Charlotte Aquatics

Ten Tips to Prevent Drowning

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional, injury-related death to children ages 1 to 14. Most parents think that they will be alerted by splashing and yelling if their child gets into trouble in the pool. Unfortunately, drowning is usually a silent event and often occurs during a brief lapse in supervision. According to a study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, most young children who drowned in pools were last seen in the home, had been out of sight less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time. Please utilize the following Ten Tips to keep your child safe:

1. Take lessons. Swim lessons for your child and CPR classes for you.

Enroll your child in swim lessons. Children from non-swimming households are eight times more likely to be at-risk of drowning. Take a CPR class. Time is of the essence for drowning victims. Performing CPR before the paramedics arrive can prevent brain damage and mean the difference between life and death.

2. If you have a home pool make sure your pool has four-sided fencing and a self-closing, self-latching gate.

As pool owners we think about putting a fence around our pool to prevent “visitors” from entering. However, we tend to think that our home is the fourth side of the barrier. This puts your children at risk because they can enter the pool area from your home. Make sure your pool has a fence completely around it. If that is not possible, utilize pool and door alarms and make sure you lock your doors with latches that your child cannot open.

3. Never leave a child unattended in a pool, hot tub, or bathtub even for moment. Adult supervision is essential.

4. Keep rescue equipment by the pool and have a phone by the pool to dial 911 in an emergency.

5. Limit access to water sources in the home by installing and using appropriate safety devices (such as door locks and toilet latches) and by emptying and inverting buckets and wading pools immediately after use.

6. Children should always wear appropriately sized U.S. Coast Guard approved PFDs (personal flotation devices) when on boats, in or near open bodies of water or participating in water sports.

7. Educate children about the rules of water safety.

8. When visiting another home, check the site for potential water hazards and always supervise your children.

9. Know the location of the emergency cut-off switch for your hot tub. The single, main drain of a hot tub can cause a child to become entrapped and lead to drowning.

10. If a child is missing, always look in the pool or spa first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability.