Every year about 43,000 people are injured in and around swimming pools and more than 900 people drown in home or public pools. Half of the pool fatalities occur in the yards of single-family homes.

Despite a 40% decline since 1987, drowning is still the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death to children between 1 and 14, taking more than 900 live's every year. For every child who drowns, four more are hospitalized for near-drowning. For every hospital admission, approximately four children are treated in emergency rooms.

Knowledge is a powerful tool for combating these tragedies. Knowing how and where children drown, as well as the concrete steps you can take to avoid danger, may make a life or death difference for your family.

To help kids stay safe in and around water, Splash Into Safety and focus on four water safety tips for parents:

1. SUPERVISION - Designate a responsible adult to actively supervise kids around water.
2. ENVIRONMENT - Ensure safe swimming environments by installing multiple layers of protection around pools and equipping all water recreation sites with appropriate sinage and emergancy equipment.
3. GEAR - Make sure the right safety gear is always used.
4. EDUCATION - Teach children to swim and educate them about water safety.

Protecting Your Family

A child should never be unsupervised in or near water, even shallow wading pools. Devices(such as bath tub seats or water wings) can not gbe relied upon to keep them afloat and alive. Remeber, children can drown in as little as one inch of water and it can happen in no time at all.

Other steps you can take to protect your children:

• Eliminate potential hazards.
• Empty all buckets, containers and wading pools immediantly after using them. Store them upside down out of children's reach.
• Keep toilet lids shut and use toilet locks.
• Pay attention to open water. Be aware of undercurrents, changing waves and undertows when at the ocean or lake.
• Don't let children dive into water unless they have learned proper diving techniques, and adult is present and the depth of the pool in greater than nine feet.
• Children with marginal mobility should not be left unattended in a tub or other body of water regardless of age or presumed ability.

Why Kids Are At Risk

Most accidents occure in residential swimming pools. More than half take place in the child's home pool, and a third occure at the homes of friends, neighbors and relatives. However, it is important to know that children can drown in as little as one inch of water. This puts them at rish of drowning in wading pools, bathtubs, buckets, diaper pails, toilets, spas,a dn hot tubs.

Childhood drownings and near-drownings can happen int he matter od seconds. They typically occur when a child is left unattended during a brief lapse in supervision.

Other Risk Factors

• The majority of children who drown in swimming pools were last sees in the home, had been out of site for less then five mintues and were in the care of one or both of the parents at the time of the drowning.
• In-ground swimming pools without four sided isolation fencing are 60% more likely to be involved in drowning accidents than those with four-sided isolation fencing.
• Accidents tend to occur on weekends (40%) and between the months of May and August (62%).
• Older children are more likely to drown in open water sites such as lakes, rivers and oceans.
• Death Rates from drowning and higher in the country than in the cities or suburbs, in part due to decreased access to emergency medical care.

Plan Ahead

• Children should learn how to swim. Enrol 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 13 should leard infant and cild CPR.
• Know which of your children'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 five feet high, equipped with self closing and sef latching gates around home swimming pools.
• Keep rescue equipment, a telephone and emergency numbers near the pool.
• Pool alarms and pool covers offer and extre layer of protection. However, do not rely on them to keep your child safe. They should be used in conjunction with fencintg and constant supervision.

Teach Safety

Swimming lesson are improtant but they do not make your child "drown proof". Children need to learn other water safety lessons, as well.

• Always wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved personal safety device oround oceans, rivers, lakes or when participating in water sports.
• Always swim with a buddy. Swimming alone is very dangerous.
• Know how to use rescue equipment and where emergency numbers are located.

Links

• http://usa.safekids.org/
• http://www.aap.org/FAMILY/TIPPPOOL.HTM
• http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/tips/healthtips/safetywater.html