ok do lifeguards have to ask parents for consent if their child is unconscious or is consent implied? my scenario for my project is that i'm on break and there are 3 short whistle blows, there is a child floating face down in the baby pool. so yea i'm sorta confused

l think in a life-threatening situation, consent is implied. You're more likely to be sued over not helping a kid because you were dawdling around trying to find the parent to get consent than for saving a kid without parental consent.

If the child is floating face down, his life is in danger. In Quebec, the law is that if u see someone who is life is in danger, you're obliged to help & do not need consent unless the person is able to answer u or if the life of the victim is at risk. It also states that u will not be blamed for anything that happened to the victim if you're not being rewarded for it. So if you're on break, u should not be blamed for anything. As a lifeguard, l learned that when in doubt about the person being in danger, just go for it.

Unfortunately in the USA implied consent no longer exists, do to some recent lousy court decisions that have ruled that even when trained individuals assist people those individuals can still sue the one saving their life. In public pool situations most city pools now require signing a waiver to protect the pool facility & staff from being sued.

l personally will not work for an agency that does not require the waiver & unfortunately will require anyone who request assistance from me to also give a waiver or they r S.O.L

If the child is a minor, you have to ask for consent. If the parents are not around, consent is implied. If the parents are around and refuse consent, then try and walk the parents through caring for their child while trying to persuade the parents to allow you to care for their child.
In your scenario you first save the child, check ABCs, and ask parents for consent if care is needed.

If you see a parent around then they will probably be asking you to help, but chances are if the child is drowning there is no parent around or else this would not have happened, so consent is implied.