ChildSwimSafety WhatYouNedToKnowToKep YourChildSafeAroundWater

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1 WhatYouNedToKnowToKep YourChildSafeAroundWater ByDavidD.Daget PersonalInjury CarAcidents Workers Compensation SocialSecurityDisability TheDagetShulerteamisdedicatedtorepresentingtherightsofindviduals injuredbythenegligentconductofothers,injuredatworkordisabled.

2 TableofContents Introduction.2 MisconceptionsAboutDrowning.4 8TipsToKeepYourChildSafeInTheWater.6 OtherWaterDangers&SafetyTips.9 We rehereforyou.11 DISCLAIMER:Thispublicationprovidesgeneralinformationregardingchildswim safetyandisnot intendedtobe,norisit,legaladvice.iflegaladviceorotherprofessionalassistanceisrequired,the servicesofacompetentprofessionalpersonshouldbesought. Asthispublicationisnotintendedaslegaladvice,anyuseofthisinformationwilnotcreatean atorney-clientrelationship.afteraninitialconsultation,andbeforerepresentingyouonanyclaim, awritenatorney-clientagreementmustbesignedinordertocreatesucharelationship.

3 Introduction Summerisauniquetimeoftheyear,especialyforfamilieswithschool-agedchildren kidsareusualyout ofschool,thedaysaremuchlonger,and,dependingonwhereyoulive,thetemperaturecanrangefrom hot tohotertohotest.that swhyoneofthemostpopularwaystobeattheheatandkeepthekidsoccupiedis visitingplaceswithwater,liketheneighborhoodpool.and,whilevisitstopools,lakes,creeks,andthebeach canbeafunandrefreshingwaytospendthelazydaysofsummer,theycanalsobeincrediblydangerous forkids. Pagei2

4 Didyouknowthat,afterbirthdefects,drowning istheleadingcauseofdeathforchildrenunder theageoffour?anddidyouknowthat,forkids fiveto15,drowningisthesecondmostcommon causeofdeath?infact,morekidsdiebydrowning thanincaraccidents.thesearestunningstatistics, andonesthatmostpeoplejustdon tknowabout. Drowningisamajorcauseforconcernamong parentsandfamilies,butit softenonethat snot widelypublicizedordiscussed. Recentnewsstories likethetragicdrowning ofolympicskierbodemiler stoddler have broughtatentiontothisseriousissueand highlighttheimportanceofpracticingwater safetywithyourchildrenataltimes. AtDaggetShuler,werecognizetheimportance ofhavingstrongwatersafetyrulesaswelas theheartbreakingconsequencesforchildren whenthey renotobserved.that swhyweput togetherthischildwatersafetye-bookwith informationandguidelinestohelpkeepyour childrenandyourwholefamilysafealsummer long whetheryoursummertakesyoutothe pool,thebeach,oranywherebetween. Pagei3

5 MisconceptionsAboutDrowning Real-lifedrowningdoesnotlooklikeitdoesin themoviesandontv.thereisnoshouting,no thrashingaboutordramaticmovements,nocrying forhelp,anditisn talong,drawn-outevent. Manyparentsmistakenlybelievethatiftheirchild wereindistresswhileinthewater,they dbeable tohearit.inreality,truedrowningisusualysilent. Becausethechildisstrugglingtobreatheand ofteninhalingwater,theycan tshoutorcryout forhelp. Similarly,mostdrowningvictimsdon tmake dramaticsplashesormovementsindicatingthat theyneedhelp.asaresult,drowningcanoften gounnoticedbyeventhosewhoareveryclose nearby. Additionaly,manyparentsarecomfortableleaving theirchildrenunatendedinthewaterforafew Pagei4

