of self-control on my part and cuteness on his. He does love the large pillow bed that we bought him and having his own bed upstairs (in the room next door) and downstairs has helped when we don’t want him around. :)
Jackie said…We have 2 dogs (border collie and golden retriever) and 2 cats. The dogs are not allowed on the furniture or allowed to sleep in the bed, not there would be any room for them anyway. The cats on the other hand do whatever they want. The dogs do sleep in the bedroom though. We also have a baby gate for the day time, ours keeps them in out of the main area of the house though and they can spend their days sleeping in the bedroom in their beds.
Carrie said…We have 3 labs and all but one wants to sleep in our room. We have a dog bed in there that one always sleeps on, the other one sleeps on the floor by the window. The youngest likes to sleep in the living room. They don’t care what is or isn’t going on in the bed so there has been no need to kick them out or anything. Getting rid of the baby gate during th day might be fine…but then you might find Ms. Jersey sleeping in your bed when you aren’t there - maybe she won’t since she isn’t allowed on your furniture but you never know. I’m sure she’ll be happier to sleep in the same room as you guys - but you never know she might come in there in the beginning of the night then go back downstairs after you fall asleep. Another thing you’ll have to see about - is if she will try and wake you up in the mornings…our dogs don’t - but I hear that some do :) good luck and let us know how it goes!!
katrina said…My dog is about 40 lbs, and the biggest spoiled brat I’ve ever met. She’s allowed on the people bed when I’m napping, or in the mornings if we’re sleeping in…or I suppose, when we’re not home and I don’t know what she’s doing.
But, she also has a dog bed in the bedroom, and sleeps on it every night, no matter what. Even if she’s up on the bed with me when I fall asleep, she abandons me for her own bed well before mister man comes to sleep. And if we’re up too late, often she just goes to her bed around 10 when she’s had enough and is sure we’re not going to sneak out to the park without her. She also has no interest in what’s going on in the bedroom unless she thinks that we’re headed for the treat jar upstairs.
I have nothing to offer because I’ve never had dogs and probably never will but I do have two things to say:
1. that is indeed a pathetic look! LOL. I’m not surprised she’s got you re-considering things.
2. Whatever you decide, it makes me happy to see that you will do it thoughtfully. Being a great dog owner is a big responsibility and I wish more people were like you. My brother and his girlfriend have a dog and they are so extremely inconsistent in dealing with the dog that she is a nervous wreak half the time.
Well I don’t have a dog, but if I did it would sleep in the room with me. Webster (my kitty) sleeps in the bed with me every night. Usually on the pillow right by my head!
My mom has a bed right beside her bed for her golden lab and he likes that. He cries if she doesn’t let him in the room with her!
I want a dog!! Oh how I want one!
My uncle had a dog named Henry. He always let Henry sleep at the foot of his bed. And though Henry wasn’t allowed on the furniture, he would sneak up there when my uncle wasn’t home.
Anyway, it seemed that even though Henry was able to sleep in the bed upstairs, he still very much knew that my uncle was the leader of the pack.
Interesting post! Thank you for sharing it! Your dog is beautiful!
~Kellie
We have a 25lb cocker spaniel. She sleeps on our bed. I wish I never started this. Half the time she is up near me and in the middle of the night I have to pick her up and put her back at the bottom of the bed.
Last night she had to sleep right on top of my legs!!
Our dog rules the roost in our house!
I grew up with a dog and a cat and this post makes me wonder one thing….why do we as humans think it’s okay for cats to be on our furniture, but not dogs?? Seems unfair doesn’t it? I mean, same rules applied in our house, no dog on the couch or on the bed…but the cat got to rule the roost….and our cat during certain times of the year shed just as much as our dog!
Carol said…I could build a new cat with all the hair my two shed daily, yet they rule the house! They sleep in my bed (both are there right now, as a matter of fact!), on my couch and usually are doing their best to push me out of their way!
When I was growing up, we had a very large german shephard who slept in the hallway, between our three rooms. She only ever tried to crawl into our beds during thunder storms. She was a scardy-cat!
One time, I was vacuuming and cursing at the cats for all the shedding they did. As I was on my hands & knees, pulling the “fur” up by hand, I realized it was a rather reddish-brown colour, and not the black or white of the cats!! Oops…I curse them no longer!
