- Drowning is the leading cause of injury deaths for children in the US between the ages of 1 and 4.
- Children in that age group have the highest rates of both fatal and non-fatal drowning, with half of all fatal incidents occurring in swimming pools.
- Analyzing national death and accident records from 2005-2009, the CDC report found that, on average, 3,880 people annually die in the US due to drowning.
- An estimated 5,790 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for non-fatal drowning.
- The drowning death rate among men was 4 times higher than that of women, the study also found.
- Overall, drowning rates have dropped in the last decade and that's a good sign that prevention efforts are working, but that's not a reason to let your guard down, especially when it comes to our kids.
For me, pool safety is a must because my 4 year old, Jaden, doesn't have a fear of water. He never has. Ever since he was a baby, he wasn't afraid to put his head under the water and would just jump in any pool even if there was nobody there to catch him! I will be signing Jaden up for swimming lessons this summer. My community offers swimming lessons at 2 different places. The community pool at the park, and our local YMCA. Check with places in your town for swimming lessons for your children. It's usually not that expensive but really you can't put a price on your child's safety.
Here are some additional tips to prevent a drowning accident: (These tips are according to Philadelphia Attorney Ross Feller Casey.)
- Parents and children should learn survival swimming skills.
- Environmental protectors, such as isolation pool fences and lifeguards, should be in place.
- Alcohol should be avoided while swimming, boating, water skiing, or supervising children.
- Lifejackets should be used by all boaters and weaker swimmers.
- Caregivers and Supervisors should have CPR training.
Until next time,
I noticed that your 'comment' button says 'funny remark'- not sure how funny this will be, but I wanted to comment on this.
ReplyDeleteI learned the hard way when my oldest was 1 1/2 that learning CPR and being careful of swimming pools and what not should always be a high priority. People should also be aware at all times- even if they are all inside and the pool (or pond, as it was in my son's case) is outside. My son snuck his way outside while my dad and I were talking about computers (we'd just gotten a new one), and he slipped on a wet patch and fell in. We found him a few minutes later. Luckily, we found him in time. I was able to give him CPR and the paramedics said it saved his life.
When you have a pool (or pond) your kids aren't safe -ever- even if its above ground- unless you have a protective fence around it. Its rare to ever have a happy ending when something like this happens.
Anyways, just wanted to put in my two cents. :-)
Visiting from Voiceboks, btw. Nice to "meet" you.
~Amber Lynn "SortaSuperMom"
www.confessionsfromboystown.com
Oh my! I'm so glad your son was ok! Like I said in my post above, my 4 year old has no fear of water so he scares me around pools and ponds! I always make him wear a lifejacket when we are around water to keep him safe. Your story just goes to show just how quickly kids can get into trouble around a pool, no matter how well we watch them! I think every parent should learn child CPR. I'm so glad you dropped by to tell your story! Welcome to Lucky Emerald's Reviews! I hope you come back soon!
DeleteThanks,
Lucky Emerald
Thank you for sharing this, I see so many kids play near our ditch completely unsupervised, some are under 2 years old. Parents become to relaxed with safety.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful information to share. Good for those that have young children and a good reminder. When my oldest was young she had no fear and I was constantly "on guard" every where we went. (Exhausting!)
ReplyDelete(Visiting you from VoiceBoks)