You're telling me the girls from H2O: Just Add Water were literally lost at sea and had to be found by their local nautical team (I assume something like the Australian version of the Coast Guard) and they never thought to lean into the potential trauma aspect to that?
Their community/friend group isn't even that large, surely everyone heard some kind of rumors about the incident. Mako is said to be shark infested and Zane almost died in one episode trying to break his dad's record.
When Emma quit the swim team and her family didn't know why or maybe when her family was about to go on their annual family trip to the water park (or something), why didn't she just sit them down and tell them something like "You remember when I was lost at sea? Some stuff happened and I can't really handle water anymore."
Her mom cares about her, her dad is said to be her hero, and her brother is a sweet kid. Emma could tell them something vague about how she "freaks out" when any liquid touches her or being around it makes her nervous.
She deserves to be able to vent to her mom! Even if it's not the full story, having support from your family goes a long way when your going through something.
Cleo can't do the dishes and her sister is suspicious about how she cleans her fish tank. As someone with an annoying younger sibling and used to be an annoying younger sibling, her sister still cares deeply about her. Her dad is very protective of her, it's mostly about boys, but I'm sure that extends to most aspects of her life too.
I'm sure they would be understanding if Cleo said something about water being overwhelming now after the incident on Zane's boat. This also could give her dad a more "valid" reason to be so protective about boys (not saying he had no reason, dads will be dads)
That one episode where they were all convinced Cleo was getting married to Zane, that would be crazy from their perspective. To be a protective father seeing your daughter go through something after some snobby rich kid pushed her out to sea, then finding out the same snobby rich kid is convincing her to sneak out and see him in private.
She could say the same thing at work, People see her as the odd one out wearing gloves or something. Then they find out she has a crippling fear of water, but loves the ocean enough to try to over come it.
I just checked the wiki about Rikki's dad, he sounds like a dick, but she could still say she has problems with water. I've always felt like Rikki would be unofficially adopted by the other parents (mostly Emma's parent, just cuz I've seen them interact more).
If they all just said they had trauma (which I wouldn't even consider a lie, cuz I would consider that traumatic) they could have avoided so many conflicts and be able to talk with their family about their struggles.
The episode where it was raining when they were about to leave for school and they pretended to be really sick. Just ask Emma's mom to call in and say their gunna be a little late because of the rain and wait it out. Bam! Excused absence from a caring mom!
(This is admittedly mostly about Emma and her family, cuz they seem very close)
If something happens and she needs to hide away to dry off, she can text her mom that she needs a moment. Like someone spills a drink on her at a some kind of function, like a neighborhood barbecue or a gathering at the JuiceNet Cafe, she goes to hide in the bathroom and lets her mom know.
Just being able to be slightly honest and get support about the changes in their life could lift the weight of the world off their shoulders.
I'm trying to re-watch the show and everything would have been so much easier for them if they could just be a little more honest.
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