Now that the Summer months are upon us, water play has become an integral part of nearly every child's summertime activities. With drowning being the leading cause of injury death for children aged one to four years, the need is obvious for extra precautions for our own children as well as those precious little ones under our daily supervision. It must be remembered that statistics show that most drownings happen in familiar settings, such as the child's own backyard, or at a friend's or neighbors house. When children drown, they do so silently... there is no warning, no cry for help, no struggle; and it all happens in seconds - not minutes. Swimming lessons do not make a child less prone to drowning... In fact, there is no way to drown-proof a child. Young children are especially susceptible because they are unable to understand the danger that water presents. Even babies who are still only crawling are at great risk for accidental immersion and drowning.

By adhering to the following recommendations made by The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and The Immersion Injury Prevention Project of Orange County, CA. (714-834-5728) you may make an important difference in the lives of innocent children and their families.

Please help to make everyone's summer safe and happy.

Some statistics

Reprinted with permission from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission - 1990 Booklet: Children and Pools: A Safety Checklist

Millions of Americans enjoy the benefits of exercise and relaxation provided by a home swimming pool. However, a study conducted by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission demonstrates the need for special care to avoid drownings and other serious injuries - particularly to young children - if you have a swimming pool at home.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 630 people drowned in backyard swimming pools in 1986. Of these, 330 were children under age five. Another 4,200 children under age five were treated in hospital emergency rooms for submersion accidents. KEEP THESE STATISTICS IN MIND IF YOU HAVE A SWIMMING POOL. DON'T LET ANYONE USING YOUR POOL BECOME A STATISTIC. IT'S UP TO YOU TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM POOL ACCIDENTS.

How Child Drownings Happen

In 1986, a Commission study of drowning and submersion accidents of children under age five in Arizona, California, and Florida uncovered some important facts. For example:

• 75% of the victims were between 12 and 35 months of age; 65% were male.
  The children in this age group are at the highest risk of drowning accidents because their capabilities change daily and they often do things that are unexpected.

• 65% of the accidents occurred in the pool owned by the child's family and 33% in the homes of friends and relatives where the child was a guest.
  Accidents occur in familiar surroundings during very short lapses in supervision.

• 46% of the children involved in the accident were last seen in the house prior to being found in the pool.
  Doors that exit to the pool should have an alarm.

• 23% of the children were last seen in the yard, porch or patio prior to the accident. In all, 69% of the children were not expected to be at or in the pool, yet they were found in the water.
  A fence or barrier completely surrounding the pool could prevent many drowning accidents.

• 31% of the children were in or around the pool just prior to the accident.
  Children at poolside must be watched constantly. Adults should not allow themselves to be distracted by household or yard/garden chores. Flotation devices should not be relied upon to protect children.

• 77% of the children had been seen 5 minutes or less before being missed and subsequently discovered in the pool.
  Drownings happen quickly and without warning. There is no cry for help.

• Survival depends on rescuing the child quickly and restarting the breathing process.
  Seconds count in preventing death or brain damage. Know CPR and begin resuscitation immediatley, even while in the water. A poolside telephone showing emergency numbers will let you summon help after CPR is started.

Many communities have enacted safety regulations governing inground and aboveground residential swimming pools. Homeowners should obtain a current copy of these regulations to make certain their pool complies with the law. Apart from these ordinances, pool owners should carry out their own safety precautions to reduce chances of drownings or submersion accidents.

Safety Features for Pools and Spas

Check the following safety features to make sure your pool meets the test

Reprinted with permission from the Immersion Injury Prevention Project's Pamphlet: Prevent Childhood Drowning

Prevent Childhood Drowning

FACT: Drowning is the leading cause of injury death for Orange County (California) children one to four years old.

FACT: In 1991, 67 drownings and near-drownings were reported among Orange County children under five. About 85% of these incidents occurred in pools or spas.

FACT: Drowning children do not struggle or cry for help - no warning occurs. Drowning is a silent event.

FACT: Drownings and near-drownings occur in surprisingly short interruptions in visual contact with the child. Victims were often last seen indoors or playing outdoors away from the pool/spa area. Adults were almost always nearby.

Safeguard the Pool/Spa Area

• Start with a non-climbable 5-foot fence that separates the pool/spa from the residence. Children should not be able to squeeze through any spaces.

• Add extra layers of protection, such as safety covers and alarms on doors and windows leading to the water.

• Fence gates, side gates, and doors leading to the pool/spa area should be self-closing and self-latching with latches above a child's reach. Gates should open outward.

• Drain standing water from pool/spa covers. Remove covers completely before using the pool/spa and replace them immediately after use.

• Never leave toys in the pool/spa area or in the pool.

• Remove chairs, etc., which children can use to climb over fences or gates.

Provide effective supervision

Curiosity, rapidly changing skills, and inability to understand danger place young children at high risk. Adults must assume responsibility for child safety.

• Maintain constant visual contact with children in the pool/spa area.

• Never leave a child alone near a pool/spa.

• Don't rely on swimming lessons, life preservers or other equipment to make a child "water safe".

• Designate an adult to supervise the pool/spa area, especially during social gatherings. Don't assume someone else is watching a child.

• Don't allow children to play in the pool/spa area.

• Look in the water if a child is missing.

Prepare for an Emergency

Anyone over 14 years old should learn CPR and update their skills every year.

• Learn how to swim.

• Keep rescue equipment by the pool.

• Install a backyard telephone.

• Teach everyone how to use safety equipment and to call 9-1-1.

For more information about childhood drowning, call:
Childhood Injury Prevention Program
Immersion Injury Prevention Project
(714)834-5728
or write to:
Injury Prevention and Control
County of Orange Health Care Agency
Public Health
P.O. Box 355, Bldg. 62
Santa Ana, CA 92702

With all the talk about pool/spa safety, a no doubt a relevant topic for the summer, we must remember that there is a year-round threat of drowning for children in our homes. This threat comes from such common household areas as the bathtub, toilet, fountains, ponds, and buckets (even plastic dishpans) used for cleaning. Also, there is great threat in the possibility of infants/toddlers in walkers tipping into puddles of water if left in the yard unsupervised.

There once was a little boy who was left to play in his walker, unsupervised in the yard. When the wheels of the walker slipped into a planter, the wheels sank in the mud. There he sat, tipped over and crying - yet thankfully with his head out of the mud and water - until Mom came to rescue him. One can only shudder at the thought of what would have happened to him if the mud had been a little more soggy, or the water just a little deeper.

No one wants to have to live with the feeling that such a preventable tragedy took the promising life of an innocent child - someone they love with all their heart and soul. As a former R.N. and current Child Safety Instructor said, "No one wants to live with that guilt for the rest of their lives - no one"

Please folks - parents and child care providers alike - take the time to make certain that everyone discusses and knows the rules of water safety... a child's life depends upon it.

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Any questions or comments? E-mail Christine Tipton