u/Trick-Duty3852

My brother returned home about a month ago after graduating the US Army National Guard basic combat training. He was gone from November until June but was home briefly during the holidays. He lives in a multiplex location in the upstairs apartment. There's several buildings and each building has 4 large 2-3 bedroom apartments. My brother lives in the upstairs apartment of his building. After returning home last month, to his horror, he found bed bugs in his apartment that had spread to his from his downstairs neighbor and now the entire building has them.

Any time my brother calls the property managers to ask when they are going to take care of this disgusting issue, they just tell him to keep vacuuming. This is not getting rid of the problem and it's been a month now and he's getting pissed tf off. Rightfully so. The managers told him that it's "in his lease that they deal with these things at their own discretion" and that he is legally bound by his signature on his lease. I know there's laws that say they must provide a habitable living environment which they are not doing and the problem is only getting worse.

What are his options legally without having to pay an attorney and take them to court? Can he rightfully withhold rent until they fix the problem? Will the problem even get fixed?? I heard with bed bugs you literally have to get rid of everything bc they never go away after you get them. Help please!

WHY has it become the norm for parents/grandparents to just assume that lifeguards are babysitters at public pools?? The amount of YOUNG children that I see in the water without an adult present, on a daily basis, just blows my mind.

Water is dangerous. Especially in this particular situation. The pool we frequent every summer has a wave pool. And These waves can get pretty strong. I never let my 6 year old out of my sight EVER. He is ALWAYS within an arms reach of me or closer. I Am always on high alert in the water. The pool has rules listed that no child under 11 can be in the water unsupervised... but the staff clearly isn't enforcing that rule... because i witnessed TWO near drownings back to back today 🤦‍♀️

The first incident was a 7 year old little girl. No life jacket, no tube and no adult in the pool watching her.. while she was in 5 foot deep water with the waves on. Now, I did not see the first child struggling. I just saw the lifeguard blow her whistle and jump in to save the little girl& the other guard turned the waves off quickly. Turns out, this little girl was there with her grandma who was sitting clear on the other side of the pool grounds, while her 5 grandkids all under age 10 were in the wave pool alone.

Then, just TEN MINUTES LATER, the guards cut the waves abruptly again and I just hear someone shrieking and crying. Then my son ( who was on his tube in a life jacket with me holding onto the tube) says "Mom look at that boy! he needs help!" And I see this little boy out in the deep end clearly in distress. But the guards are oddly both just standing on their perches, observing, but making no moves. At first I didn't know if this child was maybe just playing around? bc like I said, the guards weren't making any moves. So I asked him if he was okay and he responded "no! someone help!" and I didn't even hestitate. I told my 14 year old to hang onto his brother and I swam out to the deep end as fast as I could and grabbed him and pulled him back to the shallow end. He was completely freaked out and crying & said he wanted his mom. I asked him where she was and he said she was sitting by their things.

Then the lifeguards kicked the waves back on again and I had to make my way back to my own son to make sure he was safe... otherwise I would have followed that little boy and had a word with his mom who I later spotted scolding him while they were on their way out. I felt sick from the adrenaline rush afterwards so we ended up leaving too. I just couldn't believe this happened twice in a matter of ten minutes and I'm extremely confused over the stalling of the lifeguards when they did so well with the first rescue, just minutes before?? I'm angry with the staff and with the guardians of these 2 poor kids for being so negligent. That little boy could have easily drowned and it looked like everyone was just paralyzed in that moment bc no one was doing anything! 😭

Hours later I'm laying in bed wide awake bc I can't get this child's terrified little face out of my head. That could have ended so much worse. Parents.... please watch your children extra closely any time they're in or even near the water. Drowning is the number one cause of death in young children. And it happens SO fast.

Protect our children.