On the topic of life saving devices...

Seriously, when did the hot tub become the kiddie pool. I can understand that you might make the mistake from a distance. A hot tub is similar in shape and size to a kiddie pool. But some of the tell-tale signs that this is, in fact, NOT the designated children's swimming area are...
1. The jets that churn up the water which come standard in hot tubs, and well... aren't in kiddie pools.
2. All of the men wearing gold chains with dark manes of back hair drinking Bud Light.
3. The fact that the water temperature is 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. And of course, the GIANT signage stating the rules for the hot tub.

But if one were to go to the indoor water park at the hotel I stayed at during Christmas break, you would not find the hot tub so easy to spot. You would see the kids play area of the water park, the body slide, tube slide, lazy river, pool basketball area, and .... wait where are all the kids... oh yeah... they are all jumping into the two 5x7 hot tubs.

Now, I'm not going to go as far as to say that these kids have bad parents. I'm just going to say they have stupid parents. For years doctors have been urging parents to keep kids out of the hot tubs because they are too hot, the chlorine levels are off the charts, it's not safe, etc. The hotels post signs that say no one under the age of 16 are allowed in the jacuzzi without direct supervision. But lets face it... Bill over here wants to sit in a jacuzzi and drink one or two or five Bud Lights, outline the hot tub in beer bottles, hit on the nearest two piece or his friend's wife (which was clear in a few occasions) and he can't do that while being a good parent, so lets just bring the kids with. I saw a child wearing a life vest, that couldn't be older than two, float around in the tub while mom and dad drink beer under the sign that states the ages for the hot tub and the warning about consuming alcohol and using "the spa."

And the parents shouldn't take the full blame. One hot tub had a life-guard sitting at it. I watched a group of four girl that were most likely in the second grade enter the hot tub. The life-guard's reaction was to twirl her gum in a counter-clockwise motion... this did not solve the problem.

The only thing I can credit this too is selfishness on the part of the adults. They didn't care about the other people who don't really sit in the jacuzzi to be splashed or supervise other people's kids. These parents just did what they wanted to do rather than play with their own children in the water park, or God forbid, be sober during the family vacation.

As Charissa and I played with my niece in the lazy river and the kid portion of the water park we vowed not to be those parents. But only time will tell.