My 7 year old boy, Wyatt, recently received an invitation to one of his classmates birthday party... ...a pool party. Now Wyatt is an excellent swimmer. He’s been in lessons since he was 4 months old and can easily swim for hours without much effort. I know and trust the parents that were hosting the party. Seems like a no brainer. A fun time. So why didn’t I allow Wyatt to go to the party?
There are three steps of aquatic safety that that all parents should follow:
1) ALWAYS watch your children around the water. Your eyes are your first line of defense.
2) Safety Precautions - all home pools should have child proof safety gates and/or door alarms installed and any time there are children present a responsible, undistracted adult should be pool side.
3) Swim Lessons - all children who are swimming without a responsible adult IN the water should be able to safely reach the side of the pool on their own if they jump in fall off of a raft, or simply fall off of the steps without the help of floaties or a lifejacket.
When I called the hosts of the party I found out that there would be 12 kids, most of whom have not had swim lessons. There would be no lifeguard and parents were encouraged to drop their children off and pick them up later. The hosts (mom and dad) were the only two adults that would be there and dad would be Barbecuing AND watching the kids, while mom ran the party. My first thought was to offer to stay and lifeguard. When I called the hosts of the party they assured me that they would be watching the kids and that I did not need to worry.
According to recent CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) statistics “Children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates. In 2007, among children 1 to 4 years old who died from an unintentional injury, almost 30% died from drowning. Fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years.” Safe Kids, www.safekids.com, recent statistics show that 63% of all drownings (age 1-4) happen by a child entering the pool through an open or unlatched gate and 75 % of all drownings (ages 1-4) happen when one or both parents are home!
I wish I could say I was more outspoken than I was, and that I recited these statistics to the parents in charge of the party but I didn’t. Wyatt did not attend the party but 10 kids did (one other parent also declined because there was not going to be a lifeguard). Unfortunately, two children at the party had near drowning experiences. One 7 year old girl slipped out of her floaties and another child had to help her to the side but not after drinking enough water to make her throw up a few times. Her parents were called and she left the party early. The other child was their own son. He was swimming underwater and when he came up for air, he found himself trapped under a raft that had three other children sitting on it. His mom, one of the hosts of the party, just happened to be coming outside with a tray of snacks when she witnessed this and jumped into the pool to save him.
No method of safety is fool proof. Even declining the invitation to the party does not assure Wyatt’s safety. We are around water all of the time and don’t even realize it. Whether it is an unmonitored pool, a lake, river, or beach, or just a bathtub, we cannot avoid water all together. So why not be safe? Why not follow the three steps outlined earlier in this article?
For more statistics and safety measures please visit the following sites:
