Every Sunday, we will share a story of a non-fatal drowning, discuss where things went wrong, and give some pointers on how to prevent it from happening to the people you love. Thankfully, these stories have happy endings for those involved, but sadly, we lose too many people to drowning every year. We hope examining these real-life stories help put the dangers of water into perspective and help you introduce various principles of water safety to your family!
Today’s story discusses a rescue during a young baby’s bath time. Although parents and grandparents were home, a small lapse in supervision led to the drowning of a 9month old girl who is thankfully alive today due to an officer’s quick thinking and CPR.
Just like during swim time, children in any body of water should never be left unsupervised. This includes bath time. While this may be an enticing time to get a moment to yourself, or quickly accomplish a small errand, walking away for even a minute can lead to a disaster resulting in brain damage or death. Sadly, bath time drownings are too popular. Due to not having full control of their body yet for younger babies or due to an injury sustained from falling, heading their head, and blacking out, children may not be able to get back up if they slip under water. Always make sure to drain water as soon as bath time is over and remove all toys from the tub to reduce the possibility of a child coming back in and being attracted to the water. Let’s all take on the responsibility of preventing child drowning during bath time.
Supervise children in the water, even at bath time. Have fun, be safe, and always supervise!
