Lois Lee, MD, MPH
Lois Lee, MD, MPH, works in Children’s Emergency Department Injury Prevention Program
Earlier this week a 2 year old boy walked out of the back door of his parent’s house, onto a second story deck and made his way down a set of wooden stairs. The toddler walked right past the family’s swimming pool, which had been covered with a cover but still had a small puddle of collected rain water, and fell into a small outdoor fishpond. Unable to pull himself out, the young boy died. His mother was in the house at the time, but by the time she realized he was out of the house it was too late. Though tragic, this story is unfortunately all too common. Drowning is the second leading cause of injury related death for kids in the U.S. One of the most common scenarios for these accidents involves toddlers drowning in swimming pools—usually when the parent thinks the child is safely inside the house. Unfortunately, at this age, if a child ends up face down in the water, he or she usually does not have the cognitive ability or the coordination to pull themselves out. Infants can drown in a just a few inches of water in the bathtub, which is why they should NEVER be left unsupervised in the tub. Toddlers can drown in water that is at a level less than their own standing height; so again, they should never be left unsupervised where there is standing water. This includes swimming pools, garden ponds, five gallon tubs and even toilets.
Any object filled with rain water could be dangerous to kids
Every parent knows that toddlers need to be closely supervised at all times, but it only takes a blink of an eye for a toddler to wander away and get injured, especially around water. Considering the potential danger water poses, here are some important water safety practices every family should institute.
- Toddlers should not have free access to toilets. Either the bathroom door should be kept closed at all times or toilet locks can be used.
- If you have a swimming pool, it must be surrounded by a four-sided fence that is at least four feet tall and is NOT connected to the house. Pool covers are not enough protection.
- If you have a decorative pond or fish pond, toddlers should never have access to this area— a gate or wall should prevent any unassisted child access.
- When in use, five-gallon tubs should have adult supervision near at all times. When not in use, they should be overturned so they can not collect water, because buckets of that size present a very serious drowning hazard should a child fall in head first.
Again, vigilance is always important, but you can help prevent a drowning injury by also instituting these water safety practices.
Lee was also featured in a WBZ news cast about the tragedy, and offers similar advice on water safety for young children. Click here to watch her interview.
