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Little children love to play in the water. Every time they find a puddle of water they run to it, splash water on each other and go crazy. It is so good to see your little one enjoy the little things in life, but sometimes these little things can be quite scary. Water bodies bring along the fear of drowning.
Common Causes of Children Drowning
Some of the common reasons for kids drowning are no adult supervision, pools that are open, children not knowing how to swim etc. Drowning is a serious concern, and it is important for children to be safe around water bodies. By taking all the precautionary methods, you can ma sure that these dangers don’t happen.
How to Prevent a Child from Drowning?
There are a few ways you can do to make sure your child is safe. These precautionary methods are highly important and are the best ways to make sure your child is safe around water.
1. Fencing
Swimming pools that have fencing are always safe as they don’t allow children to get inside without adult supervision. Fencing might not be extremely affordable, but by building a fence between your house and the pool, you are surely going to protect your baby from the risk of drowning.
2. Supervision
When there are water bodies around, it’s most important that your child is accompanied by an adult.
3. Teach children to swim
One of the best ways to keep children safe is to teach them how to swim. This is something that they will totally enjoy and at the same time they will be able to protect themselves from drowning.
4. Keep toys away from the pool
Toys will attract little children towards the pool. So keep them away from the pool so as to not lure your child to the pool.
5. Set alarms
At times it can get difficult for parents to supervise their little children every minute. This can be remedied by installing alarms. These pool alarms are located in near proximity of the pool and act as warning systems, letting you know that your kids are at risk of drowning. Each alarm system works differently; while some use wireless contact sensors, other can sense water displacement and get activated.
Warning Signs that a Child is Drowning
Here are few sings that you need to watch out for as they are signs of a drowning child:
- The child is trying to climb up something like a ladder as they struggle to come up.
- You can notice the child trying to roll over.
- The child is trying to swim in one direction without making headway.
- The child is finding it difficult to see things and is struggling to open his eyes.
- The child is trying to tilt his head back with the mouth open.
- The arms of the child seem to be flailing about uncontrollably.
- When a person is drowning, they will not be able to rub their hair off their face, and so hair falling on someone’s forehead or face is an important sign that will help you identify someone who is drowning.
- Gasping is an important sign that will help you identify a drowning child.
- Glassy eyes are also a sign of distress and will help you identify that someone is drowning
What to Do in Case of a Drowning-Emergency
The first step should be to remove the child from the water. Check if he is still breathing; if not, it is best to do CPR. Also, ask someone to get medical help as soon as possible while you give CPR for the child. First aid for drowning child is something you should be aware of at all times.
How to Perform CPR on a Drowning Child?
When you have rescued a child from drowning, and you realize that he is not breathing or is gasping for air, you need to perform CPR.
- Place the child on the ground or a table on his back.
- Take off his clothes; press their chest with two fingers.
- You have to press the chest up to one and a half inches, about 30 times.
- The rate is 100 times a minute.
- Next, you tilt the head of the baby back and put your mouth over the mouth over the baby and breath in twice, and then you go back to compressing the chest 30 times.
Water Safety Tips
It is important to be aware of a few ways to keep your child safe when there are water bodies around. Here are a few tips.
1. Stay close.
You have to be at an arm’s distance from your child when you are teaching or allowing your child to play in the pool.
2. Learn CPR.
Knowing how to do CPR can come to your aid if/when an emergency arises.
3. Make one person in charge.
If you are at a party and there’re children playing near the pool, one parent can take responsibility for being close to the children.
4. Keep children together.
When there are older children, keep them together as they can help each other or call out for help when someone is drowning.
5. Install fences and barriers.
if you have a pool at home which is easily accessible, fencing is very important.
6. Use life jackets.
If you are going for a boat ride or any other adventure water games, make sure to get a life jacket for your child.
7. Set-up emergency drills.
Make sure to teach everyone in the family or friend-circle the drill when someone is in trouble. When the situation arises, everyone will know what to do if they have been trained earlier.
8. Enjoy with your child.
One thing we miss to do when we are scared is forgotten to have fun. Children love water games so make sure not to miss out on the fun.
At times parents could get caught up in something, thus forgetting to keep an eye out for your child. This is extremely dangerous. Hence, it is important to take all the precautionary methods while you are near a water body. This way you will keep safe and enjoy as well.
