Water, Children a Dangerous Mix

Last Sunday, on an unseasonably warm February day, a 4-year-old Huntington Beach boy drowned in a neighbor’s swimming pool. On the same day, a 14-month-old girl in Fullerton almost did the same when she fell headfirst into a bucket with about eight inches of water.

The tragic incidents are grim reminders that drownings are a year-round threat to children, requiring constant vigilance.

Water in the ocean, in backyard pools and spas, in toilet bowls, in lakes, in inflatable rubber wading pools and, yes, even in buckets is like a magnet to children. It’s a dangerous and, far too often, deadly mix. Since 1996, 37 children 4 and younger have drowned in Orange County. Numerous other youngsters nearly drowned, leaving some with permanent brain damage. In the two previous years, 1994 and 1995, 30 children under 5 drowned.

One of the deaths last year involved a Santa Ana girl who spent 11 years in a coma after nearly drowning at age 3 in a swimming pool. In the same month that her accident happened, one child died and two others were left brain-damaged in swimming pool accidents.

The circumstances in most child drownings are painfully similar. A parent, relative or sitter gets distracted for a few moments by a phone call, the laundry or some other chore. The child quietly slips out of the house--and into the pool. The child is missed. There is a frantic search. And the child is found, drowned or drowning, in the pool or spa.

Safety officials note that most drownings are preventable. To emphasize that, the Orange County Fire Chiefs’ Assn. last June launched a drowning prevention campaign targeting parents and based primarily on education and increasing awareness.

The group’s main messages are: Erect barriers, such as fencing, around the pool; use pool covers and alarms; provide proper supervision at every moment; and be sure that those supervising youngsters are adults trained in CPR. It also helps to have a phone in the pool area to quickly summon help.

Adults must remember that one moment of inattention can lead to tragedy--and that there really is no “drowning season.”

The danger always will be there whenever a home has a small child and a backyard pool or spa.