I believe a dog should not get on the furniture. Nothing worse than going to a house of leaving with dog hair all over your clothes. I really believe the dog should sleep in your bedroom, on his own bed, on the floor. My dog had three beds. on in the living room, one in the bedroom and one in my office. As far as people coming over, kudos to you. Not everyone wants to be greeted by a jumping, licking dog. Another thing, my dogs walk at my side and do not sniff and pee on other peoples properties. When we go for a walk, we do just that… walk. Peeing and pooping can be done at home. So there you have it Congrats on having a well behave dog.
Anonymous said…I too have a golden retriever, Love her, hate her hair, she is not allowed on the furniture, she does sleep in my bedroom, not in my bed, and she gets the boot during those private times :-)
Amy said…I loved all the commnets, thanks guys!
What is definitely interesting, is that you’re right about the cats.
Our cats can do NO wrong. And the have just as much hair as Jersey does (if not more because they’re 2!)
I think my adversity to dog hair is because my dog growing up never slept with me, and I’m a cat person at heart.
We have two golden retrievers, both 80+ lbs, and they both sleep in our bedroom, one on either side of the bed. My older golden, who I had before I was married, cannot be persuaded to sleep in another room; we tried it once when my husband and I first lived together, and the dog outlasted my husband!
I’ll confess that, before I was married, my dog slept in the bed with me. It was a queen-size bed, so I wasn’t crowded, but hair was a definite issue at times.
During “sexy time,” the dogs just kind-of chill out and mostly ignore us. Occasionally they will come to the bedside for some petting when we are finished. LOL
BTW, I wanted to say that if Jersey’s prior family thought she was a “devil dog,” perhaps it was because they did not give her the exercise and discipline that you do. Goldens are wonderful dogs, but they are not for everyone. In addition to their shedding, they need a lot of exercise and human interaction. Not everyone is prepared to give that!
I please guilty to letting the dog on the couch/chair/bed with me. However, he does not sleep all night - just gets a snuggle and then sleeps on his doggie bed beside ours.
In the past, I have always let dogs sleep on the bed - pack mentality and all that - and not had an issue with dominance. However, I think that also depends on the dog.
Molly, our little lab has a bed in her room that she sleeps on at night, but when my husband gets up early she hops up onto the foot of the bed to be with me. When I get ready for work in the morning she lays on her blanket at the foot of my bed, and there she stays when I’m at work. She never gets up without first being told ‘ok’ or ‘up’ and like you mentioned, she loves being near our smell while we are out so I don’t mind her being there. I would never dream of leaving her downstairs (as I once though I would due to dog hair, etc). As long as they know whose boss and are obedient, it can’t be that wrong. xo
Naturallyme said…I have two dogs weighing in at 70 and about 50lbs. I alo have 1 cat. My dogs sleep on their pillows in the living room unless the girl feels the need to be a little closer. She sometimes walks in my bedroom at night and sleep in near the door.
My cat chooses to sleep in the computer room.
My dog roams around at night. She’s sometimes on a mat in our room, sometimes on a bench looking outside (her bench), and when she’s not feeling good, I wake up and find her snuggled into a blanket on the couch. She is allowed on the furniture, but it’s supposed to be when we invite her. We kenneled her for the first year, but now she’s kenneled during the day when I’m at work so I just feel bad about locking her up for so many hours.
Maggie said… This post has been removed by the author. Jen said…I am so behind on this post but I REALLY feel the need to comment!!
First of all - we TOTALLY let the cats roam the house and I agree, we give them a “puppy-free” zone of the upstairs (Charlie won’t even go up the stairs). But there are honestly times that I would love to have him up there with us…
Our bed is COVERED in cat hair because they sleep with us…but I don’t think it would be a problem to let Charlie roam the house at night…this is the problem right here…Charlie sleeps in a crate still (A GINORMOUS crate, but a crate nonetheless).
I don’t want to get bashed for that, because I AM a good puppy mom. We do all the things you mentioned that you do for Jersey, but we also do all the GOOD things too, he is WELL loved and well taken care of…it just took him a LONG time to outgrow his puppy “chewing” phase…which he now seems to have done…
I feel that the more freedom we give him, the better he is in fact. So I might be letting him sleep outside the crate a little more and just using the crate for travel and for a “safe place” for him…
Unfortunately. At 100 lbs, with 2 cats (one weighing 15 lbs herself) and the 2 of us + a queen size bed…um, not going to happen…but I don’t really see a problem with the dogs staying in the bedroom…
Wow, that was so long and I don’t know how much of it made sense…
Growing up our dogs always slept wherever… usually in the bed with us. Or, my first dog would sleep in under the covers with me! EEKS!
