Editor’s note: Kid Concepts is a feature comprised of essays written by kids, giving all of us an opportunity to view their world. Please welcome Grey Gallagher to GNMParents. According to his mom, “Grey is a nine year old country bumpkin who likes to read, run, and raise chickens, but he is happiest when he is making other people laugh.” Today, he presents a heart-stopping essay on safety:
A boy in a swimming suit, was on his way to the lake with two men and a boat. It was a sunny fall day but a little bit cold and windy. It was good day for sailing. He, his dad, and his uncle often spent the day sailing at the lake, but this time would be different.
When they arrived at the loading dock they all helped lower the boat into the water and prepared to set sail. Before they set out the boy’s Dad reminded him to put on his life vest so he did. Once they were ready the men steered out of the cove towards the middle of the lake. The boy helped a little bit and then he went up on the bow to look around. Then he went down into the cabin to get a drink of water and use the head. When he came back on deck he wasn’t wearing his life jacket so his Dad told him to put it back on.
Later on he went back down to the cabin to eat lunch and took his life vest off again. When he came up this time his Dad wasn’t looking at him as he leaned over the boat to touch the water. Before he knew it he was in the water without a life jacket! The boy was screaming from the cold and even though he knew how to swim he was happy to see his Dad jump in after him. He was so scared and cold that he didn’t know what to do. Luckily his Dad had his swimsuit on and remembered to take his shoes off before he jumped but he did forget one thing. His uncle saw what was happening and threw a life vest in to them before he started turning the boat around to pick them up. What? His Dad wasn’t wearing his life vest either?
Once they were safely back in the boat and dried off his Dad said, “Why weren’t you wearing your life jacket?” His son asked, “Where was your life jacket when you needed it?” They decided from then on that if they weren’t wearing their life jackets on the boat they would get pushed in. Just kidding!
And they all sailed happily ever after.
[tags]kids, parents, children, family, sailing, scary, safety, life jackets, boating, water[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by Ennor, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
3 responses so far ↓
STL Mom // Oct 12, 2007 at 7:53 pm
An excellent essay! I tend to make my kids wear life jackets and then not wear my own, because I think that I am a good enough swimmer not to need one. This is a good reminder that wearing a life jacket isn’t just to save yourself - it may help you rescue someone else.
nan // Oct 15, 2007 at 6:27 am
Grey, there is a RULE. You always wear a lifejacket when sailing. It doesn’t matter if you are above deck or below, it doesn’t matter how good a swimmer you are, or how cold the water is. If your lifejacket is so horribly uncomfortable that you have to keep taking it off, get mom or dad to take you shopping for a new one. What if you had hit your head falling in? You would have sunk like a stone. What if there wasn’t an extra grownup on the boat? Okay? Okay.
nan // Oct 15, 2007 at 6:27 am
Grey, there is a RULE. You always wear a lifejacket when sailing. It doesn’t matter if you are above deck or below, it doesn’t matter how good a swimmer you are, or how cold the water is. If your lifejacket is so horribly uncomfortable that you have to keep taking it off, get mom or dad to take you shopping for a new one. What if you had hit your head falling in? You would have sunk like a stone. What if there wasn’t an extra grownup on the boat? Make it a habit. Okay? Okay.
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