The Safety Mom Chronicles

What You Need to Know About Dry Drowning

This week, the news was filled with a report of a 10-year-old boy in South Carolina who died from "dry drowning" - a little known phenomenon in which a person drowns without being in water.  There is a delayed effect - between one hour and twenty four hours - from the time the water reaches the person's lungs.  Every year, about 4,000 American's die from dry drowning. 1,400 of them being children.  It usually happens in people who are swimming for the first time or those who are not good swimmers.  People suffering from asthma are also more at risk. 

I never heard of this before this week and I tend to suspect most people haven't.  But it's important for parents to recognize the symptoms and take them seriously.  The most important signs are extreme fatigue, difficulty in breathing and changes in behavior.  All are the result of reduced oxygen flow to the brain.  If your child has any of these symptoms and he has recently been swimming you should immediately take him to the hospital. 

This is just one more example of the dangers of pools and swimming.  Remind every mom you know that it's critical to always keep an eye on kids when they're in the water. 

Remembering Abigail

Last month 6 year-old Abigail Taylor died.   In June of last year Abigail was injured at the Minneapolis Golf Club when she sat on a wading pool drain.  The powerful suction ripped out part of her intestinal tract and she needed to receive a new small bowel, liver and pancreas.  Unfortunately she suffered setbacks, including a cancerous condition sometimes triggered by organ transplants. 

She did not, however, die in vain.  Her parents, Scott and Katey Taylor, lobbied for tougher regulations to help prevent similar injuries and, in December, President Bush signed a law that bans the manufacture, sale or distribution of drain covers that don't meet anti-entrapment safety standards.  It also incentivizes states to adopt comprehensive pool and spa safety laws including mandating that new pools be completely enclosed by a fence as well as educate pool owners, builders and service companies about drown prevention.

As we are starting to get into warm weather, please take a moment and consider the safety of your pool and every pool that your child might visit: 

• Be sure that there is a fence with a self-closing and self-locking gate completely encircling the pool. 
• Install a pool alarm as well as an alarm on any door or window leading out to the pool.
• Have everyone watching your children certified in CPR and First Aid.
• Keep a cordless phone with you at the pool at all times.

Too many times parents don't consider the safety of public pools or other family's pools.  Before allowing your children to swim at any pool be sure that safety measures are in place and that you feel completely comfortable with the surroundings. 

Drowning Tragedies -- Parents Speak Up!

I've blogged about this before but it's such an important issue I need to get the word out again.  It appears as if a 6 year old boy in Greenwich, CT drowned over the weekend after becoming entrapped in the drain of an in-ground pool.

As parents, summer should be a time to look forward to, not to dread for fear of your child drowning.  And while it's up to us to closely monitor our children when they're in the water, the government must put some standards in place for helping safeguard our children. 

The Pool and Spa Safety Act (HR 1721) sponsored by U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D - Fla.) has beeen reintroduced to Congress.  Last year, it failed by 9 votes -- that's inexcusable.  We need to reach out to our representatives and let them know that our children's safety is a top priority for us and needs to be for them as well.    

Does Congress Really Care About Our Kids?

Last year, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla) introduced legislation to help protect our children around pools.  It failed by nine votes during the last few hours the House of Representatives was in session.  Rep. Wasserman Schultz is now reintroducing the bill.  Entitled The Pool and Spa Safety Act (HR 1721), the legislation would provide grants to states which require all swimming pools and spas to have these layers of protection:

1. Installation of physical barriers (such as a fence) around a pool to prevent children's unattended access.
2.   Mandates pools to be equipped with a suction outlet drain cover which prevents hair and body entanglement.
3.   Requires the installation of a safety vacuum release system, shutting off a pump if it detects a blockage.
4. Public awareness campaign regarding the importance of active supervision of children at or near a pool.

Given the recent spate of drowning in the news, you would think this would be a no-brainer. But what's interesting is that a large percentage of people still don't understand how dangerous a pool can be.  According to a new survey by The Home Safety Council, less than half (49%) of U.S. adults actively supervise children when they are in or near water. There are probably several reasons for this:

• Parents are having their children wear flotation devises which give a false sense of security
• The child has taken swim lessons and/ or knows how to swim so the parents feel he or she no longer needs supervision
• Parents become distracted by friends, other children, the phone or the doorbell

If we as parents don't recognize how dangerous a pool can be, how will congress understand the urgency to pass this legislation?

The good news is that some states are addressing this problem on their own. Most recently, New York state passed a law which requires an alarm be installed on any pool constructed after December, 2006.

At Peek-a-Boo Baby Proofing, we started carrying and installing Baby Guard removable mesh pool fencing after two children drowned in a nearby town.  We felt it was our responsibility as child safety experts to educate parents about the need for layers of safety when it comes to pools. (Perhaps we need to go to Washington and educate our representatives as well!)

With drowning being the second-leading cause of unintentional, injury-related death for children under the age of 5, we as parents need to start recognizing how dangerous a pool can be. Unfortunately the most recent incidents have involved children drowning in a neighbor's pool so it is crucial that everyone have layers of safety for their pool. Let your Congressional representative know that this is a priority to you as a parent and let's all help save some lives!