Should I Have Reported This Lifeguard??

As a mother of swimmers I highly recommend that lifeguard be reported. I have watched lifeguards for many years and have never seen one with a cell phone. Their ONLY job is to watch the swimmers. She needs to be fired. Both of my son have been on swim teams for years, and one son was trained for lifeguarding. They both said that girl needs to be fired. Someone could die. Lifeguarding is an extremely important job.

I would have said something. At the very least I would have found the next lifeguard to get a supervisor's name. I definitely would have called to file a complaint. That is irresponsible behavior, especially in her line of work and is unacceptable. You may still want to call it in, if you can give a good description of the girl and where it was on the beach.

Seeing as how I was a lifeguard on the lakefront (long before texting was an issue, though) I do know that the lifeguard should NOT have even had her cell phone on duty with her. Personally, I would've gone to the lifeguard trailer, or in North Ave's case boathouse, and talked to the Mate. She would've been reprimanded and possibly lost her job. Not watching the water is a serious offense, especially with a huge crowd like the Air & Water show.

M. X

As a former Chicago Park District lifeguard (from a million years ago!) I can tell you that if you had reported this, I do believe that it would have been taken very seriously. We were always instructed to be vigilant in our lifeguarding. It was also made perfectly clear that media could very easily spot an on duty lifeguard not being attentive. This would be a PR disaster and one that would come with a heavy price to pay. It could be abit difficult to pinpoint the person without knowing her name. Maybe you have a good physical description that could help.

One point to consider: If the guard had her orange jacket inside out that means she was not "on duty".

Hope that helps.
Michelle

Absolutely, I would have gotten her name and reported her in a New York minute!! She shouldn't even have her phone with her during her scheduled work hours especially when her job is SAVING A VICTIM FROM DROWNING!!! The recent mid air collison over the Hudson was because the air traffic contoller was on his cell or something like that.
You can still report her, if you remember exact location and time. Can you describe her? I would!!!!

I think I would probably have done the same thing you are doing. I would have thought how awful it was that she wasn't doing her job not reported it and then later been very upset with myself for not reporting her. Try not to stress too much about it and know that next time you see something like that you want to report it.

I was lifeguard, lead guard, and assistant manager of a challenging beach through high school and college. There is no way texting on position should be accepted. In guarding, we have what's called the 10-20 rule- you have to scan your area of the water every 10 seconds and be able to get to a victim within 20 seconds. I would have been appalled if I had seen that. Guarding is something that requires a lot of responsibilty and it's not for everyone. Based on what time it was and which guard stand you were at, whoever is in charge may be able to identify who was there at the time. You should call in a complaint. That person should not be allowed to guard.

I agree that even though the "issue" is over it is worth calling the supervisor. Even if they don't know which lifeguard they can make a statement to ALL of them about their attention on the job. I am surprised they are allowed to have their phones with them. I am sure Red Cross standards do not allow that! On a side note, lifeguards are typically paid more than other jobs for young adults. The reason is the maturity and training needed. Lifeguards have hand signals that they use to communicate with each other if they need to be relieved for some reason. That should have taken place so she could handle her phone call.

How many guards were on the chair? If just her absolutely report what you saw. If more than one guard on chair, I'd give benefit of doubt that she was on her break and other guard was active. Either way, if I saw it again, I'd say something directly.

If you still can, I would! She may have been texting something work-related, to give her the benefit of the doubt, but such a long message?? Sounds really inappropriate. Absolutely we need lifeguards who are giving their complete attention to the people in the water, and also on the beach (I've seen two recent cases where someone on the beach needed medical attention). Good luck!

Yikes, I would say her actions are in complete violation of her job duties and she should be fired. IF it was an emergency, as the last poster noted, then she should have called her supervisor and have someone cover her duties while she attend to her personal emergency. Kids' lives are on the line here, so I can see where all of the anger and outrage are coming from. She is either not well trained, which I doubt since I am sure not texting while on duty was covered in her job duties, OR she lacks the knowledge or maturity to do the job. If I didn't pay attention at work and a child was injured, you bet I would be fired and I would expect to be fired.

I agree to call and make a report of the location, date and time.

Great catch!

Report It!!!!! I think you are completely in your right. She was not life guarding while she was texting.

Wouldn't you call in a drunk driver? This person was putting lives at risk just the same as drunk driver, if not worse. She was actually getting paid to protect people!

Yes, you should have reported her, but you didn't. I always do the same thing, and later beat myself up over it. But this might be one instance where you might still be able to do something about it.

If you can tell them when and where you were and provide any sort of description on the lifegaurd, they should be able to figure it out. I would think they would take this very seriously considering their liability had anything actually happened!

All you can do is try. A lot of what goes wrong is this world today happens because we're lazy and take the easy way out. Yes, it would have been a pain to do something about it with the stroller and kids and all, but sometimes it's worth the extra work. You might just save a life.

And that is in no way intended as a judgement, more of a pep talk to myself for the next time I'm in a similar situation. If we all just did a little better, tried a little harder, spoke up a little more often, think how much better things would be!