6 minutes,withtherationaleof whatcouldhappen insuchasshortamountoftime? Butdrowning, especialyforyoungchildrenwithnoswimming skils,canhappeninaslitleas20-30seconds. Onerecentdrowningstoryfrom thenewsisthat ofatoddlerwhodrownedinapoolafterhismom turnedaroundforafewsecondstotakeabiteof brownie.whenshejumpedintothepoolinan atempttorescuehim,shestilhadthebrowniein hermouth.thelitleboyhaddrownedinlessthan aminute. Anothercommonmisconceptionisthatonlychildren whodon tknowhowtoswim candrown.thefact remainsthatasignificantpercentageofchild drowningvictimseveryyearhaveswimming experienceandwereconsideredstrongswimmers. Avarietyoffactors,includingfatigueandcurents (especialyinopenwaterlikeoceansandrivers), canmakeeventhemostexperiencedswimmer vulnerabletodrowning. Nowthatwe vetakenalookatsomeofthemore commonmythsandmisconceptionsarounddrowning, let sdiscusswhatwecanaldotokeepourkidssafe aroundwater. Pagei5

7 8TipsToKeepYourChild SafeInTheWater 1.NeverTakeYourEyesofYourKids:Whilethe poolorbeachmayhavedesignatedlifeguards,they shouldneverbeusedasasubstituteforyoukeeping aneyeonyourkidswhentheyareinorevennear thewater.asnotedabove,drowningcanhappenin lessthanaminuteandlifeguardsoftenhavetheir atentionsplitinmanydiferentdirections.youknow yourchildbestand,bykeepinganeyeonthem (withoutdistraction thatmeansnophone),youare beterabletorecognizeanydistressquicklyand rescuethem from danger. swimmingability,andthewaterenvironment,butthe keyistosetuprulesaroundwatersafety,repeat them often,andenforcethem strictly. 2.EstablishWaterRulesEarly:Establishingand enforcingstrictrulesaroundwaterasearlyas possibleiscriticaltohelpingkidsstaysafe.for example,kidsshouldneverbealowedtoswim withoutanadultnearbywhoisactivelysupervising. Childrenshouldalsoknownottoplaynearor aroundwater(suchasonpooldecksorlakedocks) withoutadultsupervision.manyoftheserulesmay adjustandchangebasedonyourchild sage,their Pagei6

8 3.InvestinSwimmingLessonsEarly:Similarto establishingwaterrulesearly,oneofthebestways tokeepyourchildsafeistoteachthem howtoswim. Whilemanyparentswaituntilachildisfourorolder tobeginswim lessons,childrenasyoungas12months canparticipateinbabyandtoddlerswim classesthat focusonself-rescuebyteachingchildrenhowtofloat andhowtoclimboutofbodiesofwater,suchasa pool.swimminglessonsareagreatwaytomake surethatyourchildiscapableofsafelyplayinginthe waterandgetingthemselfoutofadificultsituation, ifonearises.theyalsohelpkidsdevelopahealthy levelofrespectforwaterandthedangersitcan present. 4.InaBigGroup,AssignaChaperone:Ironicaly, manydrowningsoccurwhentherearemanypeople around,suchasduringbackyardbarbecuesora busydayatthebeach.iftherearemanyadults aroundandmanykidsplaying,it sagoodideato designateaspecificpersontosupervisethepeople inthewater.thiscanbearotatingposition,butmake surethatthereisalwaysonepersonwhosejobisto keepaneyeonkidsinthewater,andthattheyare doingsoundistracted. 5.MakeSurePoolsHaveHigh-Fencing:Whenever possible,alpoolsandotherbodiesofwater,suchas hottubs,shouldhavegatesaroundthem onalsides Pagei7

