Summer Water Safety: What Drowning Really Looks Like

Along with thousands and thousands of other families, we are happy to have a pool in our back yard.  Pools range from kiddie pools to large, in-ground pools.  Ours is about 3 feet deep and 16 feet across - fun for the whole family!

We have pretty strict rules about pool use - the kids know they are not allowed to even touch the pool when we're not outside with them.  We keep a solar cover on the pool so the water doesn't tempt them prematurely.  We remove the ladder from the pool unless we are actually using the pool.  We keep it about 25 feet away from the pool and the kids can't carry it - it's too heavy.   So we're safe, right?  Our kids are safe, right?

But what if I slip inside to make a snack?  Or go pee?  What if I'm on the deck browsing through a magazine and can finally read to the end of the article - I look up every few minutes - the  kids are perfectly safe - and besides, if they were struggling, I would hear it - they'd be yelling and splashing all over - I could go running from wherever I was.  Right?

WRONG!

I'll say it again - not only would I not be right, I would be totally and completely wrong - to the point that it could be too late.  And to be crystal clear about what 'too late' means, it means that a child could have drown while I was finishing the article, making a snack, or in the washroom.  They could have slipped silently to their death in as little as 20 seconds while I was 20 feet away.

How is this even possible?  It's entirely possible because we rely too heavily on movies and TV to show us how real life happens.  Most of us assume that drowning is a loud, splashy event that alerts people from all over, who will all come running.  In fact, quite the opposite happens.



Take a look at these statistics - I hope they will shock you into better supervision while your little ones are in the water:

A swimming pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved in the death of a child age 4 and under. Orange County California Fire Authority

Drownings are the leading cause of injury death for young children ages 1 to 4, and three children die every day as a result of drowning.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[O]f the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In ten percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it is happening (source: CDC).  www.mariovittone.com

If drowning is not yelling for help and splashing frantically, what exactly does it look like?  I have found a great list of things to watch for at Mario Vittone:

1. Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs.
2. Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.

(Taken directly from Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning.)

Please take a few minutes today to look through the links I've put in this post - there aren't very many, so it won't take a great deal of your time to read through them - they could save a child's life.

If you can forward or share only one item with your friends today, please make it this post - share the information - the list of what drowning really looks like can truly save a life.  Go to our Facebook Page to 'Share' this post with your friends.