Swimming to safety in a shocking way May 26, 2008

What would a weeknight in my life be without watching CBS3 Eyewitness News at 11? A night without a blog post.

In broadcast journalism classes, they say most people don’t watch the news on TV, they listen. The goal of a reporter is to make the audience look. Just like Susan Barnett did tonight, beginning her piece with a shocking “adult-supervised video.”

She opens with a video of a baby – the youngest of toddlers – falling into a pool with no visible parents (though, again, it is being supervised). And the baby stays afloat for five minutes thanks to classes that teach children from 6 months to 6 years old how to stay above water in those situations.

At first, I was OK, thinking the video was created artificially a la Finding Nemo. Nope. It’s real.

After expressing my shock verbally in my empty apartment, I continued to watch with my jaw opened. I was still angry that the toddler was struggling (although, he didn’t appear to be struggling) to stay above water.

The classes offered at local YMCAs (more information at cbs3.com) put parents at ease. They say the first thing they stress is to have supervision constantly with children poolside. But toddlers are tricky, so therefore, these classes are supposed to help.

It’s a shocking thought, an interesting concept and a well thought-out video. So much so that it needs to be shared. Definitely worth checking it out.