Swimming is a favorite activity for kids of all ages. If you have little ones, here are some pool safety tips from the The American Academy of Pediatrics to help keep young kids safe around pools.
With hot and dry summers, many Texans enjoy spending their time cooling off by the pool, lake or beach. However, every day, about 10 people die from unintentional drowning and of these 10, two are children aged 14 or younger according to the CDC. With summer upon us, First Choice ER Executive Medical Director, Dr. Mike Muzzarelli offers 10 tips to staying safe in and around water.
1. Never leave children unattended around any body of water. According to Safekids.org, an adult should be within arm’s reach to provide active supervision.
With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, several will be drawn to all types of water whether it is a cool dip to cool off or just to sit around a pool, lake or river and enjoy the day. Water safety is an important consideration, especially when children are involved. According to information released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Pool Safely campaign on September 13, 2012, there were 137 instances of children younger than 15 drowning in a pool or spa from Memorial Day to Labor Day this year. The data also included an additional 168 children of that age who required emergency treatment for near-fatal accidents in spas or pools during that same period. This information was compiled from media reports, and figures show that 54 of the 137 drowning’s last summer occurred shortly after the child left the side of an adult in their immediate vicinity, and 31 children drowned despite the presence of other people at the pool. This does not count the number of adults and children in other bodies of water, lakes, rivers and oceans. Children under the age of 5 had the highest percentage and required 911 calls for near-drowning incidents.
