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Drowning is the second highest cause of unintentional death for children ages 1 to 4 and 10 to 14. Approximately 830 children ages 14 and under die each year due to unintentional drownings, and on average, there are an estimated 3,600 injuries to children after near-drowning incidents each year.
Contrary to the media’s portrayal, drowning is usually quick and silent. A child will lose consciousness two minutes after submersion, with irreversible brain damage occurring within four to six minutes.
Children can drown in a very small amount of water therefore the risks and settings in which drownings occur are vast and as much fun as water can be, it's dangerous no matter where you find it — in a bathtub, pool, bucket, bowl, toilet, sink, puddle, pond, stock tank, fountain, or anywhere it may happen to accumulate.
Drowning & Water-Related Safety Fact Sheet
Home Water Safety
More than half of drownings among infants (under age 1) occur in bathtubs and many of these occur in the absence of adult supervision. Because of their
strong sense of curiosity, lack of coordination and tendency to be top-heavy
infants and toddlers also have a higher risk of drowning in buckets, diaper
pails, toilets, and other places where water may accumulate.
Active supervision is the best way to keep kids safe!
Pool & Hot Tub Safety
In 2003, 285 children died from accidental drowning in a swimming pool. Every year, thousands more are treated in emergency rooms for near-drownings.
Most young children who drown in swimming pools were last seen in the home, had been missing from sight for less than five minutes and were in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning.
Two-thirds of parents have little or no awareness of the risk of entrapment!
One of the most horrific ways for a child to be injured or killed in a pool or hot tub is entrapment.
Entrapment occurs when part of a child's body becomes attached to a drain because of the powerful suction of a pool or hot tub’s filtration system.
It also can occur when a child's hair or swimsuit gets tangled in the drain or on an underwater object, such as a ladder.
Don't be one of the 66 percent of parents who have little or no awareness about entrapment risks. Find out how to protect your children in pools and hot tubs.
All pools pose a risk!
Inflatable, quick-set and wading pools pose the same danger risks as all other pools and precautions should be taken to minimize children's access to them. If you do not plan to drain these types of pools after each use, surround them by fencing with a self-closing gate. Always supervise children in and around pools no matter how deep.
Safe Kids Worldwide offers a free tool to help parents keep kids safe in and around water. By wearing the Water Watcher card you will be reminded to actively supervise the children in your care. Stay where you can see, hear and reach kids in water. Avoid talking on the phone, preparing a meal, reading and other distractions.
Beach Safety
Children ages 5 to 14 most often drown at open-water sites (rivers, lakes and oceans). In fact, 29 percent of drownings involving children ages 5 to 14 occur in open bodies of water.
Lifeguards are not enough!
One in five parents believes that when lifeguards are present, the lifeguard is the main person responsible for supervising children in the water. However, the typical lifeguard-to-swimmer ratio at public swimming areas may be as high as 25 swimmers per lifeguard therefore parents must be responsible for supervising their children in and around water.
Boating Safety
In 2004, 55 percent of children ages 14 and under who drowned in reported boating accidents were not wearing life jackets.
Make your children wear a life jacket!
It is estimated that 85 percent of boating-related drownings could
have been prevented if the victim had been wearing a life jacket.
Set consistent rules and enforce them!
Activities for Kids
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