Water Safety
Drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death of children. Most drownings and near-drownings happen when a child accidentally falls into a pool or is left alone in the tub.
- Drownings happen in a matter of seconds. A child can drown in the time it takes to answer the phone.
- Contrary to what many people believe, drowning is a quick and silent killer. In the time it takes to
- cross the room for a towel (10 seconds), a child in the bathtub can become submerged.
- answer the phone (2 minutes), that child can lose consciousness.
- sign for a package at your front door (4 to 6 minutes), a child submerged in the bathtub or pool can sustain permanent brain damage.
- Never leave a young child alone or with a sibling in the tub . . . not even to answer the phone or to get a towel. If you must leave, take the child with you.
- Always watch your child by the pool, spa, beach, or lake. Beware of backyard pools and spas in the neighborhood. Your child could wander off and accidentally fall in. Install a pool side telephone.
- Enroll children over age 3 in swimming lessons taught by qualified instructors. But keep in mind that lessons don't make your child "drown-proof."
- Never let older children swim in unsupervised areas like quarries, canals, or ponds. Older kids are at risk of drowning when they overestimate their ability or underestimate how deep the water is.
- Install a four-sided fence around your pool or spa. The house should not be used as one of the four sides. The fence should be five feet high and have a self-closing and self-latchinq gate.
On this Page:
 Despite a 34 percent decline from 1987 to 1998, drowning is still the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages 14 and under, taking more than 1,000 children's lives each year. For every child who drowns, four more are hospitalized for near-drownings; for every hospital admission, four children are treated in emergency rooms.
But knowledge is a powerful tool for combating these tragedies. Knowing how and where children drown, as well as the concrete steps you can take to avoid danger, may make a life-and-death difference for your family.
Why Kids Are at Risk:
Most drownings and near-drownings occur in residential swimming pools. More than half of these drownings take place in the child's home pool, and one-third occur at the homes of friends, neighbors or relatives. However, it's important to know that children ? especially younger ones ? can also drown in as little as 1 inch of water. This puts them at risk of drowning in wading pools, bathtubs, buckets, diaper pails, toilets, spas and hot tubs. Childhood drownings and near-drownings can happen in a matter of seconds. They typically occur when a child is left unattended or during a brief lapse in supervision.
Other risk factors:
- The majority of children who drown in swimming pools were last seen in the home, had been out of sight for less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning.
- In-ground swimming pools without complete four-sided isolation fencing are 60 percent more likely to be involved in drownings than those with four-sided isolation fencing.
- Drownings and near-drownings tend to occur on the weekend (40 percent) and between the months of May and August (66 percent).
- Older children are more likely to drown in open water sites, such as lakes, rivers and oceans.
- Death rates from drowning are higher in the country than in cities and suburbs, in part due to decreased access to emergency medical care.
Protecting Your Family:
A child should never be unsupervised in or near water, even shallow wading pools. Devices (such as bathtub seats or water wings) can not be relied upon to keep them afloat and alive. Remember, children can drown in as little as 1 inch of water ? and it can happen in no time at all.
Other steps you can take to protect your children
Eliminate Potential Hazards:
- Empty all buckets, containers and wading pools immediately after use. Store them upside-down and out of children's reach.
 |
|
TIP... SUPERVISE YOUR CHILDREN IN AND
NEAR WATER.
|
- Keep toilet lids shut and use toilet locks.
- Pay attention to open water. Be aware of undercurrents and changing waves and undertows when at the ocean or lake.
- Do not let children dive into water unless the child has learned proper diving techniques, an adult is present and the depth of the water is greater than 9 feet.
Plan Ahead:
- Children should learn to swim. Enroll them in swimming lessons taught by qualified instructors when they are ready, usually after age 4. If you don't know how to swim, enroll with your kids!
- Adults and kids over age 13 should learn infant and child CPR.
- Know which of your child's friends and neighbors have pools. Make sure your child will be supervised by an adult while visiting.
- Install four-sided isolation fencing at least 5 feet high, equipped with self-closing and self-latching gates, around home swimming pools.
- Keep rescue equipment, a telephone and emergency numbers by the pool.
- Pool alarms and pool covers can offer an extra layer of protection. However, do not rely on them to keep your kids safe; they should be used in conjunction with fencing and constant supervision.
Teach Safety:
Swimming lessons are an important step, but they do not make a child "drown-proof." Children need to learn other water safety lessons, as well.
- Always wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved personal safety device around oceans, rivers, lakes or when participating in water sports.
- Always swim with a buddy. Swimming alone is very dangerous.
- Know how to use rescue equipment and where emergency phone numbers are located.
Teach Your Swimmers These Four Key Rules:
- Swim with a buddy, never alone.
- Don't dive or jump into bodies of water. Always wade in first to avoid hitting your head on a shallow bottom.
- Don't push or jump on others.
- Be prepared for an emergency
NOTE: CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) can save a child's life in the critical moments after an accident. Learn CPR. The life you save may be your child's!
Protecting Communities:
We can estimate the total annual cost of drownings and near-drownings among children ages 14 and under to be approximately $6.2 billion. But these numbers don't begin to describe the real cost of these incidents. Lost potential, due to death or irreparable brain damage, can never be measured.
Some regulations are already in place to help protect your children, friends and neighbors from drowning.
- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has developed voluntary guidelines, including labeling and education, to address the hazard of children drowning in five-gallon buckets.
- Three states (Arizona, California and Oregon) and many communities have enacted safety laws requiring fencing around residential swimming pools.
- At least 32 states have boating safety laws requiring children to wear personal flotation devices at all times when on boats or near open bodies of water.
What SAFE KIDS is doing:
SAFE KIDS believes that a national, multifaceted program should be developed to address childhood drowning. The Campaign is working toward launching a fully sponsored national initiative to address all forms and causes of childhood drowning. This initiative, involving multiple partners, will educate parents and caregivers using key lifesaving messages. Visit the National SAFE KIDS Web site again soon to learn more about the launch of our national water safety program!
How You Can Help:
 |
|
Children under 4 are especially high risk. It takes only an inch of water and a few moments for a child to drown. It could happen in a bathtub, "kiddie pool," toilet bowl, bucket, or fishpond.
|
- Use the information on this page to learn about laws that currently exist to protect children in your state from water hazards.
- Advocate for a law requiring isolation fencing around residential pools, or enhancement of personal flotation device laws, in your state or community.
- Offer to be a "water watcher" at your community beach or pool. Watch this Web site for more information.
- Join your 'local SAFE KIDS coalitions efforts to prevent childhood drownings.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- How can we make sure that our pool is safe?
- The pool should be surrounded by four-sided isolation fencing, at least five feet high, and equipped with self-closing and self-latching gates.
- Adults should be on hand at all times to supervise and should know CPR. Keep rescue equipment, a telephone and emergency number poolside. NEVER leave a child unsupervised in or around a swimming pool, even for a second.
- It's also important to remember that pool covers are not designed to prevent children from drowning. Keep water from collecting on the pool cover surface, and more importantly, watch children even around a pool that's covered.
- When should my child start swimming lessons?
- Wait until your child is four years old to start swimming lessons. Children under age four are more likely to develop infections from swallowing too much water.
- However, parents can get started earlier with classes in which kids keep their heads above water. In either case, make sure that the instructor is certified by Red Cross or YMCA standards.
- Never assume your child is "drown-proof." Even though your child may have learned to swim, she still needs constant supervision.
|
