Drowning In Bad Parenting

(I am teaching a swim class of school-aged children when a parent plops a three-year-old child on the steps into the water and walks away.)

Me: “Hi. Do you know which class he’s in?”

Parent: “He’s with you!”

Me: “No, he’s not. I’m teaching older kids now. Do you know the name of his class?”

Parent: “He’s with you! He’s in your class! Sweetie, run to your teacher!”

(The child starts running to me and promptly face-plants in the shallow water, requiring me to rescue him.)

Me: *to parent* “No, he is NOT with me.” *to child* “Sweetie, are you okay? Go back to your mom, please.”

Parent: “He’s with you! Why don’t you know your own students? [Child], go with your class.”

(At this point another teacher comes over to see what is going on.)

Teacher #2: “No, he’s not in my class either.”

Me: “No. He can’t get into the pool until we know whose class he’s in.”

Parent: “Go with your class!”

(The child makes a beeline through the shallow water at me and the second teacher, running right off the top step into deeper water. Teacher #2 and I have to grab him to prevent him from sinking.)

Parent: “You almost drowned my kid! I’m going to complain.”

(Turned out, it was the three-year-old child’s first day of class. She’d signed him up after class started for the session, did not know what class level he was in, plopped him in the pool without bothering to find out, went to leave, and then twice directed him to join a random class against the orders of staff, requiring us to rescue him twice. She had the audacity to be mad at us! We could have reported her for neglect.)