Kids drowning in rivers, lakes, and swimming pools seems to be an annual thing and always related to inattentiveness of adults.  I think it was reported that the family adult who was supposed to be watching these kids feel asleep.

I am disgusted that family members tried to turn this little girl's death into a money-grab and winning the lottery in the courts.

Losing a child is, no doubt, the ultimate tragedy.  That is the very reason that parents must ALWAYS remember that they are the parents.  It is ALWAYS their job to lead by example and do the right thing.   There are so many things out of our control that can lead to disaster that irresponsibly “upping the odds” of a tragedy, by allowing inherently dangerous behavior,  is unacceptable. 

According to the Californian, Mr. Korin stated, “Parents understand that a lake can be dangerous. But not the kids. They don’t know.”  

This is just one example of why a parent needs to say “No”.

 A parent may not always be their kids’ best friend, or even a friend in the remote sense of the word, but befriending your children should not be your 1^st priority.  Raising a child to be an independent thinker, capable of making good decisions on their own, is what we need to strive for.  The rest will take care of itself.  Please every parent out there, take note when you start giving in to your children, you could very well be started down a slippery slope. 

There are no winners here and most of us as adults can look to things our careful parents did(seat belts? ,riding in the back of pickups?, giving anyone under the age of 16 aspirin?,etc.) and wonder how we are alive.I was just watching the news hour on PBS,they showed a family of 5 all on a motorcycle,one helmet between them, in busy traffic on the streets of India. I cringed.

Every parent must do what they can to protect their children,but even the best ,most attentive parent can experience the worst.

It is the parents' responsibility to ensure that their children are safe and out of harms way. Allowing a child of that age and, more importantly, who CANNOT SWIM in any body of water without constant supervision (as in standing/swimming right next to the child) is criminal, in my opinion. This is not a "public nuisance" case ... this is a child endangerment case. 

I have two little ones. When we moved into this house the pool had no fence. I slept on the floor at night in the hallway between their bedrooms for nearly ten days until the fence was installed. And I knew where they were at all times during the day. All it takes is for the older child to only open the back door, then the toddler falls in.

Some here may call me paranoid, but at least my kids will not drown under my watch.

As long as the adults are not watching their children, it will happen again.

 vanityfair, I agree 100 percent with you.

Thank you, Ed1936. I think you and I see this as a pretty basic common sense issue! 

I agree with all of the above comments. If I'm not mistaken this family has like 6 or 7 kids as well so I'm not sure she was watched like an eagle.  Why can't the parents be charged with neglect?  The city is always being sued by parents who claim no responsibility.  Can they be sued for no common sense?

 "Can they be sued for no common sense?"

Common sense is something we develop as we grow. Not having it ( common sense) is actually a disability, in  my opinion.

We can't sue people for a disability.

--virgil

Both of these situations have similarities. Both needed to have a responsible adult to watch the children as they played. It is unfortunate that we have to and should be having adults supervise any child who is out in the public no matter what they might be doing as harm can befall a child in many ways these days.

Vanity--I'm totally with you on the personal responsibility issue--especially with pools.  Frankly, pools scare me to death.  Even before my kids were born, when I was pregnant with my first child and we were house-hunting, I absolutely refused to buy a house with a pool.  I knew how dangerous they were for kids, and I just didn't even want to go there.  It's kind of like having a pit bull.  No, they might not be dangerous, but then, they MIGHT be dangerous, so why risk it?  Get a chihuahua or a terrier or something just to be on the safe side.  I also didn't plant any poisonous plants in the yard (pretty though they might be) because there's always the CHANCE that the kid could try to eat it.  Turned out our mystery tree in the back yard was a rosary bead tree with poisonous berries, so I've been freaking out about it ever since and picking up berries off the ground. 

And really, it wouldn't take physical restraint to keep my four-year-old out of the water at the park.  All it would take is "Don't get in that water!"

I agree with the thoughts of most.  Parents have the responsibility of their children.  If you are going to have children take care of them.  People have gotten into a mode of putting children in front of a TV to babysit them.  That is what happens when they go out, they expect someone else to watch the child.  It seems like no one wants to take responsibility for actions that they may have caused.  PLEASE WATCH YOUR CHILDREN.

Cat~ my one and only dog bite  was from a  chihuahua :-P Naturally parents must take all the care humanly possible, your children are a precious gift.

