Children
need better supervision around water National
Safe Kids Week is May 1 to 8.
Even children
who are under supervision are at risk for drowning, according to
a study from the National
SAFE KIDS Campaign.
In the study,
researchers looked at the drowning deaths of 496 children between
2000 and 2001. Researchers also commissioned national surveys of
parents of children ages 14 and younger, and children between ages
8 and 12, to determine knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding
water safety.
Of the children
who drowned, researchers found that 88 percent were under adult
supervision. Supervision was defined as being in the care of another
individual, although not necessarily in their direct line of sight.
The study also
found that:
More than
half (55 percent) of parents surveyed said there are circumstances
where it is OK for a child to swim unsupervised.
Parents often
engaged in distracting behaviors when supervising their children.
These included talking to others, reading, eating and talking
on the telephone.
Sixty-one
percent of parents who owned pools or spas said they did not have
isolation fencing around them, and 43 percent did not have a self-closing
and self-latching gate.
Seventy-four
percent of the drowning victims included in the study did not
know how to swim.
"Adults
need to actively supervise children around water. This means watching
and listening at all times and staying close enough to intervene
in an emergency," said Martin Eichelberger, M.D., CEO of the
National SAFE KIDS Campaign.
Parents and
caregivers can take the following steps to help keep kids safe near
water:
Take turns
being the "water watcher" whose only job is to constantly
observe children who are swimming or playing near the water.
Install and
properly use four-sided isolation fencing around pools and spas.
This step could help prevent up to 90 percent of residential pool
drownings.
Make sure
all watercraft passengers wear properly fitted life vests.
Enroll children
in swimming lessons with a certified instructor by age 8.
