Each year, nationwide, studies show 350 children under the age of five drown in swimming pools. A majority of those deaths occur in the summer months. In Florida, drowning happens year round, and is the leading cause of death in children under than age of five.
Sally Kreuscher, a coordinator for Safe Kids at Golisano Children’s Hospital, says it’s important to supervise children when they are in the water. “Having eyes and ears on the kids at all times is important.”
She says it’s important to educate both children and parents on how to be safe around the water. “Kids are quick, so putting those barriers up and having a gate, having a pool fence, swimming lessons and an adult watching the kids,” said Kreuscher.
While children as young as six months old can take swimming lessons, she says it’s still important to teach children to never swim alone. Most drownings or near drownings happen when a child is not being supervised. “When a family is having a gathering, somebody always assumes that somebody else is watching the children when in fact nobody is watching the children,” said Kreuscher. This is why she recommends designating a water watcher to be responsible for watching the children in the water.
Kreuscher says it’s also important for children to wear life jackets as opposed to water wings. “Many of the water wings that people use they can pop or pull off or kids can pull them off themselves.”
When the pool isn’t being used it’s important to put up safety barriers. “We actually provide door alarms to the community, water watcher tags, and at boat and several beaches throughout the community we have life jacket loaner stands,” said Kreuscher. Items families need to keep their kids safe in the water.
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