- Share This Post
- Pin It
- 2
- 9
-
Sparkle (0)
This is a really sobering PSA to write, but I hope it might help someone.
Most child deaths after one year old are due to accidents, and drowning accounts for approximately a quarter of deaths for the one-to-four-year-old range. Put another way, drowning is second only to motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of accidental death for children under the age of five.
Tina from The Making of a Modern Mommy sent out an email with the following link from gCaptain to remind us all of water safety, especially as we enter the summer months (in my hemisphere and latitude, at least). This is chilling to read, but do so anyway and help save a life this summer!
Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
"Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life."
Children (and adults) who are drowning do not exhibit the TV-acculturated signs of distress we tend to look for, such as screaming and thrashing and waving their arms.
Here's what a (real) drowning child (person) looks and sounds like:
- Quiet. Drowning children cannot talk or yell for help, because they are too busy trying desperately to breathe. Talking and screaming are out of the question. If you're in doubt if someone's drowning, ask. If he can answer, he might still be in distress, but he is not yet drowning. If the child doesn't answer, assume the worst and help!
- Immobile. Drowning children do not have strength to swim toward help or wave their arms to get attention. They bob quietly up and down vertically as they struggle to keep their head above water. They use their arms instinctually to push them upwards. The body is very low in the water, with just part of the head showing.
From the article:
"Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck."
Read more signs of drowning at the article on gCaptain.
Children who are drowning can have under a minute before they sink and succumb. Help a drowning child immediately by following these steps, from WikiHow:
- Yell for help, no matter how good a swimmer you are.
- Stay calm, and encourage the child to stay calm as well.
- Try to reach the child from safety (such as a pool deck or boat deck). Lie facedown and use your outstretched arm, a t-shirt, or a tool such as a lifeguard's hook. If you must be in the water yourself, try to hold something strong to anchor yourself, such as a pool ladder, so that the child's frantic grabbing does not push you under, or row in a boat to the child.
- As a last resort, swim to the child. It is very dangerous to attempt to rescue a drowning victim in the water and could result in your own injury or death. Try to bring an assisting device with you if at all possible, such as a life buoy or float to place between you and the child. If you must swim the child back to shore or the side of the pool, approach from behind and slide one or both your arms under her armpit(s) from the back. With both of you more or less on your backs, kick or sidestroke toward shore. Continue speaking in a calm voice to reassure and calm the child. If you have a flotation device, have it against your chest between you and the victim. If the child is clutching frantically at you and inadvertently bringing you under water, swim downwards until she instinctively lets you go, and then try again or seek additional help.
Even near-drowning and secondary drowning can be severely costly in terms of brain damage and other injuries, so follow these safety tips when your children are in or near water:
- Never leave children unattended near or in
