The birthday that triples your child’s risk of drowning
The distraction of taking a phone call, browsing social media or ducking inside to grab something is all that’s needed to snatch the life of a child due to drowning. TIPS TO AVOID TRAGEDY.
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A child’s first birthday has been given a deadly new significance with research revealing their risk of drowning triples when they reach the milestone.
More than four in 10 drowning deaths in children aged under 5, occur in children aged one and as we head into summer, the Royal Lifesaving Association is urging parents to never take their eye of toddlers near water.
Over the past 17 years, 496 children aged 0 to four years drowned.
Of these, 202 (41 per cent) were children aged one year.
Over an entire lifespan, from 0 to 100 years, no other age is at greater risk of drowning.
“The moment children are mobile, when they start to crawl or take their first steps is the moment the backyard pool becomes a risk,” said Royal Lifesaving Association CEO Justin Scarr.
“It takes parents by surprise.”
Nearly 2.7 million Australians live in a house with a swimming pool according to pollster Roy Morgan.
And these backyard swimming pools are the site of six in 10 drowning deaths among children.
Accidental falls into water account for nine in 10 drowning deaths among children the Royal Lifesaving Association said.
Almost all of these deaths were due to a lack of active adult supervision.
“Drowning deaths in young children are wholly preventable. Making the home pool environment safer for young children remains a key focus for Royal Life Saving,” Mr Scarr said.
“We can’t emphasise enough how important active adult supervision is in preventing these deaths.
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“Distractions are dangerous — whether it is taking a phone call, browsing social media or ducking inside to grab something — we ask parents and carers to always keep watch,” he said.
As summer arrives, it is essential that people install pool fences and check pool gates regularly to make sure they are not faulty or kept propped open, the association said.
Since 2002, drowning deaths in children aged under five have decreased by 55 per cent but drowning remains one of the leading causes of accidental death in this age group.
Newcastle mum Belinda Hedley is forever thankful she learned how to do CPR, it’s the reason her twin boys Braith and Seth Hedley are alive today.
Twelve years ago, she and her husband Shaun dragged their unconscious toddlers from a backyard swimming pool after they pushed open a faulty pool gate at their grandmother’s house.
“The reason they are still here is because we started CPR immediately and we found them so quickly, we were always keeping watch on them,” says Belinda Hedley.
Although they survived the ordeal, Seth and Braith were deprived of oxygen for 8-9 minutes.
However, the twin brothers recovered and five days ago were selected to play for at NPL level for the Central Coast Mariners soccer club.
Belinda said the accident happened in a split second.
She was breastfeeding her new baby inside while their grandmother watched the boys playing on a trampoline, somehow they got off the trampoline and got through the pool gate.
Their toddler cousins were also found beside the pool but had not jumped in.
“They had been having swimming lessons since they were four months old but that didn’t help,” said Belinda.
Since the incident she is hypervigilant about pool, safety and has saved two other children from drowning in backyard and caravan park pools.
“It’s not just the deaths, there are so many near drownings, “ she said.
STATE BY STATE
Number of one-year-olds who have drowned in the past 17 years:
• New South Wales 67
• Queensland 56
• Western Australia 33
• Victoria 24
• South Australia 15
Number of drowning deaths of 0-4 year olds in the past 17 years:
• New South Wales 155
• Queensland 163
• Western Australia 69
• Victoria 59
• South Australia 26
• Northern Territory 10
• ACT 8
• Tasmania 6
Originally published as The birthday that triples your child’s risk of drowning