Lifeguards are not babysitters

LIFEGUARDS at the Esplanade Lagoon have a tough enough job maintaining constant vigil over the water without the unwanted addition of babysitter tacked on to their job title.

Parents should pay very close attention to the pleas lifesavers have made today, or they may live to regret it in the most crushing way imaginable.

The Esplanade Lagoon is a beautiful asset for Far North Queensland — a picturesque and fun tourism attraction envied all over the world. But it is also a body of water. History shows us even a shallow pool can be the site of tragedy when the volatile combination of water, small children and a lack of adult supervision comes into play.

Surf Lifesaving Queensland North Queensland regional manager Rob Davidson told the Cairns Post a oneyear-old Japanese boy had to be pulled from the pool just last week while his parents were out shopping, leaving him in the care of his 12-yearold brother.

How you get the message of responsible parenting across to tourists, who should already know better, is a question in itself.

But to learn young lifeguards are routinely abused when they approach parents to tell them their beloved child is in a potentially dangerous situation? That is crazy. Lifeguards cannot be everywhere at once, and they are not there to babysit for slack parents.

The heartbreaking story of two young brothers who wandered off and drowned in Townsville’s Ross River in late-February should serve as a warning to us all. Chris Calcino chris.calcino@news.com.au