Snakes, alligators, rats, giardia, whatever. Babies don't belong in ponds. I wouldn't even wade in a pond for crying out loud.

(June 16, 2016 at 6:28 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote: It's a POND.  Why should any 2 year old be in a pond ever without being physically held onto by his parents?  

Having grown up in Ohio that seems silly to me. Kids hang out at the edge and parents keep a close eye on them. It's not a problem in places that don't have alligators.

(June 16, 2016 at 6:28 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote: It's a POND.  Why should any 2 year old be in a pond ever without being physically held onto by his parents?  

They are from Nebraksa.  They are lucky if they can blink and talk at the same time.

(June 16, 2016 at 6:33 pm)Wyrd of Gawd Wrote:

(June 16, 2016 at 6:28 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote: It's a POND.  Why should any 2 year old be in a pond ever without being physically held onto by his parents?  

They are from Nebraksa.  They are lucky if they can blink and talk at the same time.

LOL!

(June 16, 2016 at 6:32 pm)Losty Wrote:

(June 16, 2016 at 6:28 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote: It's a POND.  Why should any 2 year old be in a pond ever without being physically held onto by his parents?  

Having grown up in Ohio that seems silly to me. Kids hang out at the edge and parents keep a close eye on them. It's not a problem in places that don't have alligators.

What about all that other scary crap?! Lol. Still. Florida. Gators. Come ON.

I have to agree. When my boys were toddlers, they decided to run and jump in a duck pond once. I drug their butts right back out and we packed it in and went home right then. And it was the middle of the day. I can't fathom letting a toddler play in a slimy swamp after dark. I would be worried about snakes, if nothing else.

(June 16, 2016 at 6:37 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote:

(June 16, 2016 at 6:32 pm)Losty Wrote: Having grown up in Ohio that seems silly to me. Kids hang out at the edge and parents keep a close eye on them. It's not a problem in places that don't have alligators.

What about all that other scary crap?!  Lol.  Still.  Florida.  Gators.  Come ON.

I think most parents are of the mind that it is unhealthy to float around your children constantly "protecting" them from everything. I wasn't when I had young kids. I'm still fairly over protective, but I don't see it as bad parenting for other people to let their kids swim in a pond as long as they're paying attention. Ohio is also pretty low on poisonous snakes or snakes that can kill you.

People are not always the smartest. We get people around here all the time (because this place is pretty popular for tourists) that don't realize that alligators are a thing.

"What are you doing??"

"Gonna go for a dip this is a public land"

"This is a swamp you jackass"

Many people who have never been around it don't think about it.

I'm not saying the parents aren't responsible for their kid. They are. I'm just saying the park is also responsible for their guests. There's not reason not to put up a sign to warn people of alligators.

(June 16, 2016 at 6:17 pm)Losty Wrote: He wasn't a snack. The alligator drug him underwater and drowned him. It's very sad that the parents didn't abide by the no swimming signs and that the park didn't feel it necessary to put up any alligator signs. Most places around here have "Do not feed the Gators" signs.

At first I misread that as the alligator drugged him and thought, well, maybe if the kid wasn't wearing such revealing clothing he wouldn't have looked as tasty?

Seriously though, if there were gators in the area and there wasn't anything specifically saying that, I think a wrongful death suit is possible. I mean, "NO SWIMMING" rarely ever means "YOU'LL FUCKING DIE IF YOU GO NEAR HERE."

(June 16, 2016 at 8:30 pm)Aegon Wrote: Seriously though, if there were gators in the area and there wasn't anything specifically saying that, I think a wrongful death suit is possible. I mean, "NO SWIMMING" rarely ever means "YOU'LL FUCKING DIE IF YOU GO NEAR HERE."

I agree, because here in Clearwater bodies of water, there are signs which clearly state that there are alligators in the water.