Water Safety For Kids

Air Date: 5/3/2004

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The following safety tips and facts are provided by the National Safe Kids Campaign

Protecting Your Family

• A child should never be unsupervised in or near water, even shallow wading pools.
• Devices (such as bathtub seats or water wings) can not be relied upon to keep them afloat and alive.
• Children can drown in as little as 1 inch of water — and it can happen in no time at all.

Water Facts Provided by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign

• Drowning is still the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children ages 14 and under, taking nearly 1,000 children’s lives each year.
• Most drownings and near-drownings occur in residential swimming pools.
• More than half of drownings take place at the child’s home pool and one third occur at the homes of friends.
• In-ground swimming pools without complete four sided isolation
• The majority of children who drown in swimming pools were last seen in the home, had been out of sight for less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning.
• In-ground swimming pools without complete four-sided isolation fencing are 60 percent more likely to be involved in drownings than those with four-sided isolation fencing.
• Drownings and near-drownings tend to occur on the weekend (40 percent) and between the months of May and August (66 percent).
• Older children are more likely to drown in open water sites, such as lakes, rivers and oceans.
• Death rates from drowning are higher in the country than in cities and suburbs, in part due to decreased access to emergency medical care.

Eliminate Potential Hazards

• Empty all buckets, containers and wading pools immediately after use. Store them upside-down and out of children’s reach.
• Keep toilet lids shut and use toilet locks.
• Pay attention to open water. Be aware of undercurrents and changing waves and undertows when at the ocean or lake.
• Do not let children dive into water unless the child has learned proper diving techniques, an adult is present and the depth of the water is greater than 9 feet.
• Children with marginal mobility should not be left unattended in a tub or other body of water regardless of age or presumed ability.

Pool Drains

• The National SAFE KIDS Campaign recommends that parents always supervise children around water and install fencing that completely surrounds all pools, spas, whirlpools and hot tubs. Teach children never to go near a pool drain with or without a cover, and to pin up long hair when in water.
• Install multiple drains in all pools, spas, whirlpools and hot tubs. This minimizes the suction of any one drain, reducing risk of death or injury

Plan Ahead

• Children should learn to swim. Enroll them in swimming lessons taught by qualified instructors when they are ready, usually after age 4. If you don’t know how to swim, enroll with your kids!
• Adults and kids over age 13 should learn infant and child CPR.
• Know which of your child’s friends and neighbors have pools. Make sure your child will be supervised by an adult while visiting.
• Install four-sided isolation fencing at least 5 feet high, equipped with self-closing and self-latching gates, around home swimming pools.
• Keep rescue equipment, a telephone and emergency numbers by the pool.
• Pool alarms and pool covers can offer an extra layer of protection. However, do not rely on them to keep your kids safe; they should be used in conjunction with fencing and constant supervision.

REMSA Water Watcher Program

REMSA and the SAFE KIDS Washoe County will once again launch a special water safety program called, “Water Watcher Program” in 2004. The goal of the program is to increase adult supervision of children ages 14 and younger around bodies of water and provides the designated adult in charge, accessible tools with quick safety tips to follow when they spot a child in trouble in a pool, lake or other body of water.

The purpose of the Water Watcher Program is to provide the adult in charge with useful tools to notify others a child is in trouble. The tools include a whistle to create noise and capture other’s attention, and a card with four quick tips of what to do in case of a water emergency. The Water Watcher Program tips include:

1. Yell for help and get the child out of the water
2. Call 9-1-1 immediately for assistance
3. Begin CPR if you are trained
4. If you are not trained in CPR, follow the instructions from the REMSA dispatcher until paramedics arrive

REMSA and the SAFE KIDS Washoe County program encourage parents to help keep children safe by picking up a Water Watcher whistle and a safety card at one of the following locations:

• Washoe County Health Department WIC front desk –1001 East Ninth Street
• Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center Arlington Street lobby front desk – 235 West Sixth and Arlington Avenue
• Saint Mary’s Sun Valley Clinic front desk- 5295 Sun Valley Boulevard
• Saint Mary’s Nell J Redfield Clinic front desk – 3915 Neil Road
• Saint Mary’s Galena Urgent Care front desk – 18653 Wedge Parkway
• Saint Mary’s Health and Wellness front desk- 745 West Moana Lane, Suite 100
• Saint Mary’s Family Walk In Center front desk- 6580 South Virginia Street
• Washoe Health Resource Center front desk – Located on the first floor of Washoe Professional Center, 75 Pringle Way, adjacent to Washoe Medical Center
• Northern Nevada Medical Center lobby gift shop – 2375 East Prater Way

450 Edison Way Reno, Nevada 89502 (775)858-5700 Fax (775)858-5720