My fiance, however, had always trained his dogs growing up to stay in the kitchen/porch/garage area and she did and did so very well.
Now that we are getting our own pretty soon, we’ve had to come up with some ground rules. We plan to use a baby gate across the stairs and keep her downstairs and off the furniture. I also have allergies, so it will be good for me to have a fur-free zone for sure. We also plan to crate her at night and when nobody is home… at least while she is in the destructive puppy phase!
PS: I totally agree with teaching your dog to sit/stay while you are opening the door for guests. Wish I had thought of that with my dogs growing up! Instead they just barge on through wanting to say hello… no jumping, but still… Mom’s dog right now, a 75-lb husky, can be quite intimidating for guests! LOL
Fatinah said…we have a miniature schnauzer who sleeps in his kennel, which is in our room.
We have an Evenflo Top of Stair Gate. It’s a wooden gate with metal hardware. It swings. VERY secure.I mounted the hinges to a 1x4 piece of oak stained to match the newel post on our stairwell then ziptied the 1x4 to the newel post. This worked well for years. Setup was approved by childcare agency for a home daycare. However, once the kids got bigger, and started shaking the gate, I noticed the zipties getting worn (took at least 3 years). I eventually broke down and put 1 screw in at the top and 1 at the bottom to replace the zipties. Unsing the industrial strength, large zipties it is very secure. Just keed an eye on the condition of the ties. The standard cheap wire zipties do not stand up to this use. Do not use them.
In the online world, seems like parents are searching for ways to keep their children safe on the Internet.
I have provided some resources that will be of good use.
* OnguardOnline.gov
* WiredSafety.org
* Commonsense.com
* Ncmec.org
* TRUSTe.org
* ConnectSafely.org
* NetSmartz.org
* WebWiseKids.org
* AThinLine.org
Online safety is a good thing, so do not compromise your safety by being unaware. Get aware!
Tucked away in a lush green alcove, in Wahawita Ambepussa, about two and a half hours away from the capital Colombo the centre houses 76 children. Abducted, forcibly recruited or allured by the fake bravado of the LTTE, these children have served as front line fighters, cooks, drivers or even messengers in the most ruthless terror regime in Asia.
As the curtain falls on the three decade long bloody civil conflict in Sri Lanka, between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the stage has been set for these children to shed their former lives and redefine themselves as envoys of peace and become the most potent symbol of hope in post war Sri Lanka.
Grappling with inner ghosts
But learning to cope with painful memories is a daily struggle. According to the Ambepussa Centre Manager Major Fernando, the children have made a remarkable turnaround. But there are still a few who suffer from epileptic seizures, mainly due to post traumatic stress.
Senthuran*, one of the children who suffer seizures was injured in a shell attack four months ago, while fighting in the LTTE front line for the first time. He was captured by the army, produced before courts and brought to the centre. However Senthuran says that he still has shrapnel’s left in his skull and his shoulder and that has resulted in fits and fainting spells.
“I only saw my mother once after being captured from the clutches of the LTTE. I want to see my mum. I will only be happy if I can see her,” he urged. Senthuran’s mother and two sisters are currently in a camp for the displaced in Vavuniya.
Senthuran’s hometown is Vavuniya. Their family fled to Vanni after being displaced due to fighting. It was then that he dropped out of school, in grade five and started working as a mechanic.
“We were all afraid of the LTTE. They were a brutal outfit. We are happy and safe here. But I want to see my mother,” he said.
This is a common request amongst many children who were part of the newest batch of over 50 kids who arrived at the centre about two months ago in a bus at about 3.00 a.m. They were mainly children who were either captured while fighting with the LTTE orthose who had surrendered at the Omanthei checkpoint, the main cross over point from the former rebel held Vanni to government controlled areas.
Unicef is making arrangements to facilitate parents in Internally Displaced camps to visit their children at Ambepussa soon.
“We have also urged the Unicef to increase the communication facilities available for the their parents at the displacement camps, so that they can be in touch with the children more often. But at our end, we have only one phone, so the kids queue up on Sundays to wait for their call,” Major Fernando, the centre manager said.
