Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning is the sixth leading cause of unintentional injury death for people of all ages, and the second leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 14 years. Most of these drownings occur in residential swimming pools and the victims 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.
Supervision by an adult is important to protect young children when they are in the water, whether it’s a pool or bathtub. But when children are not supposed to be in the water, supervision alone isn’t enough. Here are some preventive ideas to minimize this risk.
- Barriers such as pool fencing should be used to help prevent young children from gaining access to the pool area without an adult’s awareness. There is an 83% reduction in the risk of childhood drowning with a four-sided isolation pool fence, compared to three-sided property-lined fencing.
- Participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children aged 1 to 4 years.
- CPR training, because seconds count. CPR performed by bystanders has been shown to improve outcomes in drowning victims. The more quickly intervention occurs, the better chance of saving a life.
- Remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool and surrounding area immediately after use so children are not tempted to enter the pool area unsupervised.
Now is the time to enjoy all the little luxuries of summer, just take the time to prepare for it wisely.
Here at Donald J. Medeiros Insurance our goal is to try to help our viewers by outlining potential exposures and suggest solutions for all insurance needs. Come visit us at www.donmedeirosinsurance.com or give us a call at 508-678-1271. We look forward to hearing from you! If you have a Facebook account, please fan us at http://www.facebook.com/donmedeiros.