The Perth Thread

[blueboy25]

Yeah when you are going in and out grabbing stuff with your mind on a completing a job would be very easy to do.

When my nephew was very little we didn't realise he could even reach the front door handle, wondered where the heck he was one day and he was about 200m down the road, all happened in a flash..

My 18month old can now open our front door by herself so we have to lock it with a key at all times.

First time she did it we were in earshot of the front door so we heard it open. But it wouldn't take long for a small kid to get out the front door and away before you notice.

 

[mick06]

I just find it sad that people feel this way these days. That we can't all be friendly and we are immediately stereotyping people based on their looks instead of giving them a chance first.

Yeh everyone plays a part though. I'm not the most neighborly person around but have started saying hello / good morning / evening to people who i pass in the streets. Often get a friendly response and it can spread from there.

 

[FreoGirl]

*I'm* suspicious- but that's just me. I'm ALWAYS suspicious at first.
No fingers pointed at this stage, from what I've read, though. Apart from the tradies being blamed, of course.

Same...the mum said that although he could run he wasn't that steady on his feet and would have fallen over several times before he got to the end of the street - sadly nothing will ever bring him back :-(

 

[rustyg70]

Another angel in heaven far too early.
R.I.P little Sam.xxx

 

[rustyg70]

I just hope that our kiddy state doesn't make it mandatory to have every piece of open water enclosed by a fence.

 

[Teriyakicat]

It's a lake.

They don't come with safety fences, and I hope they never do.

They aren't natural "lakes" for the most part. They're built in a country constantly experiencing drought conditions and in areas where there are lots of young kids. Two strikes in my book.

However, having said that, I do appreciate their beauty and yes, that beauty would be ruined by fences, of course.

Are they necessary? I don't think so.
Will there be trouble if there are a few more tragedies like this one? ie will the Nanny state of WA abolish all new plans for lakes in parks? I don't know.

I don't have any answers- just my own opinions and they're just opinions- neither right nor wrong.

 

[Teriyakicat]

I just hope that our kiddy state doesn't make it mandatory to have every piece of open water enclosed by a fence.

Yup- agree.
We can blame the parents for not keeping their eyes in their kids 24/7 but that's bloody hard to do and it's exhausting. Even kiddy-proofing the front door isn't 100% fail-safe. Accidents happen and sometimes they're tragic.
I hope maybe what has happened to that family might make people more aware of being good neighbours to each other- and look out for each other. Did anyone see the little kid on his journey and not think anything of it? Have there been any further reports on what might have happened between the front door and the lake?

 

[kfc1]

They aren't natural "lakes" for the most part. They're built in a country constantly experiencing drought conditions and in areas where there are lots of young kids. Two strikes in my book.

However, having said that, I do appreciate their beauty and yes, that beauty would be ruined by fences, of course.

Are they necessary? I don't think so.
Will there be trouble if there are a few more tragedies like this one? ie will the Nanny state of WA abolish all new plans for lakes in parks? I don't know.

I don't have any answers- just my own opinions and they're just opinions- neither right nor wrong.

The lakes are only there as developers are required to deal with stormwater runoff properly these days. The landscaping and parkland is jusy an added bonus which allows them to up the price a bit more and the call the suburb Self Flagellation Waters or some such

 

[Scotland]

You could drown just as easily in Lake Monger or Herdsman Lake as you could in an artificial lake in some made up suburb in Canning Vale or wherever. It's very sad, but you can't ban lakes any more than you can ban cars because parents back over their kids in the drive.

 

[Teriyakicat]

The lakes are only there as developers are required to deal with stormwater runoff properly these days. The landscaping and parkland is jusy an added bonus which allows them to up the price a bit more and the call the suburb Self Flagellation Waters or some such

Fair enough- but they'd have to treat the water and spray for mozzies, etc., wouldn't they? Is this just a "new suburbs" thing and done because all the storm water pipes are overloaded now?

I know some places just leave them as big ditches (eg O'Connor, Murdoch) and put 10' cyclone fences around them.

Btw- I love the name of your suburb. Might buy myself a house there

 

[Teriyakicat]

You could drown just as easily in Lake Monger or Herdsman Lake as you could in an artificial lake in some made up suburb in Canning Vale or wherever. It's very sad, but you can't ban lakes any more than you can ban cars because parents back over their kids in the drive.

Yeah- that's true. I was thinking more of the lakes where the houses' front doors open right onto them- they look so lovely, it's no surprise that kiddies are attracted to them.

 

[FreoGirl]

They aren't natural "lakes" for the most part. They're built in a country constantly experiencing drought conditions and in areas where there are lots of young kids. Two strikes in my book.

However, having said that, I do appreciate their beauty and yes, that beauty would be ruined by fences, of course.

Are they necessary? I don't think so.
Will there be trouble if there are a few more tragedies like this one? ie will the Nanny state of WA abolish all new plans for lakes in parks? I don't know.

I don't have any answers- just my own opinions and they're just opinions- neither right nor wrong.

They have been around Perth forever and the reason we are so shocked is because accidents like this are so rare. There's ones in old suburbs too like Tomato Lake, Bibra Lake, Lake Monger etc Sadly a kid can drown in a bucket of water. Little Sam was just too little and had other issues that may have made it difficult for him to learn how to swim. I was lucky enough to get my son in to the water as a baby - by the time he was Sam's age he could get himself to the edge of a pool if he fell in. I think this sort of education should be provided for Australian kids as we are surrounded by so much water.

