Did I do the right thing? 2 nine year old boys?

Question

Today I took my 9 year old son and his friend and my daughter who is almost 2 to the beach. We have a huge park there so we went to play. The boys were playing and my son comes over to me hurry mom help help. I said what. He told me a girl told him to get help her uncle was drowning! I went running with the 2 boys were heard all of the sirens coming anyways to make a long story short. The boys asked me if he would live? The were searching for about 30 min for him. I told the boys he could be OK that it was in gods hands now. I also then told the boys how important it is not to play around the water with out parents. I expalined to them what was going on witht he firefighters and cops. I hope the boy will be OK. but I am worried about my boys should I have said something else to them? They are playing and laughing now. I just want to make sure they will be OK. I think if they were upset they would show it?

Answer 1

I don't see what else you could have done.  Had the boy actually died, or your sons witness his death, there may be more talking required.  Sounds like your sons did the right thing by coming to get you when they knew there was trouble.  It was a good teaching moment for you and them.  No worries...

Answer 2

they're old enough to know about death.  you don't know what happened to the man and it will probably be in the news.  use this as an opportunity to talk about death and the finality of it all.  they can handle it if you're straightforward and empathetic to everyone involved in a death.

Answer 3

the odds are if he was coughing when pulled out of the lake he is OK and you done a good thing telling your kids the truth and you should highlight the importance off coming to you for help

Answer 4

i think you told your boys the right thing i would have told my daughter the same thing

Answer 5

dont worry kids shav a short attension span

tell them if they mension it/ask you about it

Answer 6

Your kids will not be affected as you or I would be in this situation. The worst thing to do is talk to them about it and make a big deal about it. If they want to talk to you about it(which they shouldn't) just tell them what you told the other kid. Don't bring it up to them.

Answer 7

I think you said the perfect thing to them!!  Honestly, all they wanted to hear was that he was going to be okay.  I'm pretty sure they won't ask you in a few days about it...they live in the moment, you know?  Way think quickly - you did great!  ;)

Answer 8

Wow! What a terrible thing to witness.  If the boy was coughing when they pulled him out he should be ok.  I think you did a good job explaining it to your son and his friend.  They seem ok but it wouldnt hurt to ask them if they are alright.

Answer 9

I think you did nothing wrong. They are 9 yrs old they are old enough to understand and it is important for you to show them and teach the the dangerous of open water. If i were in that situation i would have done the same ...

Answer 10

I think you did the right thing;

With expert help there, all you could have done is at best get in the way and at worst become another victim.

If the boy was coughing when he was pulled from the lake, he just got a little water in his lungs - if he had drowned, he wouldn't be breathing at all.

You reinforced why it's important to play safe at a time when they could see the importance of the lesson.

Answer 11

if it is something that you see is bothering them, then just tell them that you heard that the guy is doing fine now but he almost died because of his carelessness. this will make them feel better while driving your point across even further.....good luck.

Answer 12

I absolutely think you did the right thing. Giving children a direct answer without making things too complicated or over their heads is always the best thing to do, epspecially with situations like this. If your still wondering about if you should have said something else to them, pay close attention to their behavior/mood over the next few weeks and if there are any changes, even very slight, ask them if something is bothering them. If they say something about the incident, take it from there and talk to them. If they don't, their either over it or not ready to talk about it, so don't push them. Good luck.

Answer 13

if he was coughing when pulled from the lake then he was breathing. So this is good. You have done the right thing with the boys. Just talk through anything they bring up (if they do, kids are recilaiant and are probably over it)