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Accident Prevention: Water safety in the home.

Unfortunately it is very easy for children to drown in water at home and in the garden. Young children do not have the strength to get out of the water. Drowning is the second leading cause of ‘injury death’ in children under 14.

When children drown they do not scream and wave their arms in the air – this is a myth. The instinctive response of drowning means the child cannot speak or control their arms.

Please consider the following preventative actions to protect children.

Babies can drown in 5cm of water.

When you bath your baby, do not leave them unattended at all. Even if the door rings or you need to leave to get the shampoo, always lift your baby out of the bath and wrap in a towel.

Bath seats are supportive devices ONLY. They are not safety devices and a child should never be left in the seat without supervision.

If the baby is in the bath seat and the parent needs to turn around to get something, a young child should not be asked to watch the baby. They do not have a sense of danger and cannot act appropriately.

All children under the age of 8 need constant supervision around water.

Make sure the bath temperature is between 37.5-38.5

Don’t leave uncovered buckets of water around the house and make sure pools and baths are emptied after use.

Be careful around swimming pools and the beach when on holiday- supervise children at all times

Sources: Child Accident Prevention Trust/ IHV/ CDC

RESOURCES:

https://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Water-Safety/index.html

https://www.capt.org.uk/drowning

Author: Abigail Laurie Registered Midwife and Registered Specialist Public Health Nurse, United Kingdom.