Now more than ever is the time to watch children around pools. I know we see these tragic events happen way to often. Once is too much. I just saw this story on AZ Central.com and am glad it had a good out come. With summer upon us (although todays weather seems otherwise) let's keep our eyes on our precious little ones around water.
The Arizona Republic
A 14-month-old came close to drowning Wednesday night in Tempe -a trend that fire officials say seems be uncomfortably growing in the Valley so far this summer.
The near drowning occurred around 5:15 p.m. at a house located on the 1100 block of Lisa Lane, according to Tempe fire spokesman Mike Reichling. The boy fell into the pool because he managed to get through the pool gate that was not working properly, he said.
Reichling said the child was underwater for less than two minutes, but was fortunate because his mother was a nurse and performed CPR immediately.
Fire officials are warning parents to check that their pool gates are working properly, and to keep toys out of the pool as that is what attracts young children to the water.
KarilouMomof2 is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Tempe. Her daughters are 9 and 6.
It all boils down to
It all boils down to adequate supervision.....when you have small children you have to by hyper-vigilant. In many of these stories, the parent or caregiver lost track of the child for an extended period of time......and you can't let that happen.
Great suggestion!
Great suggestion!
Even if we are
Even if we are hyper-vigilant, all young children must, must, must do a water-baby class. Even if your child slips away, gets around a pool fence, and falls into the water, you'll find her floating on her back -- probably oblivious to all the panic.
Please, do this. We live in the land of swimming pools, and it hasn't occurred to a single public official that we need to make water safety a priority.
It can happen so quick. My
It can happen so quick. My daughter was two and sitting with her feet on the steps of a pool splashing the water. I was no more than 2 feet away and chatting with a friend, I turned my head, made a comment to my friend and then looked back at my daughter. She was looking up at me from under water! No panic in her eyes and she even blinked - it took a second to register and then I was in and scooped her up. No crying, no spitting, just a great big smile. After my heart slowed down to that of a track sprinter after a race, I let her put her feet back in at the stairs as I sat right beside her and never looked away....... T
She still had no fear of the water so until she could swim on her own I had her in floaties.