Pool and swimming safety tips ahead of summer

SPRINGBORO, Ohio (WKEF) — It may come as a surprise, but drowning is the leading cause of death in children ages one to four, and it is the second leading cause of accidental death in kids ages 5-14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The summer months and pool season are right around the corner. Next month is National Water Safety Month to remind everyone to be safe around all bodies of water.

In Ohio, 32 children under five-years-old drowned in pools between 2019 and 2021, according to a Quote Wizard article that analyzed CDC data. That makes Ohio one of the states with the highest number of pool-related child deaths in ages 14 and under, according to the same article.

Tyler Arehart, the general manager at Aqua-Tots in Springboro said one thing instructors focus on teaching is the “A, B, C’s.”

“‘A’ would be adult supervision, ‘B’ is boundaries and ‘C’ is classes, so consistency with coming for swim lessons,” said Arehart.

Some simple safety tips can help make sure your children are safe, and some of it starts with what they wear.

“Look for bright-colored swimsuits. [Stay] away from the blue and the grays. Parents don’t really think about once they’re underwater, that kind of blends in with the pool water, so doing an abstract like neon orange, neon yellow, those kind of colors will definitely help for sure,” said Arehart.

For children ages one to four, the CDC reported that most drownings happen in swimming pools, and drowning is the leading cause of death for children in that age range.

Enrolling young children in swimming lessons can make these numbers decrease.

“Being comfortable in the water is kind of a necessary life skill. We like to teach them as early as 4-months old here at Aqua-Tots. So, they get to get comfortable in the water, learning to hold their breath in the water, get comfortable [with] water in their face. Having swim lessons at an earlier age, does decrease significantly the accidental rate of death,” said Arehart. “Participating in swim lessons consistently will drop that rate by 88%.”

A couple of other safety tips he mentioned were to always make sure there is adult supervision around water, make sure that one person is assigned to look over the whole body of water and make sure there is a boundary, like a gate or fence around a pool that is child-proof.

While monitoring water activities, adults should know that drowning happens in seconds and one surprising thing is that it is often silent, according to the CDC.

Arehart gave some other signs to look out for.

“[If] they get a surprised look on their face, if they’re kind of paddling at the water, if they’re kind of going in circles they’re not really swimming, if they’re not really talking; if they are drowning they’re not going to make any noise, so a lot of people like to think that they’re going to scream, but a child being scared, what do they do? They’re quiet,” said Arehart.

The CDC also warns that for every child under the age of 18 who dies from drowning, seven go to the emergency department for drowning injuries. These injuries can have serious outcomes, like brain damage or long-term disability.

For more drowning prevention tips, you can click HERE.