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NEWS RELEASES
HOUSTON (May 23,
2007) – Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death
among children. With the Memorial Day weekend right around the
corner and summer not far behind, the YMCA has
joined forces with the Houston Apartment Association
and Texas Children’s Hospital in an effort to get
the word out about water safety through the YMCA’s Water Wise
initiative.
YMCA Water Wise is a multifaceted awareness campaign designed to
educate the community about how to prevent drownings. “The single
most important thing you can do is to actively supervise children
around water. There should be no eating, reading or taking part in
other distracting activities. Within a matter of seconds a child
can slip underwater and the consequences can be devastating,” said Dr.
Rohit Shenoi, Director of Injury Prevention, Texas
Children’s Hospital Emergency Center.
The Water Wise
campaign includes a website with water safety tips along with CPR
and first aid info and swim lesson schedules. The initiative also
offers a school district lifeguard training program, a speakers
bureau that will provide water safety presentations to the community
in English and Spanish, swimming lessons at elementary and middle
schools and water safety classes that will be taught at local
apartment complexes, through a partnership with the Houston
Apartment Association.
“One child drowned is
one child too many. Drowning is a preventable danger to our
children that our apartment owners are committed to educating the
community on,” said Houston Apartment Association President, Suan
Tinsley.
Last year there were
49 accidental drownings of children 14 years of age and younger.
Even a near-drowning accident can have lifelong consequences. Kids
who survive a near drowning may have brain damage; after four to six
minutes under water, the damage is usually irreversible.
“Nothing is more
important to us than our children’s safety, which is why we’re
launching the YMCA Water Wise initiative,” says Clark Baker, YMCA of
Greater Houston President and CEO. “These important survival skills
will help keep our children safe at pools, beaches and water parks.”
Texas Children's
Hospital recommends the following water safety precautions:
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Put as many
layers of protection between your child and a backyard pool as
possible. Lock doors and windows leading to the pool. Add door
alarms or self-closing/self-latching devices for outside doors.
Fences at least 6 feet tall around the outer edge of the
property are required of homes with pools in Houston. Pool
fences, called isolation fences, should be at least 4 feet high
and go all the way around the pool. Look for self-closing and
self-latching gates. Also, gate alarms and pool alarms can be
installed to alert you when someone is in or around the pool
area. Keep rescue equipment, a phone and emergency numbers by
the pool.
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Enroll kids
age 4 and older in swimming lessons taught by a certified
instructor – but do not assume swimming lessons make your child
“drown proof.”
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Learn infant
and child CPR. Classes are offered by the Red Cross and several
EMS locations.
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Young
children can drown in as little as 1 inch of water. Stay with
your child when he or she is in the bathtub, even if he or she
is with an older sibling. Keep toilet lids shut and use toilet
locks if you have an infant or toddler in the house. Also,
empty out buckets as soon as you are done with chores. When
taking a break, put the bucket where your child cannot reach
it. Store empty buckets upside down.
-
Have
toddlers wear life jackets, not floaties or water wings. Life
jackets should fit snugly. If you cannot pull the jacket up to
the child’s ears, his or her nose will stay above water.
For more information
on YMCA Water Wise, swimming lessons and more, log on to
www.ywaterwise.org.
Additional
resources:
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