Second Tragic Drowning in Central Florida in Just 5 Days

Sandy Grinnell — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:47:45 GMT

Floridians have barely had time to open up their pools from the winter season and we have had the second toddler drowning in just 5 days.

It was reported in the Orlando Sentinel that a 4 year-old girl was found in the swimming pool of a Lakeland motel around noon yesterday. A 38 year-old woman who was caring for the 4 year-old and a 3 year-old said she fed them breakfast and then laid down to go to sleep. When she got up the children were missing. The 3 year-old was found okay, but the 4 year-old died after arriving at the hospital.

It cannot be said often enough that when children are anywhere near a pool, they cannot be left alone for a second. As was reported just last week, 441 children died by accidental drowning between 2001 and 2006.

Florida's Department of Health has a Drowning Prevention Campaign entitled "Keep your Eyes on Your Kids", with the lofty goal of "ZERO Drownings in Florida." The plan is that you pledge to be a safe water watcher.

Water Watcher Pledge

To help protect children from drowning, I will...

Constantly watch the children who are in or near water and keep them within reach.
Give this tag to another adult who agrees to actively watch the children if I need to leave for any reason.
Make sure rescue equipment is easily accessible. Keep telephone and emergency numbers with me.
Latch gates, lock doors, use alarms and create two or more barriers to the pool, spa or any water.
Once I leave the water, I will make sure a child cannot return without my knowledge.

Drowning is silent and fast. Supervision is your child's best protection.

Whether or not you have a pool in your yard, you could do yourself a favor by checking out their website to ensure your kids stay SAFE this summer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Sandy Grinnell

Toddler's Drowning Warns Us of Dangers of Swimming Pools

Sandy Grinnell — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:28:00 GMT

The tragic drowning death of an Orange County toddler this week causes us to once again focus on the dangers of an unprotected swimming pool. The 2 year-old boy who was thought to be taking a nap was found at the bottom a swimming pool and later died at the hospital.

The agony that this family must now be going through is all too common. According the Orlando Sentinel, there were 441 children under the age of 5 who died in Florida by accidental drowning in Florida from 2001 to 2006.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says that there is no one solution to preventing a child from drowning in your pool. It takes multiple layers of protection to keep your child safe. Some preventative measures you can take include a pool fence surrounding the pool with a self-closing, self-locking gate; alarms on the doors facing the pool so you will know if a child has exited to the pool area; remove all floating toys from the pool which may attract young children; and if a child goes missing, always check the bottom of the pool first.

Of course, there is no preventative measure that replaces constant supervision of your child when playing outside. You may think that it's okay to run in to answer the phone because it will only take a minute and you'll hear if something bad is going on. The CPSC warns us, however, that you should never rely on hearing splashing or screaming from a child who has slipped into the pool. "Many times children slip under the water silently. Even people near the pool often report hearing nothing out of the ordinary."

As the first of Spring approaches and the pool temperatures in Florida begin to rise, so should your vigilence in protecting your child from drowning in your pool. Perform a safety check in and around the pool area. If you're not sure what you need or what you should look for, you can find the CPSC pool safety barrier guidelines at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/pool.pdf.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Sandy Grinnell

Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer - prevention of drowning death

Second Tragic Drowning in Central Florida in Just 5 Days

Toddler's Drowning Warns Us of Dangers of Swimming Pools