Being a parent is hard. From the second you have a child it’s like a piece of your heart has been cut out and is now out walking around in the world, leaving you exposed, vulnerable and more prone to heartache.
Parenting is hard
Every parent’s worst nightmare is that their child will get into danger. But children are curious, and it sometimes takes those dangerous situations to teach them important lessons that they’ll keep with them for life.
Parents of toddlers will know that you always have to be on guard when your little one is off the reins. While they’re still at the early stages of development, they still don’t understand what’s right or wrong. This can lead them to make split-second decisions that may have terrible consequences.
A scary situation
One little guy who decided to act without thinking is one-year-old Rocco Passavanti. The toddler and his family were enjoying time in their pool house in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, when the near-emergency took place.
The outdoor camera caught everything
Video footage of the incident shows how quickly it happened. Rocco had wandered through the gate into the poolside, chasing after a brightly-colored beach ball. His dad, Albert, who was sat just inches away at a table, was watching him carefully.
When Rocco got too close to the pool’s edge, Albert yelled out to him in warning. But, being a typical 18-month-old, Rocco ignored him, and in his quest to pick up the beach ball, fell into the pool.
A son in danger
Rocco wasn’t wearing a floatation device to help him swim. There were other people in the pool at the time, so it’s highly unlikely that Rocco was in any real danger. But dad’s natural instincts still must have kicked in, and his only goal was to save his child.
Dad to the rescue
What happened next is impressive to say the least: dad leapt out of his chair, dived over the 4-foot fence into the pool, and rescued Rocco from the water. He really did turn into “super dad”, acting in the moment without even a split second of hesitation.
To put it into perspective, a 4-foot fence comes to the chest area of a person who is 5-foot 7 inches tall. Even someone at 6 foot or taller would have difficulty clearing a fence of this height head-first in a dive, yet Albert managed it easily, only clipping the fence with his foot. It’s almost as if he had springs in his shoes.
Acting on instinct
Speaking to Inside Edition about the incident, Albert humbly said that his athleticism played no part in his ability to rescue his son so quickly. He added:
“Anybody can do that. Anybody can jump over a fence, you know. A kid’s in trouble. You know, you’ve got to get to them as quickly as you possibly can.”
Albert’s story is impressive, but not unusual. Over the years, we have heard of moms who have lifted cars to save their babies, having tapped into their own superpowers.
According to the BBC, scientists only have a small understanding of what takes over a person’s body in spontaneous, life-or-death situations. It’s hard to run experiments on the phenomenon, for obvious reasons.
One theory is that, as humans, we’re stronger and more capable than we give ourselves credit for. When we do our daily activities, our muscles are working to the bare minimum. Even during exercise, we listen to our pain signals and don’t push ourselves past a certain level.
A fast acting father
But that doesn’t mean that we’re not capable of firing up those muscles when an emergency situation strikes – which is exactly how moms have lifted cars off babies, and Albert dived over a 4-foot fence into a pool in half a second.
Albert, for his part, puts it down to good parenting. Speaking directly to other parents after the incident, he said:
“You just absolutely have to keep an eye on your kids. I don’t care what measures you put in place. Tragedy can happen.”
Thankfully adults were around to supervise
Albert’s message is an important one, especially during the summer months, when families across the country are spending time around their backyard pools. As the video of Albert’s impressive superman dive shows, you always have to be on alert when supervising your children.
How do you think Albert managed to pull off such an incredible stunt? Was it a secret talent of his, or did adrenaline push him to perform as he never had before?
Watch dad’s father instincts kick into overdrive to rescue his son in the video below.
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