obamabatraitor- NO she's not 5'8, but what i meant was if she wanted in our pool she could easily move a chair or something to stand on and unlatch the gate. I agree with the lock and key person. You are just plan rude. Again I hope you never have to go through something like that.... but again you are probably one of those people that vote down school bonds because you have no kids and CHEAP!

If I had a pool, I would have a CHAIN AND KEYED LOCK ON THE GATE. The key would be where the child couldn't 'accidently' find it either, say in a LOCKED box. I know kids are smart, parents have to squeeze the brainfarts out and be more creative. These people didn't. My kid is grown now, so I did something right. He's been with the justice system now going on 14 years. I feel sorry for these parents but they're to blame for what happened.

Make it up all you want, but a true pool gate latch CANNOT be opened by a 2 yr old. Heck, most of these latches can't be opened on the first or second try by a 16, 25, 35, 45 or 55 yr old. And your waiting to buy until you child could swim was a good move. Ours could swim at 2, pull himself up on the ledge, but we wouldn't have ever trusted that. By age 4, he was a true fish in the water. But leave him by himself? Never! Not until age 11 or so.

I honestly cannot remember which news channel I saw the story on but it was about 5 or 6 years ago that they had put it to a test. ... Can a 2 or 3 year old (I think the baby was 2 because he/she was still in a diaper) open a pool fence? What they did was place a plate with a cookie on it on one side of the pool fence and the baby on the other side, closed the fence and left the baby "by her/himself". They waited to see if the baby would try to get the cookie. The baby moved a chair next to the fence tried to open the gate but could not reach... climbed down got a toy put it on top of the chair and climbed back up still could not reach climbed back down and got another toy and did this until he/she could reach the latch opened the gate got the cookie and ate it. Do I believe that a toddler can open a pool gate? You bet your butt I do because I saw it with my own eyes. I also have 3 boys, who by the way now are teens, these boys figured out how to scale a 6ft entertainment center in under 2 minutes, figured out how to unlock a chain on the front door that by the way was 5ft + high when they were 2 to 3 years old as well. That is why we did not buy a house with a pool until the youngest turned 9 and he knew how to swim like a fish.

By the way, if they would post her phone number, I would gladly call her to tell her that her husband is brain dead.

SarahRPRada, Yeah sure, and your two year old is 5'8" tall too I suppose. So before you shoot your mouth off again, THINK! And I will never feel guilty about losing (one o, two makes you loose as a goose) a child to drowning because we were smart enough not to let it happen. Self closing gate, latch at 6', electric alarm if the latch is open more than 10 seconds. It's called intelligence and accepting responsibility for another human life. Snip Snip for both of them.

It's sad that it took her son's drowning to realize that you have to keep an eye on your kid(s). There is no safety device that will replace parental supervision and it's a shame that kids die all the time due to their parents lack of supervision. In case you didn't know, watch your children at all times, especially around water!

Obamabatraitor & Cactusjumper: I have a very smart two year old. She knows how to turn our lights on and off, she knows how to open a cantanor with our dog treats in them, she knows how to open our sliding door, she knows how to unlock our sliding door. A two year old can do some much, that I didn't give her credit for. SO BEFORE you two talk down about this mother THINK! I feel so sorry for this lady, not only has she lost a child, she will look at a swimming pool and remember getting that call saying I'm sorry your son is brain dead... I pray that you two never know what it feels like to loose such an important person... God Bless

Tell me how a 2 yr old unlatched a pool gate! He didn't! All of this "oh poor me" crap that the news runs makes me sick. Irresponsible parents, now trying to wash the blood off of her hands for marrying a loser that can't handle the responsibility of watching out for his own son. Time for a mandated "snip snip" for both of them.

sorry for your loss but I don't buy the circumstances. 2 Y.O unlocked pool gate? Opened patio door himself-why wasn't it locked if you had a pool on the otherside of it? It don't take much INTELLIGENCE to solve these LITTLE problems. Go back, take some parenting classes and see if you can keep the next one alive. Better yet, don't have another one. Save youself from more grief.