The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirms six children under the age of 5 have died in pool drownings in Virginia since Memorial Day.
Knowing who is watching your child every moment they are near water, being sure the pool has safety alarms or barriers and learning CPR – these are just a few of the ways parents and caregivers can prevent tragedy.
“Our safety team at CHoR urges families – and any adults caring for children – to be extra vigilant when it comes to kids and water safety,” said Corri Miller-Hobbs, RN, program coordinator for Safe Kids Virginia at CHoR, part of our Level I pediatric trauma center. “The latest data on drowning deaths underscores how important this is.”
Tips for keeping children safe in and around water
Drowning is the leading cause of death among preventable injuries for kids ages 1-4. Whether in a pool or open water (lakes, rivers, oceans), these tips from Safe Kids Virginia can help prevent drowning.
- Make sure an adult who's a good swimmer always watches kids WITHOUT DISTRACTIONS. Keep young kids within arm's reach and make sure older kids swim with a partner every time.
- Make sure any pools your child will be near have gates and safety alarms.
- Don't depend on water wings or other flotation devices—these can create a false sense of safety for the child and caregivers. (Children can become reliant on the devices and they encourage the child to remain upright rather than horizonal in the water, which can inhibit their ability to learn to swim properly.)
- Teach children how to swim by enrolling them in swim lessons when they are ready.
- Make sure kids learn these five water survival skills and are able to:
- Jump into water over their head and return to the surface
- Float or tread water for at least a minute
- Turn around in the water and orient to find a way out
- Combine breathing and forward movement to swim 25 yards
- Exit the water (without the use of a ladder in a pool)
Even the strongest swimmers should never swim alone. Teach children not to go in or near water without an adult present as the designated “water watcher.” For little ones, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends “touch supervision,” which means staying within arm’s reach of the child when in or around water.
It’s also important to note that if a child is missing, especially during hot summer months, check water sources first and vehicles and trunks second.