Keep kids safe around water year-round

 

Summer's over. But that doesn't mean you can be complacent about water hazards. In fact, one third of all childhood drownings don't involve swimming pools but rather everyday products that are in or around homes such as bathtubs, buckets and other containers, toilets, hot tubs or spas, landscape or fish ponds and decorative fountains.

As a result, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently issued a reminder to parents and caregivers: When it comes to children and water -- even if it's just a few inches -- always be on your guard. 

According to the CPSC, an average of about 280 children younger than five drown in swimming pools each year. Another 150 children drown at home, with bathtubs posing the biggest risk. For 2002, the latest year for complete data, the CPSC said 69 children younger than five drowned in bathtubs. Another nine deaths involved spas or hot tubs; six involved buckets, while toilets accounted for two drownings.

Four out of every five bathtub drownings happened when the child was left unattended in the tub, the CPSC said. There were six drownings even when the drains were left open in the tub. "The parent or caregiver assumed the open drain would prevent the bathtub from filling up and left the bathroom. When they returned, the drain was closed or clogged, the water had filled the bathtub and the child was submerged."

What the CPSC didn't mention in its data was how many bathtub drownings involved baby bath seats. For years, consumer groups, including Consumers Union (the publisher of Consumer Reports) have been calling for a ban on those devices, which are promoted as a tool that makes it easier to bathe babies. Consumer groups have argued that these seats give parents a false sense of safety and are thus an unreasonable risk. Parents, thinking babies are secure, are more prone to leave the baby alone even briefly or fill the tub with more water. The result is not a pleasant one: babies slip out or are entrapped and drowned. 

The CPSC's own data shows 96 deaths involving bath seats between 1983 and 2002; five of those occurred in 2002. The agency is now working with the industry to develop a voluntary safety standard to reduce tipovers and entrapment. But Consumers Union still thinks this product is a risk and should be banned. Our advice: parents should avoid baby bath seats altogether. Use a sink or a small bathing tub that holds only a small amount of water, cradling your infant throughout the bath. And bath seat or not, never turn your back on an infant in a bathtub. Our most recent report on bath seats is available here:

      Here's other advice from the  CPSC:

• First and foremost, never leave young children alone near any water. Young children can drown even in small amounts of liquid.
• Never leave a child alone for even a second in the bathtub; always keep the child within arm's reach, even when you have to answer the phone or grab a towel. And don't leave a baby or toddler in the tub under care of another young child.
• Keep toilet lids closed to prevent access to water. To keep younger children from opening the lids, consider using toilet clips. You may even want to use bathroom door latches, out of reach of young children of course, to keep youngsters out of bathrooms altogether.
• Never leave a bucket containing even a small amount of liquid unattended. After using a bucket, always empty and store it where children can't reach it. Buckets left outside can collect rainwater and are a hazard. Toddlers can fall headfirst into a 4- and 5-gallon bucket and drown.
• Secure safety covers and barriers to spas and hot tubs when not in use . Non-rigid covers (such as solar covers) do not provide protection from drowning; they can appear to be in place, even after children slip underneath them in to the water.
• And lastly, learn CPR. When seconds count, it could make the difference.