“Every parent should know how and when to do CPR so they can act immediately until help arrives, instead of waiting for emergency responders to get there,” Lau says.Just something I'd like to mention to all of you if you didn't know already! If the unthinkable happens and a child is drowning, knowing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can make the difference between a near-drowning and death. These mermaid tails greatly limit their mobility in the water and can be really dangerous.” Learn CPR “But it’s not the best idea to put your child in a pool with their legs bound together and no way to stand. One relatively new trend that can be concerning is kids wearing mermaid tails to play in the water. She also says to drain small wading pools and place them out of reach of small children when not in use. Lau advises parents not to leave toys in the pool area after swim time is over. An important part of water-related summer safety is limiting temptation. Ideally, Lau says, the fence should be four-sided and separate the pool from the house and back yard, so children can’t access the pool directly from the home. Pennsylvania has requirements for fencing around private pools, including self-closing and self-latching gates. “Avoid blues or greens that will blend in with the water.” Get (or avoid) certain gear Lau also advises that children wear bright colored swimsuits, like orange or yellow, to make them more visible. “Look after your own for added safety.” Buy bright suits “The lifeguard’s there watching everyone’s kids,” Lau says. “It’s easy to miss.”Įven when there’s a lifeguard on duty, parents should still watch their children. Tragically, we’ve seen how a distracted parent has missed that their child was in distress and drowning just a few feet away.” Children drown quickly, often when they are vertical in the water with their head tipped back, Lau explains. “But when everyone’s watching, no one is. “Parents may have a false sense of security that there are all these moms and dads around so they feel like everyone’s watching the kids,” she says. Learning to swim makes drowning less likely, but neither lessons nor flotation devices should replace close, dedicated supervision, Lau says. “Oceans, creeks, or lakes can have uneven surfaces, unpredictable depths, waves, and currents that make swimming much more challenging,” she says. Lau recommends pools rather than open water for young or inexperienced swimmers. “The goal is to get young children comfortable in the water,” Lau says, “and start building their swim-readiness skills.” The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting lessons between the ages of one and four, depending upon when the child is developmentally ready. Swim lessons are essential for summer safety-the earlier, the better. “Explain to them, ‘You know how you don’t cross the street without a grown-up? You shouldn’t go in or near water without a grown-up, either,'” she says. For that reason, Lau recommends teaching young children that water can be dangerous-just like cars. Sometimes, parents may not be aware of a drowning risk, such as a neighbor’s yard where there’s a small fishpond. Infants and young children should always be supervised and within an arm’s reach of their caretaker during bath time. “We’ve seen cases where the briefest distractions have led to tragedy,” Lau says. Two-thirds of drownings among infants under a year old occur in a bathtub. “A child can drown in less than two inches of water,” Lau says. Explain the riskĭrowning can happen wherever there’s water-streams, lakes, and water parks as well as things around the house, like toilets. Lau, manager of the Pediatric Trauma and Injury Prevention Program at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, shares what you should do to ensure your kids’ safety in water this summer. Expert Jen Lau has advice for parents to prevent children from drowning.ĭrowning is often preventable-including incidents where children have drowned right in front of their parents, who never even realized their child was in trouble.
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