Simple steps can prevent drownings

By Elliot Kaye, Bethesda, Md.

Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015 | 2 a.m.

Nothing is more heartbreaking to me than a child’s death. As a parent of young children, I am deeply saddened to learn that 2-year-old Israel Hall died in a drowning at his northwest Las Vegas home (“Toddler’s death in Las Vegas apartment hot tub probed as drowning,” lasvegassun.com, Aug. 4). Within the past few weeks, there have also been two near-drownings in neighboring communities, leaving one toddler in critical condition (“Toddler in critical condition after being pulled from pool,” lasvegassun.com, Aug. 5).

Annually, nearly 400 children younger than 15 drown and 5,400 children end up in emergency rooms with injuries related to near-drownings in pools or spas. Last year, Nevada had four child drownings. Drowning remains the leading cause of unintentional death in the U.S. for children ages 1-4.

Simple, yet crucial, safety steps can help stop these preventable tragedies. Children should never be in or near the water without adult supervision; an adult should be designated as the Water Watcher and should be focused just on watching the pool. Parents should learn CPR, install a fence that surrounds the pool, and teach kids how to swim and to stay away from pool drains.

Please visit poolsafely.gov to learn more and take the Pool Safely Pledge to help keep everyone in your family safer in and around the water.

The writer is chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.