Drowning season
It’s the same problem every summer: Kids and swimming can be a deadly mix.
We sincerely hope you can read to the end of this editorial before the Chronicle reports another Houston-area drowning. The last two weeks have brought an epidemic of children’s deaths and water-related injuries. Consider the following:
• A 16-year-old boy drowned Sunday while playing catch in a marina in northeast Harris County. The boy, who was visiting from California, went missing when he hit a deep spot in the water at Magnolia Garden Park. He couldn’t swim and wasn’t wearing a life jacket.
• A 5-year-old boy died Sunday, nearly two days after what Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls called a drowning incident in southwest Katy.
• Also on Sunday, a 3-year-old child was hospitalized after being pulled from a swimming pool in Montgomery County.
The week before, during the Memorial Day weekend, four children drowned while unattended in Harris and Fort Bend County pools. Among the deaths was a 3-year-old boy who fell into a pool at a Sugar Land apartment complex as his family barbecued nearby.
In 2019 so far, at least 34 children under the age of 17 have drowned in Texas, according to Tiffani Butler, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. That agency not only tracks the grim statistics but also investigates the incidents for “neglectful supervision.” Butler’s mantra for parents and caregivers is: “Watch your children at the pool. Don’t take a book to read, and don’t have your music turned up too loud. A child drowning is so quiet.”
Remember: Drowning children are rarely able to yell for help or flail their arms.
According to a study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 389 children under the age of 15 drowned in pools and hot tubs in 2016. Most of the deaths, 74 percent, involved children under age 5. In addition to drowning, the CPSC researchers who focused on children younger than 15 found the years 2016 through 2018 saw about 6,600 emergency room visits related to pool or spa injuries annually.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says from 2005 to 2014, there was an average of 3,536 unintentional drowning deaths in the U.S. — about 10 deaths per day. An additional 332 people died from drowning in boatrelated incidents.
Nikki Fleming, who is leader of the Pool Safety campaign, sponsored by the CPSC, told HealthDay News that threequarters of all drownings in pools or spas (which include hot tubs and Jacuzzis) happen at home. June is the most dangerous month.
Organizations such as the YMCA, the American Red Cross and the Texas Drowning Prevention Alliance conduct community outreach on water safety, swimming lessons and CPR training. Information is readily available on their websites.
Seth Huston, head coach of the Rice University swimming team, notes that a child can drown in a matter of seconds. He offered a few tips to keep children safe around water, even in the shallow end, this summer.
• Stay vigilant yourself, or make sure that another responsible adult is supervising constantly. Cut out distractions.
• Make sure that even young children know how to swim. Preschoolers are not too young for lessons.
• Never become too comfortable around water, especially at lakes and rivers. Steep unexpected drop-offs mean that a single step could be the difference between waist-high water and being submerged.