“Put a Lifejacket on Your Kiddo”: Disney World Lifeguard Pens Letter to Parents

For most of each year, The Walt Disney World Resort bakes each day beneath the hot Florida sun, thus providing families with means to cool off in the form of magical Resort Hotel Pools and two Water Parks (Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach). And with Disney water comes Disney Lifeguards. These trained Cast Members stand guard to ensure that you and your family have the safest experience possible.

Related: Eight Great Swims to Take at Walt Disney World Resort

But, of course, some parents take umbrage to the idea of a kid in a bathing suit telling them what to do.

A self-declared Walt Disney World Lifeguard took to social media to share a letter addressed to all parents vising the Theme Parks and Resort Hotels who might have a run-in with them, pleading that they put a lifejacket on the kids who need them.

“I have been astonished with how many rude and unappreciative parents I have run into down here,” the lifeguard wrote. “Just the other day I was chewed out by a parent who claimed I overreacted by jumping in after their child who was clearly struggling to swim. I have come to realize that some parents are too embarrassed to put their child in a lifejacket because they fear it will make them look like a bad parent who hasn’t taught their kids how to swim.”

Read More: Cast Member Spotlight: Lifeguards of Typhoon Lagoon Water Park

The lifeguard further reminded readers that Disney World Lifeguards are trained to spot and act upon signs of struggling swimmers in order to ensure everyone is safe, and the objective fact that assistance had to be given is not a call-out for how bad a parent they are or intended to embarrass a child.

The lifeguard does not disclose which pool this incident took place in, but the tone of the letter appears to suggest that this situation is common at most Disney World Resort Pools. It should also be noted that all Resort Hotel Pools are reserved exclusively to Guests of the associated Disney World Resort Hotel.

They admit that there are times when they overreact, as all humans do, and that there are still many courteous and accommodating parents. But clearly, a reminder was needed, especially as we all begin to leave winter behind and find more and more reasons to plunge into a cool pool on a hot spring a summer day.

Here is the full letter originally posted to the Walt Disney World subreddit:

A Message from a Walt Disney World Lifeguard
byu/mycupofearlgreytea inWaltDisneyWorld