Drowning is an all too common cause of death and injury to children. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, drowning is the leading cause of death in children 12-23 months, and the second leading cause of death for children 1 –19 years of age.
The circumstances of drowning change with a child’s age. Most infant drownings happen in the home with bathtubs and buckets being to blame 75% of the time. Older children tend to drown in pools, rivers, and lakes. Multiple studies indicate short lapses in adult supervision (answering a phone, or taking care of another child) are often involved in a childhood drowning. Alcohol and or substance use either by persons supervising young children or by teen swimmers has been indicated often in drowning events. Overestimating a child’s ability to swim has also been shown to be associated with risk of death.
Prevention of drowning takes multiple steps. Supervision is the first step and is key to keeping our children safe. When children are around water there needs to be an adult who is sober and whose only responsibility is to supervise the children. Swimming alone is never a good idea, even for teens that are good swimmers. Buckets and temporary pools should be empty and placed where they cannot refill with rainwater. Never leave children alone in or near water, even for a minute or two. Children with a seizure disorder should not bathe alone. They may shower alone if old enough.
Home pools require extra precautions. Fencing is an important first step in preventing drowning in home pools. Pool fences should be four-sided and not connected to the house. They should be self-closing and self-latching, at least 4 feet high, with openings under the fence and between uprights no more the 4 inches. Iron bar fences allow adults to visualize the pool and are difficult to climb. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has come out with guidelines for pool fencing, which can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/pool.pdf .
Pool alarms and rigid pool covers can be used to help prevent drowning in home pools but should be used in concert with pool fencing. Some soft pool covers can make drowning more likely. Children often try to walk on them and become entangled and not visible to rescuers. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has evaluated pool covers and alarms, and this information can be found at the following site: http://www.cpsc.gov/library/alarm.pdf
The Water Watcher program is a program that educates parents on how to supervise children during water play. This is a program sponsored by the Safe Kids organization. The local health department has become involved with this program, and more information can be found at the following sites: http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/health/educat/safekids/pdf/poolsafe.pdf and www.safekidsnebraska.org.
We hope this information has been helpful. If you have any safety questions you may always ask one of the Complete Children’s Health Medical staff.
References:
The American Academy of Pediatrics has been a strong advocate in drowning prevention. A large portion of this article is taken from an AAP technical report by Dr. R. Brenner. A copy of this article can be found at: http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;112/2/440.pdf.