The swim season is nearly here again in Houston. Winter temperatures are about gone and before long it will be warm and humid here in our great city. This time of the year always reminds me to think about my children and water safety.
Children love to swim! That is why so many of us in the Houston-Galveston area have installed swimming pools at our homes. These pools might be built-in, above-ground, or they might just be low-cost plastic swimming pools. It doesn’t matter… if we have children, we need to be concerned about their safety around these pools of water.
There are more than 236,000 drowning deaths per year. For children ages 5 – 14 , in the United States, drowning is the second leading cause of childhood death. For children 4 years old and younger, it is the leading cause.
Despite these horrible numbers, there is a lot of information out there about drowning that is simply wrong. Or, only partially true. Let us talk about some of these folk tales.
Folk Tale #1 My Child Would Yell If They Were Drowning
Wrong!!! This is probably simply not true. This mostly happens only in movies. In fact, the younger your child is, the less likely they are to make noise. When a child is drowning, they will struggle to catch their breath. They don’t want to draw attention to themselves and their problem. And, drowning occurs so quickly. Children can drown quickly and silently in 20 seconds!
Folk Tale #2 We Have Inflatable Floaties in the Pool So Drowning Won’t Happen
I hear this story all the time… don’t believe it for even a part of a second!
I believe that having floaties in and around the pool are more of a danger than a help. Sure, they may help a child keep their head above water if they are holding on to it. However, floaties are more of a danger because they give both the parents and the children a false sense of security.
If the floaties are not firmly and properly attached, a child can lose their grip on a floatie. Or, the floatie could deflate or pop. The child could quickly drown.
The only inflatable that a child should wear, and they should always wear one if they are anywhere near water, is a U.S. Coastguard approved life vest. These should always be firmly strapped on and belted!
Folk Tale #3 Lifeguards Are Nearby… My Child Will Always Be Safe
Have you read my blog story “Can You Spot this Kid Drowning”. I published it several months ago in this website.
Lifeguards have their hands full! They are watching many, many children and adults, too. It only takes 60 seconds for an adult to drown. It takes a child only 20 seconds!
Folk Tale #4 My Kids Only Swim In Shallow Water. They Are Safe
Think again! Kids can drown in just inches of water. There are not a lot of shallow water drownings on a yearly basis. However, it does happen. Nearly in all of these accidents was the lack of adult supervision. If your children are in or near water, keep them at arm’s length.
Folk Tale #5 Our Kids Are Safe Because We Have A Pool Fence
I commend you if you have any sort of swimming pool and you have a pool fence. You have gone a long ways towards keeping your children safe along with other small children. However, don’t assume you have done everything to prevent all drownings. Your pool is still a risk.
First off… how safe of a swimming pool fence have you installed? Is it at least 4 feet high? Does the fence go all the way around the swimming pool? Is there a self-closing gate? Is it self-locking? Can children reach the lock? Does it swing inwards towards the pool? Is there any way children can climb over the fence?
There are a lot of things that go into making a pool safe with a really safe, pool fence. If you don’t have a really safe pool fence, yet, your family really needs to get one. If you already have a pool, the sooner, the better!
At this point, I would like to say that my husband owns a pool fence company here in Houston and if you need one, he could probably help you. He got into the business nearly 20 years ago when we almost lost our son in a drowning accident. Check out his website and call him!
The important thing for you to remember even if you do own a pool fence is that adult supervision is still required. If you have children anywhere near the swimming pool, an adult should be within arms-reach of all of those children at all time. NO exceptions!
Folk Tale #6 My Child Has Had Swimming Lessons and Knows How to Swim
This is a big error that a lot of parents make. There is no question about it… teaching your child to swim goes a long, long way towards preventing a drowning. Even more importantly is to teach your child to float.
However, there is a lot more to water safety than just learning to swim and/or float. That is one big reason why using a professionally trained swim instructor to teach your children to swim and float is so valuable. They will also teach your children many more water safety rules and skills.
Interestingly, the World Congress on Drowning estimates that nearly 66% of the more than 236,000 people per year that drown would say that they knew how to swim. There is much more to swimming than simply kicking your feet and paddling your arms.
Let Life Saver Survivor Swim School Help You
We’ve been training young children not only how to swim and float, but many more water safety skills and rules for nearly 20 years, now! We are located in The Woodlands in Houston, Texas. If you have questions, give me a call. My name is Bonnie and I can be reached by dialing (832) 366-3008. Or, you can email me.