[r0ckarong]

I think everyone should spend ten minutes watching these videos. I did this once eight years ago and now the "look" is so burned into my brain that I can't unsee it. I have kids now and I am glad I could possibly spot this. The lifeguards are WAY faster but it's better than not seeing this at all.

[deltarholamda]

Back in my youth, I worked as a lifeguard. It was at a pretty swank pool with a community that had an active swim team, so I didn't have a lot of trouble.

But lifeguards somehow find each other, and I knew several who worked at the local waterpark, and their jobs were way, way harder. No deaths during that time, but a lot of close calls. It's quite a thing to be 16-17 and have that pattern recognition stored, and it sticks with you.

Well worth the time to watch these videos. It's not quite the same, but it's close enough.

[logifail]

> I have kids now and I am glad I could possibly spot this.

We have three kids and I struggle to watch videos of stuff like this.

No drownings in the family, thank $deity, but we've had a fairly lengthy string of medical incidents over the years.

Let's just say I could probably find my way to and around both our local hospital, and the big city hospital an hour away, while blindfolded.

[afro88]

If it helps, the videos are of kids being rescued mere seconds after showing drowning signs. Watching these gives you very quick training on what those signs are, in a way that images or instructional pamphlets can't.

[chasd00]

I have two boys, went to the ER so many times for stitches, sprains, and other things when they were small I felt like we should have got loyalty rewards.

[rightbyte]

What are the outcomes of the drownings? I don't think I have the mental stability to watch kid after kid die for 10 minutes.

[kzrdude]

These seem to be (based on two) lifeguard rescue videos. 30 seconds of lots of kids in a pool, lifeguard jumps in and swims to a person you were not able to spot needed help, and then they help that person back up safely.

[rightbyte]

Ah thanks.

Watched a couple of videos. I made the mistake of focusing too much on kids playing with the head underwater and lingering on them. You really have to focus everywhere.

But damn the life guards seem good.

[biorach]

By "drowning" they mean "displaying the instinctive responses to perceived difficulty maintaining breathing in the water"

I haven't watched all of them. So far no one has drowned. For a variety of ethical and legal reasons I very much doubt any reputable organisation would put a video of a fatal drowning on their site.

[cranekam]

Your statement is technically correct, which everyone knows is the best kind of correct.

[tzs]

I don't understand your point. I watched several and each showed someone who was drowning. There was nothing in the title that suggested that they would show fatal drownings.

[forkerenok]

In the 5 or so videos I watched they were all rescued!

The app seems to be timing your response relative to response of a lifeguard: negative seconds if you noticed before a lifeguard jumps into the water, otherwise positive.

[r0ckarong]

They don't drown/die. There is an instinctive response to not being able to keep oneself over water that has certain "look". The videos show busy pools and you basically try to find Waldo before the lifeguard pulls them out.

[cataphract]

Is this only a kids thing? I'm a terrible swimmer and very dense (on fresh water my head will be completely underwater even with the lungs full), and had to be rescued once on the verge of hypothermia on an ebb tide and I was able to call for help.

[llamaimperative]

It seems like you weren’t quite in the act of drowning, which is indeed an excellent time to call for help.