Drowning of a child is what every parent fears. What can you do to prevent a tragedy?
The American Academy of Pediatrics has the following recommendations to prevent drowning:
- Swimming lessons for all children over age 5
- Constant supervision of infants and young children when they are in the bathtub or around other bodies of water
- Installation of fencing to separate homes from residential pools
- Use of personal floatation devices when riding on a boat or playing near a river, lake or ocean
- Teaching children never to swim alone or without adult supervision
- Teaching children the dangers of drug and alcohol consumption while swimming or when near water
- And making sure that adults and teens learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation