I don't normally do this, esp when it makes me feel like a terrible parent, but i really feel it's necessary. So here goes...
My husband (James) & I took the littles (2yo boy & 4yo girl) to a waterpark in Duncan, about 20 mins from Spartanburg. We both commented upon entering how we didn't see any adult employees & that everyone we saw looked like they were 16- at the oldest! The park basically catered towards younger kids. (I took a very brief video of it prior to our "incident").
In the kiddie area, there is a pirate ship. Kids climb 3 steps up and can slide down 2 slides. I suppose since parents are supposed to monitor their kids there isn't a lifeguard on duty (???) We noticed the pirate ship had some safety hazards, such as a chunk missing at the bottom of one slide, but since we are pretty vigilant & stayed close to the littles, we weren't too concerned.
We enjoyed the park for almost 2 hours before finding out firsthand where the biggest issue lies.
Though James and I were both not even 5 feet from my very stubborn 2yr old, and I was yelling at Quinn to stop running, he didn't. (Imagine- a toddler not listening?!). The end/ back of the ship was just above his knees, and I watched in horror as my son literally slid & flipped off the top of the pirate ship (feet over head) and landed in inches of water on his shoulders and back, scraping his head on the way down. I know I will see this scene playing on repeat in my nightmares in slow motion for a long time. I was close, but not close enough. And there wasn't a lifeguard in the kiddie area to help parents with monitoring (nor any signage). There also wasn't a safety net on the pirate ship.
When I saw blood on his forehead (maybe 2 minutes after scooping him up and walking back to our chairs, I immediately headed up the first aid door. It was open. I walked in, holding a scared, hurt and crying 2yr old and found a small room in disarray with no attendant. Had I been able to locate the supplies I needed, I would have done so. Instead, I had to walk out to look for someone to help me. At the entrance, I found a teenaged girl playing on her phone. I interrupted her, saying that I needed first aid, but that no one was there. For the first time since arriving, I saw an actual adult (prob in her 60s). She walked us back to the room and said she'd be right back with someone to help us. Quinn was still crying and I was a worried mama. She returned with a young man (no way was he even 18, and that's being generous!). She said to him, "Javion, they need first aid and that's your responsibility." To me, she said, "I'll be right outside the door"... and walked out. Poor Javion was clueless. He had no idea what to do. He looked at us & asked what was wrong. I told him that my son flipped off the pirate ship & his head was bleeding. Javion looked at me blankly so I said, "I need an ice pack". He fished through some supplies and said he didn't have one. (Seriously?!) He told me to wait a minute and ran off. Another young man, one we saw lifeguarding in the lazy river, returned with a popsicle, telling me someone must have walked off with the icepack. He gave me a popsicle to hold on Quinn's head and wrote up an incident report. Javion did eventually return with an ice pack. I guess they found one somewhere.
The one adult we saw checked on us once right after we left the first aid room. But it felt more like we were an afterthought. She asked if my son was ok & if I'd like a popsicle for my daughter too (once he calmed down, the kids ended up sharing the popsicle we were given to use on his head). We left once we got our stuff together. 3 days later and no one has bothered to check on us as a follow up.
My son was very fortunate. He walked away with just scratches; he should have/could have sustained a much more severe injury. Yes, he was running (if what a 2yo does can be called that) & no, I don't blame the park for his decision to run & my inability to stop him in time. I do, however, want to spare others the possibility of this happening to someone else's child. They need netting & lifeguards in the kiddie area too. Having a more professional staff, no matter what age, is necessary. So is having proper first aid equipment and trained/ knowledgable staff to respond to situations. It will be a long, long while before we ever return. read more