Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in Southwest Florida for children under the age of five. Particularly in our area, in addition to pools, drowning can occur in the many canals, rivers, lakes and streams. Annually in the United States, about 600 children under the age of 5 drown, making this the second leading cause of injury-related death for children aged 1 through 14. Further, the National Drowning Prevention Network estimates that about 28,000 children end up in emergency rooms every year because of swimming pool incidents, with up to 7,000 hospitalized.

According to the American Red Cross, it takes less than 5 minutes and under 2 inches of water for a child to drown. The time it takes to grab a cup of coffee, answer the phone or door, or run to the restroom. Although locations include bathtubs, toilets, 5-gallon buckets and diaper pails, the vast majority of drownings, between sixty and ninety percent, happen in family swimming pools. More than half occur in the child’s own home. Typically, the child was last seen in a ‘"safe" area, far from the pool.

Lee County, being typically "Floridian", is honeycombed with thousands of backyard pools, the sites of 320 residential drownings of children younger than 5 years old in 1991, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"Education is the key," advises Captain Dave Wheaton of Lee County Emergency Medical Services (EMS). "The parents are not bad parents when these terrible accidents occur… but tragedy can strike in a split second. Learn and follow pool safety guidelines established by the American Red Cross."

These deadly accidents often occur while one or both parents are at home. The Tallahassee family of Paul and Debra Croft have developed a website devoted to their son Jeremy’s tragic near-drowning twelve years ago at age three. Although their child lived, photographs at the site vividly chronicle the resultant years of physical therapy that have followed. Say the Crofts, "To say that the tragedy of this accident does not end with the accident itself is an understatement. If the child recovers from this tremendous insult to the body, the brain may have suffered irreversible damage and years of hoping that the child will return to their former active and inquisitive self are often filled with endless physical and occupational therapy." The site, which can be reached at http://www.jeremy.usww.com, also offers drowning prevention guidelines "developed the hard way – through the experience of fatal or near-fatal drowning accidents of other children."

According to Glenda Wolnik of the Lee County Safety Coalition, "Drowning is the ‘silent’ killer because often there is no cry for help, and very little sound from splashing." The Safety Coalition stresses that adult supervision of children is the key to their safety, and offers the following safety tips for home pool safety:

• Install and maintain an isolation fence separating your pool from the house and play areas.
• Designate an adult to supervise children around water, especially at social gatherings.
• NEVER consider children to be ‘watersafe’ despite swimming skills, previous swimming lessons or experience.
• Floaties, swimmers or other inflatable flotation toys are not life jackets and should never be substituted for an adult’s supervision.
• Toys, tricycles and other playthings must be kept away from the water’s edge.
• Assure a clear view from the house to the pool or spa by removing vegetation or other obstacles.
• Always completely remove covers before using pool or spa. Lightweight, floating covers are not safety covers and will not support the weight of a child. A child could become trapped under this type of cover.

The Lee County Safety Coalition can be reached at (239) 332-9571. The number for the Lee County chapter of the American Red Cross is (239) 278-3401.