The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated their advice on water safety. The AAP says that by starting swim lessons for your kids at age 1, you are reducing your child's risk of drowning.
Nearly 1,000 drowning deaths happen in the U.S. each year, and drowning is a leading cause of death in children, according to the AAP. The two major things to teach kids are water safety and basic water skills.
An AAP author told CBS News that parents shouldn't just think of pools and big open bodies of water, but also bathtubs, toilets and buckets. Kids age 0-4 are at the highest risk for drowning-related accidents since they don't have the skills to supervise themselves or anticipate danger.
“When a child is in and around water, we need constant attentive supervision, touch supervision, which means they are within an arm’s length of that child when they are in the water,” says emergency physician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Sarah Denny. Who is an author of the AAP report.
The report offered a few tips to prevent drowning:
- Parents should never leave children alone or in the care of another child while in or near bathtubs, pools, spas, or other open water.-Adults should empty water from buckets and other containers immediately after use — even a small amount of water can be hazardous for a young child.-Never leave young children alone in the bathroom. Toilet locks can prevent drowning of toddlers.-Even with older children and better swimmers, the supervising adult should focus on the child and not get distracted with other activities.
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