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SAT LAKE CITY — If you are taking your children swimming this summer, you should know drowning isn't always like what you see in the movies. Some drownings happen because people don't know what to look for and don't realize all the ways children can drown.
Since the drowning victim is not getting enough air in to breathe, they are not going to call out for help. That's myth number one.
–Frank Pia, American Red Cross
Backyard children's pools are deadly, as shown in a recent KSL News story. But a child can drown in any amount of water — in a bucket, a bathtub, a birdbath, a toilet or tank.
Child safety experts say in larger bodies of water — like a reservoir, pool or ocean — drowning is not splashing and screaming.
"Drowning is suffocation under water," Frank Pia, with the American Red Cross, told ABC News. "The respiratory system is designed for breathing, not for speech. Since the drowning victim is not getting enough air in to breathe, they are not going to call out for help. That's myth number one."
- Never leave a child alone around any water
- Empty all buckets and wading pools after use
- Never leave children in a bathtub alone or with an older brother or sister
- Install child safety locks on toilet lids in households with toddlers
Pia says a drowning victim is silent, struggling to breathe. Their hair is in their face, and they move their arms under the water to try and push themselves up. [CLICK HERE to watch Drowning Myths video]
Janet Brooks, child advocacy manager with Primary Children's Medical Center, says kids can get stuck in pool drains or vents.
"We have seen lots of children entrapped in drains, whether it's their body parts or hair," she explained. "There have been some new regulations put into place that if followed could eliminate the majority of these tragedies."
Some say swim caps over long hair would help. [CLICK HERE to watch Deadly Swimming Pools video]
Then there's the rare dry drowning, where kids ingest water in the pool or tub and appear fine for a while, then die hours later.
Above all, experts say, supervise your children 100 percent of the time when they are around water.
Email: mrichards@ksl.com
