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We have just moved into our new house. It has a lovely backyard with a pool. It's great to have a backyard pool especially in this Australian heat, and with 2 very active children always needing physical stimulation!
However, in the first 3 weeks that we moved in, our 4 yo had two near misses.
On the first occasion, she misjudged the depth of the water and went straight to the bottom. We fished her out quickly and she was shaken but ok. On the second occasion (and this was very scary...) her dad was in the pool with her. She had somehow unclipped her floats before reaching the steps... again, misjudging the depth of the shallow end of the pool. His back was turned away from her as he was applying sunscreen on, he felt a pinch and he ignored her. He then felt another pinch and this time he turned around, only to find that she was kicking furiously under water but she had summoned enough strength to pinch for help one more time. Needless to say, if he had not turned around, she would have drowned.
I just want to remind everyone to Please remember that drowning is SILENT. There will be no thrashing around or shouts or screams for help. The children quite literally, sink to the bottom very quietly. YOU MUST NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THEM as you CANNOT HEAR THEM.
Please be water-safe. These are steps to take:
(1) Teach your children to swim as early as possible.
(2) If you have a pool, ensure that your fence is secure and the latch is high.
(3) If your child cannot swim, ensure that you put floaties on them all the time when they are in the water. Ensure that the floaties are in good condition.
(4) Keep your eyes on them all the time. This is especially so when there are other children in the pool and you tend to get side-tracked by other activities of the other children. A carer-to-child ratio of 1 to 2 is probably a good idea.
I had another incident with my son when he was 3. This was during a swimming lesson when the instructor basically left him on the step as she took 2 other kids out to swim. Sam slipped into the water (deep end) and no one saw him for a few seconds. The frightening thing was... I was standing right over him but watching the instructor paddle away with the other kids. I heard a parent yelp and jumped in to fish him out. This happened in a pool full of people, with an instructor and me. I was shaken and the instructor was so shocked that she went home without completing the session.
(5) You should be an arm's reach from your child in the water.
(6) As early as you can, educate your child on water safety. Tell them the sensible things to do in the water, such as, don't jump or dive at the shallow end; do not go into the water without a grown-up; keep the floaties on etc
(7) Do not trust just anyone with your child in the water... especially other young children or teens... as you cannot rely on their judgement or attention to safety.
It all ended well anyway... my 4 yo finally swam without her floaties last week! We're still keeping our eyes firmly on her, but at least, we know that she is heading in the right direction.