The children’s day starts early at about 5.00 a.m. “One measure of progress is based on how our water bills increase. The children, specially the girls, like to bath twice a day,” he chuckles.
Everyone assembles at 7.30 at the play ground, to begin the day by hoisting the national flag and singing the national anthem.
According to Major Fernando one child is appointed as the leader each day, and that person is responsible for hoisting the flag. Regular classes commence at 9.00 a.m. At present the vocational training courses include aluminium fabrication and welding, tailoring, cookery and basic computing. A retired teacher also comes to teach Maths and English. The children are also taught spoken Sinhalese.
The classes usually end with a song and an appraisal of each student’s performance that day. Then its time for lunch. “Each meal we give them is a daily ration of a soldier, which ensures they get a balanced diet. For instance lunch consists of 4 vegetables and either fish or chicken every day,” he said.
Group games like cricket and netball follow. Then the children are free to read books, newspapers and watch TV until the light are switched off at 10.00 p.m.
“A routine helps children adjust quickly. Most children settled down soon,” Major Fernando, a veteran teacher at the Combat training school said.
At first he was apprehensive of the task at hand. “My wife was a little jittery when I said I’ll be working with former child combatants. That was because of the misconceptions about these children. But after coming here I have realized that they are no different from my own kids. Even the boys put powder and you’ll see that quite a few of them have even painted their nails. They are trying to relive the childhood that was snatched away from them,” he said.
At first glance one may wonder why military personnel have been deployed as rehabilitation officers. However, all the rehabilitation officials at centre are from the Army cadet corpse. They are trained teachers, with extensive teaching experience in civil setups, before volunteering to become part of the cadet corpse.
Hunting for their families
We met chirpy 17 year old Devi while she was engrossed in her sewing lessons.
Devi’s mother had abandoned her family and gone abroad when Devi was a mere toddler of two. She was bought up by her aunt in Yatiyanthota, and studied in a Sinhala medium school until grade 5. Then she had gone back to the North, to live with her younger aunt.
Devi was abducted when she was 16, in a white van and put into a make-shift jungle kitchen to churn out food and deliver it to carders fighting in the front line amidst the shelling.
“I was given weapons training but they put me to the kitchen after I started having fits and fainting spells. There were several children some as young as 12 with their heads shaved,” Devi said.
“The LTTE camps were in a thick jungle in Pudumattalan. We were really afraid, because we could hear constant explosions. Five of us were plotting to escape and one morning we ran away, when the commanders allowed us to go to the toilet in the morning,” Devi recalled.
She managed to go back home to her aunt. But she was separated from her family at the Omanthei checkpoint, amidst the exodus of civilians who were fleeing LTTE controlled areas.
“The army called for persons who were with the LTTE to come and register. So I went to this big tent. They took my information and handed me over to the police. Then I was produced before the Vavuniya magistrate and brought here. But my aunt doesn’t know I’m here,” she said. The International Red Cross has promised to find Devi’s aunt.
“Some children receive letters from their parents. Some parents come to visit. But many children don’t here from their parent’s at all.” She said.
The Bureau of the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation is attempting to setup the next rehabilitation centre in Vavuniya, to house another 250 ex-child combatants who are currently with their families in IDP camps. The decision was made to locate this centre in Vavuniya to ensure that the children are living in close proximity to their families.
The Ambepussa centre was started in March 2008, mainly to rehabilitate children who were freed from the clutches of the TMVP, a breakaway group of the LTTE which fought in the Eastern province.
About 99 persons freed from the TMVP, including 21 children, 3 adult females and 75 adult males who were former TMVP cardres have already been released from the centre.
Five others, who had joined the TMVP as children but are now above 18 are waiting to go abroad for employment opportunities. Vageesh, who came to the centre 26 months ago, is one of them.
“The LTTE caught my brothers and sisters as well, but they escaped. I was the only one who joined the movement. At first I didn’t realize the seriousness of this move. But I had to suffer a lot. My life was totally different to that of my brothers and sisters who were with my parents,” he said.
“After I joined the LTTE I ran away. But then they took my sister forcibly. So I went back to get her released. Later on I escaped again. But this time they came and assaulted my father. They took my family members hostage for 4 months. Therefore I had to rejoin,” he added.
