Drowing remains the second leading cause of unintentional injury death to children in Dallas County. Typically, children who drown are younger than 5, and most drown in residential pools. Statistics show that for every child who drowns, about four nearly drown.

“People think that ‘nearly drowned’ means a happy outcome, but some of these children later die and many are left with severe permanent disabilities,” says Debra Brown, a registered nurse and trauma services director at Children’s Medical Center Dallas.

• Barriers are the most important way to prevent young children from drowning. The most important barrier is a fence that completely surrounds the pool and isolates it from the yard.
• During social gatherings, assign an adult “water watcher” to supervise the pool or spa area.
• Never leave a child alone near a pool or spa, bathtub, toilet, water-filled bucket, pond or any standing water in which a child’s nose and mouth could be submerged.
• Don’t rely on swimming lessons, life preservers or other equipment to make water safe for a child.
• If a child is missing, look in the pool first.
• Keep a phone near the pool for emergency calls.
• When out of the pool, remove all toys, as children may reach in to retrieve toys and could fall in and drown.
• Communicate pool safety measures with the babysitter and train the sitter in infant/child CPR. For older kids, it’s wise to have a buddy system when swimming; always wear a personal flotation device when boating or jet-skiing; and carefully check the depth of water in lakes or rivers before allowing children to go in the water.