Summer is almost here! As the weather gets warmer, naturally
we all begin to enjoy our pools and local beaches more and more. While fun is at the forefront of our minds, we should all remember that water safety is #1.
Florida has the highest unintentional drowning rate in the United States for children ages 1-4. To combat this tragedy, we should all heed drowning prevention methods and tips.
www.waterproofFL.com has three main tips to prevent drownings:
- Supervision: Always have someone watching young children while they are playing in the pool or at the beach. Tragedy can occur even when we are preoccupied for just a few seconds. Don’t allow the opportunity for disaster to occur. Children are naturally curious. A small door opening to the pool area or a quick, unsupervised second to run into the ocean can prove fatal. Help lower the number of children who drown in Florida by always making sure your children are supervised when near any body of water including a pool or the ocean.
- Barriers: Another layer of protection to help curb the drownings that occur annually in Florida is to have barriers near pools and if you live near the beach, barriers between your home and the ocean. Locks on doors near the pool area, fences enclosing the actual pool, pool door alarms, and self-closing doors can all be utilized to keep children safe.Florida enacted the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act, requiring at least one type of pool safety measure for pools built after October 1, 2000, though a combination of barriers would be ideal.
- Emergency Preparation: Should the unthinkable occur, it is imperative that certain steps be taken instantly. If a child stops breathing, CPR should be administered immediately and 911 should be called.
The local Red Cross provides CPR training weekly. Information regarding the class schedule and pricing can be found at: https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/cpr
The Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County is a community based organization that promotes training and education to prevent drownings in Palm Beach County. The DPC is available to make free presentations to small groups of ten or more. The presentations are customized based on the age of the audience and focus on water safety and drowning hazards. Information on the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County can be found at http://www.pbcgov.com/drowningprevention/ or by calling 561-616-7068.
Free hands-only CPR training is offered every February throughout Palm Beach County at most Fire Rescue Stations. Call any fire rescue station to find out more information on the upcoming dates and times for next February.
Additional Resources:
http://www.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/prevention/drowning-prevention/index.html
