Parents Use Pools And Cinemas To Dump Kids

Sun Herald

Sunday December 10, 2006

By ERIN O'DWYER

PARENTS are using swimming pools and cinemas as cheap child-minding centres, dropping off small children in the morning and and not picking them up until the afternoon.

Lifeguards say children as young as two are being left in the care of older siblings - themselves often not more than 10 - at public pools across Sydney on a daily basis.

"There are eight-, nine- and 10-year-olds who will get dropped off in the morning, told to 'have a nice day and see you at 5 o'clock'," said Grant Davis of the Royal Life Saving Society of NSW.

"It's something that bigger facilities deal with every day. On repeat occasions they have the same kids dropped off in the morning and picked up in the afternoon.

"Very regularly in school holidays parents use aquatic centres as child-minding services, and the message just doesn't get through that this is not appropriate."

Public pools and cinema complexes contacted by The Sun-Herald were reluctant to speak on the record, but acknowledged the problem was significant.

At one pool in Sydney's western suburbs, police were called after an eight-year-old was left to look after siblings aged five and three while the parents went to play poker machines.

A lifeguard at a Sydney city pool complex said he had seen children as young as six left unattended.

Cinemas have also reported groups of young children being left unattended for hours. In one eastern suburbs cinema complex, ushers said they had called parents on their mobile phones after noticing small children waiting to be picked up.

One child drowns each week in NSW. In the past decade 80 people have drowned at public swimming pools, with one in four under the age of five. Lack of adult supervision is the main factor in 70 per cent of toddler drownings.

Alison Elliott, from the Australian Council for Educational Research, said preschoolers and school-aged children were also being left for hours on end at games parlours, shopping centres and libraries, exposing them to abuse from sexual predators.

"It's not just a matter of the cost of child care, it's also a matter of availability," she said.

"It happens on weekends and school holidays. Parents can't find child care and/or they can't afford it. It can be booked out and it's expensive, which means children can be left to wander around by themselves."

Mr Davis said many parents felt that because older children were competent swimmers, they could be left in charge. But he said toddlers needed constant supervision by an adult, and even older children were at risk of getting into trouble in deeper water.

"If you have a toddler go down, it's maybe only 30 seconds before it's too late," Mr Davis said.

CHILD WATCH

NEXT month the Royal Life Saving Society launches the Keep Watch @ Public Pools campaign. It recommends that children:

* Under five should be supervised in the water, within arm's reach, at all times.

* Between six and 10 should be constantly watched by a parent close enough to make eye contact.

* Between 11 and 14, should be checked regularly.

© 2006 Sun Herald

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