 

[Teriyakicat]

They have been around Perth forever and the reason we are so shocked is because accidents like this are so rare. There's ones in old suburbs too like Tomato Lake, Bibra Lake, Lake Monger etc Sadly a kid can drown in a bucket of water. Little Sam was just too little and had other issues that may have made it difficult for him to learn how to swim. I was lucky enough to get my son in to the water as a baby - by the time he was Sam's age he could get himself to the edge of a pool if he fell in. I think this sort of education should be provided for Australian kids as we are surrounded by so much water.

I think the govt provides either free or almost free swimming lessons for kids during school holidays - but that's school-aged kids, IIRC. Not sure if they're still available but they were a few years ago.

 

[FreoGirl]

I think the govt provides either free or almost free swimming lessons for kids during school holidays - but that's school-aged kids, IIRC. Not sure if they're still available but they were a few years ago.

That's too late IMHO. The baby classes really work. We actually saw our little guy fall fully clothed in to a pool once, not panic, then get himself out. Teaching early is not about having them become the next ian Thorpe (although he did go on to become a champion swimmer) - it's just about giving them life skills.

 

[Kram]

A toddler drowned in a park lake in the town I grew up, a young bloke actually seen him go under from a distance but when he got there and dived in it was fairly deep and dark murky water he just couldn't find him..

 

[Teriyakicat]

That's too late IMHO. The baby classes really work. We actually saw our little guy fall fully clothed in to a pool once, not panic, then get himself out. Teaching early is not about having them become the next ian Thorpe (although he did go on to become a champion swimmer) - it's just about giving them life skills.

Definitely- but it's great for those who can't afford lessons as a rule.
Those baby water-aware etc. classes are great. I'm glad to hear they worked for you and your son.

 

[Teriyakicat]

A toddler drowned in a park lake in the town I grew up, a young bloke actually seen him go under from a distance but when he got there and dived in it was fairly deep and dark murky water he just couldn't find him..

Gee, that'd be tough. What a bloody shame!

 

[Milang_Panthers]

That's too late IMHO. The baby classes really work. We actually saw our little guy fall fully clothed in to a pool once, not panic, then get himself out. Teaching early is not about having them become the next ian Thorpe (although he did go on to become a champion swimmer) - it's just about giving them life skills.

wow thats amazing. We never had compulsory swimming lessons in primary school so me (being shit scared of water) just sat out that class and never actually learnt to swim to this day. Looking back on it it was people like me who should've been the number one priority rather than just saying that I could sit it out.

 

[Off The Couch]

Terrible tragic news - had a good cry when I heard. Feel for the family and the tradie - how life can change in the blink of an eye. Just not fair at times.

 

[Off The Couch]

I know fences aren't the answer but it does shit me that I have to have an inspection of my pool area and get fined if it's not up to scratch and yet developers come in, pop an artificial lake in and that's the end of their responsibility, in saying that I'm not even sure it was artificial as that area has a lot of natural lakes. Small fences around park areas would be good - provides safety for those in the park and keeps little ones safe from getting near the water areas - our local park has a fence around it and it's usage has increased ten fold. Again it's not going to be practical for all situations - there is no real solution unfortunately.

 

[Milang_Panthers]

I know fences aren't the answer but it does shit me that I have to have an inspection of my pool area and get fined if it's not up to scratch and yet developers come in, pop an artificial lake in and that's the end of their responsibility, in saying that I'm not even sure it was artificial as that area has a lot of natural lakes Small fences around park areas would be good - provides safety for those in the park and keeps little ones safe from getting near the water areas - our local park has a fence around it and it's usage has increased ten fold. Again it's not going to be practical for all situations - there is no real solution unfortunately.

By the looks of it the lake was actually partially fenced off. But yeah it's got to be more about educating parents then fencing off every lake in the city.

 

[Righteo]

wow thats amazing. We never had compulsory swimming lessons in primary school so me (being shit scared of water) just sat out that class and never actually learnt to swim to this day. Looking back on it it was people like me who should've been the number one priority rather than just saying that I could sit it out.

Wow.

You're not exactly an old fella are you mate? That's pretty damn negligent, I had always assumed that every kid in Australia had to do compulsory swimming lessons. Does that mean you still can't swim today?

 

[Milang_Panthers]

I'm 22. We all went to the lessons but if anyone didn't want to do them we were just allowed to sit them out. I can swim enough to get to the side of the pool but could never swim in the ocean or anything. Pretty crazy when I look back on it.

 

[Kram]

I'm 22. We all went to the lessons but if anyone didn't want to do them we were just allowed to sit them out. I can swim enough to get to the side of the pool but could never swim in the ocean or anything. Pretty crazy when I look back on it.

That's strange, I'm a fair bit older than you and the only way to get out of doing lessons iirc was to have a note from a parent for a health reason.

Only thing that used to really put me off doing them sometimes was being a skinny kid on cold days, especially when a lot of the time at lessons you were standing or splashing around in the water it made it hard to get warm in the water.

I know it wouldn't be easy as an adult but you really should try and get someone to try and teach you to at least be competent, you are really missing out especially in Australia, not to mention who knows if you are ever in a situation where you have to swim for your life..

 

[Upgrayedd]

Guess growing up in a coastal country town, i could never understand people who didn't learn how to swim, looking back at it i go swimming lessons as a toddler.