Drowning: Another Parental Fear

Did you know that drowning is the second leading cause of accidental injury-related death in children under the age of 14?

Did you know that nine out of 10 children who drown were being supervised by one or more adults?

This past weekend alone there were more than a handful of drownings, five of which were children, across the United States. 

There are a ton of incredibly scary drowning facts available yet, kids are still drowning every single day, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

When the opened on Memorial Day weekend, it was little I thought about as I watched over Teddy, my youngest, in the kiddie pool. It has been a year since Joanie, 3, decided to follow some big girls into the larger pool at and drowned. It has been a year since I found out that 18 seconds is all it really takes.

That is what the doctor at Bryn Mawr Hospital told Joanie's mother: A child Joanie's size could drown in as little as 18 seconds.

Talk about fear.

As I write this, there is a recovery team in Atlantic City searching for 10-year-old Khitan Devine who went missing after being caught in a riptide by the jetties.He was not swimming alone. He had two parents, and a sister swimming with him, but the lifeguards were off duty.

There is from Wayne, a 12-year-old boy, who decided to play in a storm swelled creek last July with his buddies. Logan was under water for 10 minutes and he survived thanks to a doctor who just happened to be in the right place, at the right time. Logan has had a horribly rough year, and continues to battle for his brain, which took the brunt of the trauma.

And, just recently, a at his family's backyard pool during the family's fourth-grade graduation pool party.

Drowning, or near drowning, has to be one of our biggest fears as parents, especially when you hear about these stories. A 3-year-old likes to run, say no and hide from their parents. A 10-year-old swimming with his family, with a lifeguard or not, is going to feel safe. A 12-year-old, well, 12-year-olds know everything. Some things, you just can't teach or prevent.

It's not as simple as putting on child locks or teaching our kids not to talk to strangers. In the end, it's our responsibility to ensure their safety in the water. As adults, it's our job to give our children our undivided attention when in the water.

Except, sometimes we can't. We have things that get in the way.

In my case, my son Peter, 8, has passed the swim test at the pool, and yet I still find myself scanning the pool area, every few minutes, looking for him to make sure he is okay.

That time is spent not watching Teddy, who hasn't passed the test yet. Sometimes I take my eyes off Teddy because my phone will ring or I'll find myself talking to a friend. The pool has lifeguards, I have friends with me and their kids are playing with Teddy, and Teddy's "this" close to passing his swim test. In theory, Teddy should be safe for me to look away for a few seconds.

Well, I'm obviously in the wrong. Eighteen seconds. That's all it takes.

Here are some helpful facts & tips I found on the USA Swimming website about drowning:

• Drowning is silent. You won't hear kids scream for help because their number one priority is to breathe.
• The majority of drownings and near-drownings happen in swimming pools.
• Children can drown in as little as one inch of water. They can drown in baby pools, bathtubs, toilets, buckets, etc.
• A child will lose consciousness after 2 minutes of submersion. Irreversible brain damage happens after four to six minutes submerged.
• The majority of all children who need CPR will either die or will have a severe brain injury.
• If you have a pool, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends a locked, alarmed fence surround your pool so that children will not have access. They also recommend always having a phone nearby so you can make an emergency phone call. 
• If your child is missing, and you own a pool, check the pool first before the rest of the house or yard. Time is precious when it comes to drowning.
• If someone is drowning, and you can't swim–don't go in after them.  Throw them something or grab for them. 
• And of course, enroll your children in swim lessons. The earlier they are introduced to water safety and swimming, the better.