Fate?

A non-triathlon post for a change.

I was saddened to read yesterday of yet another young child (2-years old this time) being found dead after drowning in a river near their house. Unfortunately this is a very common story in the news papers here (children drowning). I wonder how many kids die in this way each year in Malaysia - I reckon it is a lot.

One other thing I've noticed in the stories published is that the parents often comment that they accept their childs death as fate.

Perhaps it is this tendency to accept fate that leads to their death in the first place. Perhaps parents who think that "what will happen will happen" are more likely to let their young children wander around on their own or without adult supervision.

I wish that parents would realise that fate doesn't just have to be accepted, it can be influenced, for example by teaching children to swim, or not letting them wander around on their own in hazardous environments. I am often shocked to see young kids as young as 3,4,5 years old wandering around beside roads in the suburbs of KL where I travel each day, without supervision.

I'm not quite sure what can be done about it though.