“I was in the Mannar LTTE camp and food was scarce. Three of us decided to surrender to the army and then we were bought to Vavuniya. We surrendered in 2005 and was first taken to the rehabilitation centre in Pallekele and was then bought to Ambeypussa. My father came to visit me once. I haven’t seen my parents since,” Vageesh continued.
His father and sister were killed in a shell attack on his village in Killinochchi. His 11 year old brother lost one leg and had to insert a plate to the other. Only his mother was spared.
“I couldn’t even go to put soil on my father’s grave because the war was raging at that time. All I want to do now is to look after my family the same way my late father did. If I can work abroad for five years, that’s enough. I need to save money to secure the future of my younger brother and sisters. One of my sisters is 18 and I have to collect the dowry for her,” Vageesh said.
About his life with the LTTE Vageesh said “I don’t want recall that life. I want to forget it. It was two years of suffering. If I was told to shoot I shot, if I was told to cut I’ll cut. I did what they asked. I want to have my own family. I want to have my own life now.”
“I even have a girl friend now,” he said, with a shy smile.
Ragu, another experienced fighter, who joined the movement when he was 12 and had risen up the LTTE hierarchy to reach a ‘major’ rank, is also awaiting his visa to go abroad.
He has been in rehabilitation for 23 months and has followed three courses in tailoring, landscaping and another basic compute skills program. “Before I came here I didn’t know much about the outside world. But now I regret what I had done,” this young man of 28, who had been a front-liner fighter with the LTTE for 12 years said.
Ragu had participated in several major operations and lead a group of 150 carders. However, disillusionment set in after a group of senior leaders jumped to Switzerland during the ceasefire period. However, he was too involved in the movement to escape at this time. But Ragu seized the opportunity when the Karuna group split from the LTTE and surrendered to the army with a five others.
“Two of my friends were also rehabilitated at the centre here. They have gone back home and one had married. I have two elder sisters and one younger sister. Our parents abandoned us when we were small,” Ragu said.
Ragu’s birth wasn’t registered by his parents and he didn’t have a birth certificate. It was the officers at the rehabilitation centre that helped him to get a birth certificate and a passport with the aid of a doctor who estimated his age.
Ragu had joined the LTTE after being allured by the bravado claimed by the tigers during a cultural show in Batticaloa. But with time he realized the hollowness of his decision. “Sometimes when small children used to come and voluntarily join the movement, I would give them cash and ask them to go back home,” Ragu, a sensitive soul according to many, said.
According to Captain Chanaka Weerasinghe, a rehabilitation officer, Ragu still has childish ways.
“He dressed as a Vedda at the fancy dress competition we organised for the Sinhala and Hindu New Year in April. The child in him sometimes comes out all of a sudden and then it feels as if he is trying to relive the childhood that he never had,” he said.
“His girl friend came to visit him once. Now he is looking forward to settling down after returning from Malaysia,” Captain Weerasinghe added.
The rehabilitation officers accompany those who go abroad for jobs to the airport. According to statistics from the Rehabilitation Commissioner’s Bureau over 50 rehabilitated persons have been facilitated with finding jobs abroad.
Catch up Education
While many are encouraged to find jobs after rehabilitation, steps will be taken to provide ‘catch up education facilities’ for younger children, who are keen to pursue formal studies.
“There is one promising child who was trained as a Black tiger. He was an orphan living in the Senchollai orphanage. He was allowed to continue with his education but was given weapons training intermittently during school holidays. He was captured by intelligence officers when he was sent to Vavuniya on a suicide mission. He had just sat for his Ordinary Level exams. He had learnt that his exam results had just come out, while on his way to the suicide mission,” Captain Weerasinghe said.
Now the Bureau of the Rehabilitation Commissioner General is taking steps to help this bright spark, restart his advance level studies.
“He had succeeded in scoring a B for mathematics in his OL’s despite being shifted from place to place and his education being interrupted by intermittent training periods. The Commissioner General is keen on getting him into a good school in Colombo, where he will be given all the facilities to proceed with his ALs,” Captain Weerasinghe added.
The “three day” cadre
Not all the children at the centre had experienced active combat. Some children had been with the LTTE for a few days, some for a few months. Forcible abductions had sky rocketed in the past two-three months of the battle as the Tigers made a desperate attempt at replenishing their dwindling cadre base.
