Parents can prevent drowning

Since summer and pool season began, it seems hardly a day passes without a drowning incident.

Unfortunately, that is more then just a feeling.

Sharon Evans, an injury prevention coordinator for Cook Children’s Medical Center, says that from June 1 through July 7 there were at least 33 life-threatening water-related accidents in the immediate Fort Worth area, including two that were fatal.

That’s an average of about one per day, and it doesn’t include tragedies in neighboring counties, such as the recent drowning deaths of three siblings in Irving.

And summer is far from over.

The pattern is incredibly frightening, says Pam Cannell, executive director of the Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition (FWDPC).

It’s especially so because the rise in pediatric drownings, which make up the lion’s share of recent incidents, isn’t linked to the weather and the associated rising water in lakes and rivers.

Instead, most drownings are occurring in apartment, community and backyard pools.

That means they can and should be preventable.

Neither Evans nor Cannell could attribute the dramatic increase in pool tragedies to a particular cause.

But a lack of adequate supervision in and around pools probably has a lot to do with it.

“Nobody should get a false sense of security,” says Cannell. “We can’t expect lifeguards to handle everything. We need multiple layers of protection.”

She’s right about that. Parents need not only to be present whenever children are playing in pools, they need to be vigilant observers.

That means putting smartphones and tablets away when young ones are in or around the water.

“I feel that most parents just don’t realize how quickly and silently a child can drown, and they never think it would happen to them,” Evans told the Star-Telegram Editorial Board.

That’s why, in addition to active parental supervision, she recommends a Coast Guard-approved, correctly fitting life vest for each child.

“Arm floaties and toy rings are not approved flotation devices,” she added.

For their part, pool owners and managers also must ensure that pools are fenced and gates are locked.

Even at that, curious and resourceful children can often find their way to an unsupervised pool on a hot summer day.

Cannell says the community needs to make it possible for kids — especially those of limited means — to learn how to swim.

Parents must learn water safety and rescue skills.

Despite its limited resources, Cannell’s organization has set some ambitious goals for the year that seek to do exactly that — educate parents and teach children swimming and drowning prevention, including self-rescue techniques.

The FWDPC has held two low-cost, safe swim programs, one at the Forest Park Pool and another at the Westside YMCA.

Two more are scheduled, at the Southwest YMCA and the Marine Park Pool, in the coming weeks. More information is available on the group’s website, www.fwdpc.org.

Texas summers can be miserable, especially without the relief an afternoon in the pool provides.

Still, there are few miseries greater than seeing a child suffer severe injuries or die in a preventable pool accident.

Parents must be the first line of protection.

This story was originally published July 8, 2015 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Parents can prevent drowning."