Alright parents, this is a little rant here. I'm a lifeguard for the city I live in, I work at two different pools, have been for almost 4 years. In that time, I have dealt with thousands of kids and adults on any given day. The way public pools work is that there are lifeguards placed in strategic places to get full coverage of the pool at all times to watch for any safety risks or hazards. We aren't babysitters. We aren't there to watch your 7 year old while oh go work out. We aren't there to watch your 3 year old toddle around in the kiddie pool while you take selfies in the deck chair with your friends. We aren't there to make sure your little guys, or older guys, don't go too far and get lost, or venture into the deep end. Most of the time, we don't even know which kid is yours. But we see you, and we know you. And when your 18month old, that you should be in the water with at all times, toddles out too far and tips over, I can only get there so fast when I'm on the other end of the pool, answering some totally irrelevant question your disrespectful 8 year old won't stop asking me. Sometimes, it's only me watching the pool, and when there are 10 kids, plus lap swimmers, stretched out across the pool, for me to survey and supervise, I can't always see your kid in time. I do my best, I try to stay alert, I try to scan thoroughly and effectively, I try to count every person coming and going so I know how many are in the water at any moment. But sometimes, I just want to give my mind a rest on the 18 month old and make the mistake of assuming you, his parent, is watching. And sometmes, I'm wrong in my assumption. And sometimes the kid tips over.