9 CHildSwimSafety thatareatleastfourfeettal.additionaly,it simportant toensurethatthegatesonthesefencesarealways closedwhenanadultisn taroundtosupervise. 6.RequireFloatsandLifeVests:It salwaysagood ideaforkidswhocan tswim towearfloatsanytime they rearoundwater(evenifthey renotinit).however, floatsareneverasubstituteforundistractedsupervision. Similarly,inopenwatersuchaslakesandrivers,life vestsshouldbewornbychildrenofalages. 7.TakeaCPRClass:Inaworst-casescenario, knowingcprcanmeanthediferencebetweenyour childsurvivingornot.that swhyit ssoimportantfor alparentstohavecprandfirst-aidcertification. Plus,theseskilsarehelpfulinmorethanjustwater emergencies,sothey reagoodideaforeveryone tohave. 8.TeachOlderKidsWaterSafety:Onceyourkids areolder,they renotinlessdangerintheirinteractions withwater,thedangerjustlooksalitlebitdiferent. Teacholderchildrentolookoutforoneanother wheninandaroundthewater,toalwayshavea buddyandneverswim alone,tohaveahealthy respectforwater,andtokeepaneyeoutforanyone indistress.kidsasyoungas11canreceivecpr trainingaswel. Pagei8

10 OtherWaterDangers AndSafetyTips Whilethetipsinchaptertwocoveramajorityof scenarios,belowarethreeadditionalareasofwater safetythatfaloutsideofthosegeneralrulesbutare nonethelessstilveryimportant. alagesandskillevels.forthatreason,makesure everyoneinyourfamilyknowswhattodoiftheyget caughtinaripcurentorastrongrivercurent.and it salwaysagoodideatohaveeveryonewearing BathtubDangers&Safety:Whileapoolanda bathtubmayseem drasticalydiferent,childrencan drowninaslitleastwotothreeinchesofwater,and theireveningbathcanpresentjustasmuchdanger asatenfootdeeppoolwithadivingboard.never leaveachildunatendedinthebath,orevenwitha slightlyoldersibling,evenifit sjustforaminuteto answerthephoneorgrabatowel.makesureto havealsuppliesneeded soap,shampoo,toys, andtowels readybeforechildrenareinthewater andletthedoororphonegounanswereduntilbath timeisdone. OpenWaterCurents:Ripcurents(inoceans)and strongwatercurents(inrivers,creeks,andstreams) canpresentlargelyinvisibledangerstoswimmersof Pagei9

11 U.S.CoastGuardcertifiedlifevestsorpersonal flotationdevices(pfds)anytimethey reinoraround openwatersuchaslakes,rivers,andoceans. DryDrowning:Anotherlargelyunknowndanger thathasrecentlybeengainingalotofsocialmedia atentionisdrydrowning.thistypeofdrowning occurswhenachildinhalesasignificantamountof waterduringtheirtimeinthepoolorlakeandthen, later,drownsintheirsleepbecauseoftheexcess waterintheirlungs.it simportanttonotethat,while apossibility,drydrowningisextremelyrareandis associatedwithanumberofothersymptoms. Childrenwithtoomuchwaterintheirlungswilexhibit symptomssuchascoughing,dificultybreathing, confusion,oruncharacteristiciritability.ifyourchild inhaledasignificantamountofwateratthepoolor beachandisexhibitingthesesymptoms,takethem totheemergencyroom rightaway.however,generaly, kidsaremorelikelytoswalowalotofwater,rather thaninhalingit,whichislessproblematic,andthere hasneverbeenadocumentedcaseofachilddry drowningwhileexhibitingnoothersymptoms. Tosum up,thetwomostimportantstrategiesin keepingkidssafearoundanykindofwaterare atentionandprevention.aslongasyouarepaying atentionandtakingalnecessarystepsforprevention, amajorityofdrowningscenarioscanbesafelyavoided. Pagei10

12 We rehereforyou Alparentshavethebestintentionswhenitcomestokeepingtheirkidssafe,happy, andhealthy,especialyinthehotsummermonths.butaccidentsstilcananddo happenalthetime. AtDaggetShuler,we reheretohelp.ifyoulostachildoranotherlovedoneto drowningorhavequestionsaboutanyoftheinformationinthise-book,weoferfree, noobligationconsultations.we dbehappytoansweranyquestionsordiscussyour family ssituationtohelpyouunderstandyouroptionsandnextsteps.findusonlineat orgiveusacalat welookforwardto speakingwithyou! 2018,DaggetShuler,AtorneysatLaw,Alrightsreserved Pagei1