Karthik is chided by his friends as the “three day LTTEier.” He was abducted from his temporary hut in Puthukudirrpu.
We met Ganesh, the youngest son in a Mahaveera family at the netball court. The children are encouraged to engage in group games like cricket and netball after the regular classes finish.
“In the final days people were dying of hunger. The LTTE killed one of my brothers and dumped his body on a cross road because he broke into an LTTE flour store, where they stockpiled food relief sent for civilians. It was meant as a lesson for other civilians who were demanding the LTTE to release the food rations that were coming,” he said describing the agony of the civilians stuck in the thin strip of land designated as the no-fire zone in Puthukudirruppu.
“My father was a trader in Settikulam. One of my elder brothers was a martyr. The LTTE forcibly took me and my sister. I escaped after nine days in captivity. My sister also managed to run away after 15 days,” he said.
“But they came after me again and dragged me to their fighting line in Putumattalan. Five of us decided to run away after realizing that the LTTE refused to treat children injured in battle if they had once attempted to run away before. The LTTE fired at us as we tried to escape. I surrendered to the army in Valayanmadam,” he said.
* Names have been changed to protect the identity of the children.
Life after rehabilitation
According to Unicef Child Protection Officer Andi Brookes, Sri Lanka has made real progress in the area of rehabilitating child-soldiers by taking a series of constructive steps.
“Firstly, the push to rehabilitate children, separately from adults as per the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict was realized by setting up of the centre in Ambepussa, that mainly focuses on children” he said.
“Furthermore, there was a memorandum of understanding signed between the government, the TMVP and the Unicef, to release all child combatants recruited by this breakaway faction of the LTTE. This was then translated into an action plan from December,” he said.
He also noted that the Emergency regulation issued by the Presidential Secretariat on December 15, was a progressive step that translates Sri Lanka’s global commitment as one of the first signatories of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict into national law.
Unicef is also engaged in monitoring and doing a follow-up on children once they are reunited with their families.
“Probation officers continue to report on the child after an year of being released from rehabilitation. The key to ensuring their smooth reintegration is ensuring access to healthcare, education and other opportunities. A community based rehabilitation effort also runs in parallel to ensure smooth reintegration,” he said.
According to Brookes, the children who return may have a higher security risk than normal children.
“There is a threat that they might be victims of acts of revenge or remobilization. However, it is being viewd through a child safety lens and not a military lens,” he added.
As a key stakeholder in the rehabilitation process Unicef made a significant investment in the entire rehabilitation process by funding road repairs to improve access and covering certain running expenses. They had also helped organise several trips for the children including a visit to the zoo in Colombo, the botanical gardens, and the elephant orphanage in Pinnawale.Courtesy: DM Online
Posted on Monday, February 08, 2010 @ 22:22:19 LKT by SaNDun
264 Article Reads.
A recent article in our local paper about a 9 month old baby almost drowning in a pool while being watched by grandparents is a stark reminder of our need to be vigilant when having children around swimming pools.
Even though both grandparents said they had a eye on the baby, a brief period of distraction has the potential to lead to a heartbreaking consequence .
Child and Infant Pool safety information is important for every parent. From KidsHealth.org, the Dodson Law Firm  provides a list of pool safety reminders for adults and kids.
- Always have an adult watch you when you are in the pool â even in your own backyard. Never go in the pool if an adult is not around.
- Gates are around pools for a reason â to keep kids away from the water when there isn’t a lifeguard or adult around to watch them. Never go through any pool gates when they are closed. Stay safe and stay out!
- Always obey pool rules.
- Swim with a buddy.
- If you’re learning to swim, ask your mom or dad to make sure your flotation devices are Coast Guard approved.
- Walk slowly in the pool area. Don’t run.
- Swim at a depth that is safe for you. If you’re just learning to swim, stay in the shallow end.
- Don’t push or jump on others. You could accidentally hurt someone or yourself.
- Toys to help you float come in many shapes and sizes (an inner tube, air mattress, or beach ball, for example). Although they are fun and can help you while you learn to swim, what they can’t do is save a life. They’re toys that can lose air or float away.
- Don’t chew gum or eat while you swim â you could choke.
Be safe around pools and other swimming sources. With Spring around the corner, these rules are important to pool safety for children and infants.
