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Parents Urged to Keep Children Within Arms’ Reach Near Water

In Canada, drowning is the number one cause of unintentional injury deaths among children 1-4 years of age, and the second leading cause of preventable death for children under 10 years. 

Toddlers are at high risk because they are mobile, curious and require constant, close supervision by an adult. Most toddler drownings occur when children are alone, even for “a moment” and fall in while playing near water.

Drowning can happen in as little as 10 seconds. Parents and caregivers must be within arms’ reach of their children whenever they are near water – in the backyard, at the beach, and in the bathroom. Simple things like reading or checking your phone can easily result in a lapse in attentiveness long enough for a child to get into trouble.

Some things to remember to help keep little ones safe are:

Restrict and control access to water for children – make sure they can’t get to the water without you. Many toddlers drown because they unexpectedly gained access to the water – the backyard pool, the lake or the bathtub. Typically, human error leads to a gate or door being left open or a lock unsecured.

If you can’t eliminate the water hazard, restrict access to it by fencing off natural or man-made bodies of water on your property and ensure that gates are self-closing and self-latching. Drain bathtubs when not in use, and empty unattended wading pools and buckets of water and turn them over. Layers of protection will reduce the chance of human error.

Stay tubside until the water has fully drained. Most bathtub drownings occur because children are left alone for “just for a moment” – so parents and caregivers should stay within arms’ reach around water even inside the home.

Put toddlers in a lifejacket. As an extra layer of protection, put toddlers in a lifejacket when they are near water. Lifejackets do not replace attentive supervision but will keep a toddler at the surface, which may give parents the seconds they need to save a life.

Designate a backyard pool “lifeguard”. An adult should always supervise children using a pool – in-ground, above-ground or wading pool. If one adult must be absent for a moment, designate a replacement or close the pool until someone can assume supervisory duties.

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