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Reactions to toddler falling in canal


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I have only fished one kid out and I think his dad was probably more worried about the start of the kid than to go to the trouble of thanking me. 2 kids playing, one fell in the cut, the other ran off to find his dad, he would have been gone by the time his dad arrived. I think I have helped to drag 3 adults  out.

 

 

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After I had pulled out a boy who had managed to cycle into the canal, the father was far more concerned about the sunk bike than his son, who by now was lying spluttering one the towpath.  I suppose tat bikes are valuable, whereas he could go home and make another son quite easily.

 

Then there was the woman who started screaming at me when I grabbed hold of the seat of her trouser to try and pull her out over some piling.

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A few years back we helped an older single handed boater out of the canal after he had slipped in getting off the boat to set a lock. He was grateful for the help, but even more so when a glint of sunlight through the day's unremitting rain, showed my wife where his treasured brass windlass was on the bottom of the canal. A bit of deft work with the boat hook and the two were reunited.

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43 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

When I was helped out, after failing on my own, I didn't give a thought to how the saviour did it!

Nor did the woman I eventually pulled out.  After I had let go of her in response to her screams of "get your hands off me, you *!!**", she was quite amenable to being pulled out by whatever means was necessary when she realised that it was the only way she was going to get out of the canal - and when she had seen her husband reversing the hire boat towards her!

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On 18/12/2020 at 11:26, Mike Tee said:

Basically if the child is in any immediate danger I can’t imagine anybody just watching - although as related above, this does apparently happen.

A few years ago I was just leaving the local train station on foot. The crossing outside is one of those dogleg double pelican crossings, push button, wait for green man cross to middle , push button wait for green man cross to the other site, I'm sure you get what I mean.... any way, whilst I walking to the first crossing there was a mum juggling 2 todlers and a younger one she was carrying. Didn't pay much attention to them crossed to the middle, pressed the button and waited looking at the traffic to my left, out the corner of my eye I saw a toddler go past me, I instinctively reacted grabbed the toddler by the closest thing, which so happened to be a hood and yanked him back to the path. Understandably the toddler yelped and started crying, the mother let fly at me and accused me of everything under sun. Long story short the police were called, I cannot express how embarrassing it was. I swear that child is alive because of my reaction but I got no thanks only accusation and insult.  I can feel my self welling up just thing about it again. Its sad to say but I'd honestly think twice before helping anyone again especially a child... 

Edited by Quattrodave
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Hooked a child out of a lock, Father in the distance on a hire boat.(shouts,he cant swim).Father seemed more concerned that junior had dropped the windlass in the cut. Got my magnet from my boat and retrieived windlass. Father went through lock leaving child soaking wet on towpath. A thank you would have been nice.

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None of these reactions surprise me too much! I've been a Coastguard for over 20 years and helped pull numerous people out of water, off cliffs etc, and experienced every single reaction from gratitude all the way through to verbal abuse, fortunately only once has it escalated to physical abuse (and he was drunk and fell on his backside after he got rather a hefty shove backwards).

Mostly people just don't want to engage much as they're embarrassed that they've ended up in a situation that has resulted in the emergency services being called. We generally just let verbal abuse wash over us and are polite but firm back, realising that people aren't acting rationally when they are in a stressful situation that is way outside of their 'normal'.

The ones I don't have a lot of time for are the people who film inappropriate incidents on their phones, which happens all the time these days. I remember a job where we spent about 30 minutes with the ambulance crews working on a drowned fisherman on a popular tourist beach, waiting for the air ambulance to turn up and people wouldn't stop filming it despite being told not to. We ended up having to use half the team to try to screen the incident with picnic blankets etc that people had left when we'd cleared the beach in a hurry. Always wonder how they would have felt if it had been their relative.

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The scene.

BL Mini hits keep left island head on, very hard. A couple in the front seats.

 

Minimal visible damage to the front of the car apart from the bumper and the middle of the front.  But the high kerb has driven the power unit back through the bulkhead causing huge damage to the front footwells.

 

Couple are both trapped by the lower legs, arterial damage.  They both die in their seats before any serious attempt to save them can be made.

 

Footwells are full of hot fresh blood.  Fire brigade cut the bodies out, they are taken away to the morgue. Recovery truck comes to remove wreck after police have done with photos etc.  Whilst wreck is being lifted, member of the public pokes his head in through drivers side, ghouling, nosey, thrill seeker.   Recovery person shoves man face first into the car inviting him to "have a real good look and smell the blood, you creep."  

Ghoul retreats retching, he won't do that again.

 

People are funny, and not ha-ha.

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On 18/12/2020 at 10:37, Loddon said:

Having been on the receiving end of some very vitriolic hate from a parent when I stopped to help their child, I now just continue on my way if I see a child in trouble. It's not worth being accused of all sorts of things.

I find it strange,that when cruising,people want you to wave at their kids (and I do,it costs nowt to be nice!)...Yet if you are moored up,and offer a smile and "hello",you are looked at like you are a murderer!?.:banghead:

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I’ve happily dragged dogs and other animals out of the water...once in the marina in the middle of the night after I’d heard muffled barks & after a hunt found an elderly collie wedged between a boat & the piling but if parents can’t be bothered to look after their offspring I wouldn’t bother either. 

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When something unusual occurs some react immediately in a positive way, some react negatively and run away, some don't react and gawp, trying to make sense of the surreal situation. I've seen all sorts of reactions from people, I used to be critical, not realising that they can't help being who they are. 

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Just now, nb Innisfree said:

When something unusual occurs some react immediately in a positive way, some react negatively and run away, some don't react and gawp, trying to make sense of the surreal situation. I've seen all sorts of reactions from people, I used to be critical, not realising that they can't help being who they are. 

 

It's a species survival strategy - if the tribe all react in different ways, some of them are likely to survive.

 

My favourite example was by the late Terry Pratchett:

 

He always held that panic was the best means of survival. Back in the old days, his theory went, people faced with hungry sabre-toothed tigers could be divided into those who panicked and those who stood there saying, "What a magnificient brute!" or "Here pussy".  - The Light Fantastic

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On 18/12/2020 at 10:37, Loddon said:

Having been on the receiving end of some very vitriolic hate from a parent when I stopped to help their child, I now just continue on my way if I see a child in trouble. It's not worth being accused of all sorts of things.

It's a very similar sentiment when driving now. When I passed my driving test in the 80's, it was fairly common to stop if you saw someone broken down and offer assistance especially if it was a remote location, dark, raining etc etc. After some despicable crimes involving solo women broken down, it became the norm to approach and from a distance tell them you'd help but for them to stay in the car so they could lock it, if they felt uneasy.

 

Now you just drive on past without a second glance or thought. I know 99.9% of drivers have mobile phones and cars are much more reilable these days, but we do lose a part of our society when we don't feel comfortable (for whatever reason) to help a stranger / child in need of assistance. 

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