Yeah, Sage--and you lived to tell about it.  ; )

Any dog could bite, but most aren't likely to KILL you except a pit bull.  People can have whatever dog they want, but I'M not getting a pit bull, which greatly reduces my chances of being killed by my pet.  I'm also not getting a python or a lion or a polar bear, but then I hear it's not the polar bear that has the problem, but the owner.

My heart aches for the Korin family.   You can watch your children like a hawk 99.999% of the time and yet that .001% time when you slip up and get distracted your precious child can become a sad statistic.   Think back to your own childhood.  Did you ever do something your mom told you NOT to do?  I'm guilty.  Please do not tell my mom but when I was 3 I put a two pronged toy Bar-b-q fork into an electrical outlet.  Had I been told to never touch those things? Yes,  well then why did I do it?  Because it fit just perfect.  I remember looking at the fork and looking at the socket and putting them together. Sparks flew, The plastic handle on the fork melted and the socket got a burn mark on it.  Did I ever do anything like that again?   No Way!!!  

There are studies that show toddlers only key in on your action verbs when you speak to them.  So telling them "Don't   do such and such"  will just make them do such and such because they decoded your words that way.   Here is a quote from this link which explains it better. Resources & Activities - Toddler Development    "Discipline often becomes a challenge for parents of toddlers. Try to say things in a positive way rather than using negatives. This may take some practice, but is very effective once you form the new "habit." For example, instead of saying "Don't run," say "Please walk," or instead of "Don't take your shoes off," say "Please keep your shoes on." Developmentally, toddlers (as well as preschoolers) hear the action word and ignore negatives, so when you say, "Don't run," they hear the word, "RUN." Start now with a positive approach and see if it works for you!"    

Parents and grandparents please please please remember that children will do all sorts of things that you would never dream of doing.  Here in Bakersfield there was a toddler who drank lighter fluid and another crawling baby escaped from her grandparent's house through a pet door. These both were I'm sure events that no one ever thought of.  The little girl drowned in the backyard pool.  The very next week a 3 year old in Houston did the exact same thing.   To eliminate tempting dangers from your toddler's world you should get down on your hands and knees and examine your house from their perspective.  My neighbor's toddler would drag a chair to their front door and unlock the deadbolt  and run out into the world first thing in the morning on weekends.  They had to put a lock on the hallway door so when he escaped from his crib he had a limited area to explore. 

Cat yes, but I am terrified of small yapping creatures and I will never play the piano again,but then I never did in the first place. 

You can reduce the chances and the grief those parents must feel~ I would wish on no one.

Well, I agree with sysmom about one thing, kids will do the unpredictable and no parent can safeguard all kids all the time because none of us are perfect.  My 10-month-old figured out how to open the cabinet doors under the sink, where I keep all my cleaning stuff.  It has a baby lock on it, where you have to push down on this lever to open it, and she figured it out.  So much for babyproof!  Luckily, I caught her before she was able to ingest anything poisonous.  It was ONLY because I was lucky, and not because I was a good parent.  It could have gone very differently.  All you can do is your best--that's it.

But as for yapping creatures--meh.  I'm a cat person. ; ) 

Catherine, I appreciate your point about pools being dangerous ... they most certainly are, not only for one's own children but also friends who visit. The wandering neighborhood kids who think it would be fun to take a swim when you're out of town are also a huge liability. Not to mention the maintenance and -- this is what got me -- the PG&E bill!! 

When deciding if we wanted a pool, we took into consideration that we wanted our kids to know how to swim proficiently. I remember when I was in grade school and we had pool parties. It was always the kid who couldn't swim that stressed out all the parents, especially the hosts. And it also was difficult for the friend who couldn't swim because he/she couldn't participate in Shark or Marco Polo. So, I knew that if my kids were going to learn how to swim well it would have to be in my own backyard because I am too lazy to drive them to swimming lessons in addition to everything else. Plus they get more practice here.

But yes, pools certainly are very hazardous, just like any body of water.  The previous owners here had the door alarms in lieu of a fence and that wasn't good enough for me. I'm not trusting my child's life to a door contact that could malfunction (hence, the hallway sleeping). And even now with the fence and the locked gate, I check it every single time the kids go in the backyard. A couple of times the gardener left it unlocked ... not cool, but ultimately MY responsibility.

Sys_mom, I too feel for the family. Losing a child in any way is the ultimate tragedy for a parent. However, I just go back to the fact that the child couldn't swim and was unattended near the water. Drowning is such an easily preventable fate for a little person. How this is the City's fault makes no sense to me.

(sorry, this issue of suing the city kind of annoys me ... if I live in constant OCD water paranoia for my kids, why can't everyone else? lol)