Now that the warmer weather has officially arrived, we’ve entered the busiest swimming season of the year. After all, there is nothing like taking a dip in the pool to cool down on a hot summer day. If you have children, you’re probably planning on taking them swimming several times this year, which means you have to be extra careful about drowning accidents.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Every day about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 and younger.” The CDC goes on to say that drowning is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. Certainly, you don’t want a member of your family to become a statistic.
If your child comes close to drowning, don’t forgo medical attention. The website, healthychildren.org, powered by the American Academy of Pediatrics says, “Any child who has come close to drowning should be given a complete medical examination, even if she seems all right.”
The site goes on to say that if the child stopped breathing, or if they lost consciousness, or if they inhaled any water, they should be under close medical observation for a minimum of 24 hours to ensure there was no damage to their nervous or respiratory system.
Safety Tips to Prevent Drowning Accidents
Drowning is preventable; here are some things you can do to reduce the chance of a drowning accident under your watch:
- Get your child formal swimming lessons.
- Aside from pools, be aware of other small bodies of water that your child may encounter, such as bathtubs, ponds, water fountains, ditches, and even buckets.
- Even if your young child is swimming in a small toddler pool, don’t leave them unattended, not even for two minutes.
- Do not let your child use an inflatable pool toy in place of a life jacket.
- Do not allow your child to dive into the shallow end of a pool.
- If a pool has a pool cover, make sure it’s fully removed before your child goes swimming.
- Be sure to have a safety ring with a rope next to the pool whenever the pool is in use.
- Small children can easily be overheated in hot tubs; do not let young children swim in these.
- Whenever your child rides in a boat, make sure he or she wears a lifejacket.
- Do not drink alcohol while you are swimming, or when you are supervising children who are swimming.
- When watching children in the water, eliminate all potential distractions, such as texting on a cellphone, talking on the phone, reading, or working on a laptop.
- Don’t run into the house to go handle a few chores while your children are swimming.
Even if you aren’t a parent, knowing this information may help you save someone else’s child, especially if their caregivers are not watching them closely. If someone you love has been injured in a drowning accident on public or private property, we urge you to contact our firm to schedule a free consultation with a Columbia, SC personal injury attorney!