WATER SAFETY
Did you know?
• In California, drowning is the leading cause of death, disability, and injury among children between the ages 1 and 4. It is the second leading cause of preventable death of children up to 14 years old nationwide.
• As many as 20 percent of near-drowning survivors suffer severe permanent brain damage.
• Most children drown in swimming pools. Of these children, 25 percent have had swim lessons. These children were last seen in the home, had been missing for less than 5 minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning.
• Strong currents can carry expert swimmers far from the beach or shore. If caught in a current, the swimmer must swim parallel to the shoreline until out of the current; then swim toward the shore.
• Four-sided isolation fencing decreases the chance of drowning in in-ground pools by 60 percent.
• Some children drown in the bathtub. Bathtub rings are NOT a safety device.
• Alcohol use is a major contributing factor in up to 50 percent of drownings of teenage boys.
• Children can drown in just 1 inch of water within a few seconds. Drowning is quick and silent!
Be on guard!
• Make sure children playing in the water are always supervised by an adult who is not reading, playing cards, talking on a cell phone, or drinking alcohol.
• Always have your child swim with a buddy.
• Do not depend on air-filled swimming aids, such as water wings, in place of a life jacket.
When in a boat, make sure children wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets. Weather and water conditions can change from hour to hour.
• Children should not have direct access to a pool. If you have a private pool, use a foursided isolation fence to separate the pool from the house and the outdoor play area. The fence should be at least 5 feet tall. It should have a self-closing and self-latching gate. Never prop the gate open or leave toys in or around the pool. Use an ASTM-approved power pool cover. (See CPSC model at www.cpsc.gov) and a pool alarm that sounds inside the house for several layers of protection.
• All parents or guardians who have a pool should learn CPR.
• Enroll children in swim lessons as early as possible, but do not assume they are not at risk for drowning because they have had swim lessons.
• Empty buckets when household chores are done. Empty and turn over wading pools when they are not in use.
• The suction cups of bathtub rings often fail to hold. Do not depend on them for your child's safety.
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