You can still report it. Do you remember what she looked like, color of hair, etc. You know where the life guard stand was, so they should be able to tell exactly who was working at that time.
I think I would give a call or send an e-mail reporting this event. But that is just me. It was wrong what she was doing and someone she let there boss know.

As a former lifeguard and swim instructor accidents happen so quickly!! Yes reporting would have been a good idea. If it makes you feel better try calling and ask for a supervisor. I know you do not know her name (but maybe a description of her and the date and time) but maybe this can be addressed at the next staff meeting. Do not forget Labor Day weekend is just around the corner and the weather is finally staying nice so the beaches are going to be crowded even more so than a month ago.

yes. im becoming a life guard this year and it's extremely crucial that life guards keep there eyes on the patrons and not get distracted by anything this is why we're not supposed to carry a cellular device while on duty this is called negligence and any guard found having a phone should be fired especially during a event like the air and water show where the beaches are really packed . there was a death about a year ago because the life guard was texting while on duty.

You can and should still report her. I'm sure this is not the first time she has done this. If you dig online you can probably find a place to contact whomever is in charge of the lifeguards. I'd start with the Chicago Park District.

We all have seen and been in situations that we wish we had responded to diferrently.Don't beat yourself up about it. You can possibly call the park district and report your location and the incident. Hopefully since she was texting for sometime someone else reported her.This was a learning experience we all do the best we can.

I would definately call the city of Chicago and report it to someone. Lifeguards get paid decent $$ and they should have their eyes on the water at all times when up in that chair.

Yes, a few minutes is all it would take for a person to drown.

Wow interesting responses I see here that are loaded with anger. Yes what she did was wrong, very wrong and luckily nothing happened. BUT just keep in mind when you report her that she might be loosing her job, this might cause very fincancial problems on this woman and her kids, if any, those changes in life can make peopel loose their homes, their hope, whatever.... I guess you get the point.
She might have texted because her family had an emergency. You never know what someone's reason is behind certain actions. I would not want to carry on my back that someone lost a job these days because of me.
On the other hand , I yes totally agree to speak out and report. Maybe you can call the right number for this issue and explain your concern, but you might not need to give enough detail so they can pinpoint it directly to that woman. I am sure they will have their meetings and let everybody know that the public has complained about the texting and that next time one gets caught there will be no other chance.
Just a thought....

Report it! Lakefront Lifeguard is a very tough summer job to get. It was even tougher this year b/c of budget constraints (fewer hired). This young woman is extremely lucky to have a job and if she takes that plus the safety of others for granted she should be disciplined.

I agree with what everyone else said. I think texting is getting out of hand (as is the cell phone) people are on them in restaurants, lines at the grocery stores, driving etc. It makes me crazy. I would call and let them know your concerns.
However, on the other hand it bothered me that you said the parents "are distracted watching the show" I don't think a crowded place ON THE WATER is anywhere to take small children. Accidents happen so quickly and we need to keep an eye on our children at all times. A lifegaurd cannot keep their eyes on thousands of people at once. I personally would not find it enjoyable or relaxing if I had to worry about my child on the beach with that many people with an air and water show going on. That's just me.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel that this doesn't need anymore explaination. I would in a heartbeat. That could be my kind out there that they are suppose to be watching. I probably would have taken a picture!!

No question- I would report her. Everyone's lives are in her hands.

PLEASE call and report it! Use 311 or the park district phone #. Even if they cannot identify the specific person, maybe they can address the concern to all the lifeguards which might be the better scenario anyway...then all the lifeguards will get a reminder that they need to keep their eyes on the people they are guarding at all times. Labor Day is coming up...another busy beach weekend. It would be a great reminder to them all!!! Even with parents carefully watching their kids, accidents happen so quickly and another pair of eyes is always helpful! And, parents/adults also have accidents in the water.

I would still report the lifeguad. I believe the lifeguards are run by the Recreation Department. If not they will tell you. The lifeguads should have been scanning the waters the whole time (I was a life guard and a water safety instructor). The park district needs to know about this. It is not ratting then person out when it is a safety concern. What if someone had drown? Peoole don't like to rat people out because they don't feel things are not their business, but I disagree when it comes to safety it is just as much your responsiblity to keep everyone safe.

I agree with the other moms-REPORT her! It isn't too late. The most basic part of her job is to keep her eyes on the water. Obviously somebody could go down while she is texting and she would never know it.

YES, YES, YES! First things first, approach happily, ask if there have been any mishaps during the air show today-conversation starter. This should cause her to re-think her telephone usage. If she does not look up and pay attention, call the park district or 311 and report her. Her job is not that of a telephone operator: her job is to watch for emergencies and certainly not texting her friends! Iread in another post that if she had her jacket turned inside out, she was not on duty. So, was she in the lifeguard chair? How did you know she was a lifeguard?

I am disappointed to sau the least with that writer because-if she is not on duty, she should not look like a lifeguard... How are we as civilians supposed to know what an orange jacket turned inside out means? Thats pretty stupid. If she is not offically on duty and she wears the jacket in any way that is recognizable to the public, then she should be liable for her current status. DON'T BE A WIMP!