Follow water safety guidelines to prevent drowning

Drowning fatalities among children in the summertime warrant water safety awareness. A Baylor College of Medicine emergency physician explains that water safety must be practiced all year long, as drowning is silent, quick and can occur even in shallow waters.

“All kids should be supervised, regardless of swimming ability. Even the best swimmers can drown in adverse climate and dangerous situations,” said Dr. Rohit Shenoi, professor of pediatric emergency medicine at Baylor.

Parents must provide multiple layers of protection to their children when around water, such as environmental safety precautions, child swimming education, adult supervision and emergency preparedness. Backyards with a pool or hot tub should be enclosed by a four-sided fence with self-latching closure that isolates the pool area from the house and yard. The fence should be non-climbable standing at least 4-feet tall with minimal to no gaps. The gate should open outwards, and the latch should be at least 54 inches above the bottom of the gate. Above-ground pools also require fences. 

Assess potential water hazards before allowing your child to swim. Parents and guardians must provide close, constant, attentive and competent supervision of their child while in and around the water. Never assume another parent, lifeguard or adult is watching your child, so watch them constantly around the water. Shenoi emphasizes the importance of touch supervision: the child must be within touching distance so you can respond quickly. Competent supervision means having the ability to respond to a drowning child. CPR certification is important for parents to save a drowning child. Supervisors must know how to swim to avoid being a secondary casualty. 

“Children and family members should have fun in the pool, but if the child doesn’t know how to swim, you have to be close enough to respond to the child on short notice,” he said. “Don’t get distracted with your cellphone or chatting with others.” 

Wearing a U.S. coastguard-approved lifejacket is crucial, especially around natural waters and boating. Everyone should wear a lifejacket on a boat, including teenagers and adults who can swim. There is a false notion of safety when a child wears a flotation device near and in the water, such as inflatable flotation sleeves on the arms. These are not as protective a lifejacket, which are the only appropriate flotation device to prevent drowning, especially in lakes, oceans and rivers.  

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children start swim lessons any time after their first birthday. Water classes for young children up to 3 years old entail water acclimation, readiness and safety, bubble blowing and back floating. Children are not coordinated enough developmentally to truly swim until 4 or 5 years old, but earlier classes help them gain familiarity with the water. At around age 4 or 5, they start to learn about water safety, survival skills and basic swim concepts. 

“The basic requirement for swimming is if someone falls in the water, they should be able to surface, tread water, float, turn around, swim some distance (25 yards) and exit the water,” Shenoi said. “A child needs to achieve some sort of developmental ability to propel themselves forward and take action in the water.” 

If a child is drowning, know how to respond by retrieving them from the water and checking if they are breathing and have a pulse. A bystander should call 911 while the supervisor performs CPR immediately. The earlier the rescue, the better. 

Although drowning seems to be more common among young children, teenage and adult swimmers also must take precaution when near bodies of water or in the bathtub. Teenagers are at high risk from drowning as they may engage in risky behavior and/or overestimate their swimming ability. Parents must continue the conversation about risk-taking behavior and what those risks entail, as well as making sure their kids are in a safe environment with adult supervision.

Water safety is crucial around bodies of water, but also inside the home. A child can drown in an inch of water, so it is essential to child-proof the home. 

• Drain bathtubs and don’t be distracted while your child is bathing (put the phone away).
• Close and childproof toilet seats.
• Empty buckets of water so children do not fall into them headfirst.
• Empty inflatable pools.

Shenoi emphasizes that dry drowning is an inaccurate term and aims to keep the discourse going about it. Drowning is either fatal or nonfatal, and cases of “dry drowning” have all had medical diagnoses. Learn more about the misuse of the term dry drowning. 

“A caregiver must know how to respond to a drowning incident. Pay attention to your child, avoid distraction, know how to swim and take a CPR or water safety course to prevent a drowning,” Shenoi said.