With the arrival of hot summer days, children will be cooling off in the family or neighbor's pool. This article offers tips for parents on pool safety to reduce the risk of an accidental drowning.
With the arrival of hot summer days, pools provide children a respite from the heat and hours of fun entertainment. It is also a time of year when accidental drownings increase. However, as parents, we must be diligent in safeguarding our children from drowning in our pools. A child submerged for only 2 minutes will loose consciousness and 4-6 minutes can mean irreversible brain damage.
Statistics on Accidental Drowning
Statistics demonstrate that we are not doing enough to protect our young children from accidental drowning. Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death among children between the ages of 1 and 14. It is the number one cause of death among young children in California and Florida.
Most of these children drown in residential areas. The depth of the water can be as little as an inch deep and therefore even a bucket of water can be deadly especially to a toddler. According to Safe Kids, over 800 children under the age of 14 die as a result of drowning while over 2500 children under 14 are treated in Emergency Rooms every year. Nearly 15% of children who nearly drown end up dying and 20% suffer from irreversible brain damage.
Drowning can occur quickly. Most happen when the child is left alone or unsupervised even briefly such as in the amount of time it takes to answer the phone. Numerous children who drown were being supervised by their parents. Yet most parents recall last seeing the child in the house when in fact the child was in the pool. Within 2 minutes the child will become unconscious and brain damage occurs in 4-6 minutes. Only about 20% of children who survive are found in 2 minutes. The majority of children almost 80% are not found until 10 minutes after being submerged.
Statistics show that children under the age of 4 account for over 300 swimming pool drownings every year. Over half of these drownings occur in the child's own pool. These children were under parents' supervision, were last seen in the house, and were missing for five minutes.
Over 200 children under 4 years of age have drowned in hot tubs and spas. This is another safety issue that parents need to address. There are security features such as locking spa covers that should be utilized.
Most parents are responsible people and think that it cannot happen to them. But it can. The swiftness of this kind of accident and its outcome is devastating. Parents need to make rules regarding the pool and strictly enforce them.