A mom writes in asking for advice. Recently, her 18-month-old baby boy fell into their pool which she still feels guilty about. She was feeding her newborn baby while trying to watch him as well. He slipped through their doggy door and went straight into the pool. Her son has no injuries; however, she can’t stop thinking about what happened and feels horrible. Any advice for this mom?
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A member of the community asks:
“Today my little one got outside through the doggy door and fell in the pool. I noticed it right away and ran out and jumped in the pool to get him. He’s 18 months old. This summer I’ve been teaching him to swim. He was floating on his back the entire time he was in the pool. I got him checked out, and he was fine, but I feel so guilty this happened.
Has any other mom had something like this happen to them? I can’t stop crying about it. I feel like such a bad mom because this happened. It was when I was feeding my newborn but I was trying to watch him also. Please, no rude comments I feel horrible enough.”
– Mamas Uncut Community Member
Community Advice for This Mom Feeling Guilty
To see what advice the Mamas Uncut Facebook community has for this mom in need, read the comments of the post embedded below.
Advice Summary
The advice for this mom was very supportive. Many shared similar experiences of when their baby fell into the pool and they felt guilty. One shared, “It happened to me. I was feeding my daughter, and my son slipped out through the doggy door. I noticed right away but he jumped in the pool right after the dog. It was scary, but things happen. No need to beat yourself up about it.”
Many commenters simply gave encouragement to this mom. One said, “It happens and the fact you are teaching him how to swim and float on his back is amazing. Accidents happen and its great he knows what to do.” Another agreed, “It happens. Toddlers are naturally curious and have no concept if anything is dangerous or not. He is okay so don’t beat yourself up about it.”
Others gave suggestions on ways to help so that it doesn’t happen again. One suggested, “Having a doggie door with a sensor that only unlocks for dogs collar,” while another said, “Maybe get a fence to go around your pool, just to avoid any future incidents.” One commented, “You need to get a baby gate pronto! Or when you feed your newborn, you have a gated area for the baby so they can’t go anywhere unsafe.”
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