TERRELL, Texas — Local officials are warning parents to be mindful of water safety as social gatherings continue to emerge following the COVID-19 pandemic and after a toddler drowned over the weekend outside Terrell.
TERRELL, Texas — Local officials are warning parents to be mindful of water safety as social gatherings continue to emerge following the COVID-19 pandemic and after a toddler drowned over the weekend outside Terrell.
At approximately 8p.m. on Saturday night, 911 dispatchers received a call for help for a 2 year-old that had drowned in a backyard pool in the Lost Creek neighborhood.
According to law enforcement officials the child and their parents were visiting from out of town for a social gathering when the accident happened.
Emergency personnel transported the toddler to a local hospital, but their efforts were unsuccessful, and the child was pronounced deceased.
In the US, an average of 3,500 to 4,000 people drown per year. That is an average of 10 fatal drownings per day. Eighty-seven percent of drowning fatalities happen in home pools or hot tubs for children younger than 5. Most take place in pools owned by family or friends, according to statistics provided by stopdrowningnow.org
“Understanding how to prevent leading causes of child injury, like drowning, is a step toward keeping children safe,” says Kaufman County Justice of the Peace Mary Bardin.
According to stopdrowningnow.org, below are a list of Key Prevention Tips.
Life-saving skills
Everyone should know the basics of swimming (floating, moving through the water) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Learn to swim
Learning to swim can reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent for 1 to four-year-olds who take formal swim lessons.
Barriers work
Four-sided isolation fences, with self–closing and self–latching gates, around backyard swimming pools can help keep children away from the area when they aren’t supposed to be swimming. Pool fences should completely separate the house and play area from the pool.
Wear life jackets
Make sure kids wear life jackets in and around natural water bodies, such as lakes or the ocean, even if they know how to swim. Life jackets can be used in and around pools for weaker swimmers too.
Stay Vigilant
Close supervision is required when kids are in or near water (including bathtubs), at all times. Drowning happens quickly and quietly, so adults watching kids in or near water should avoid distracting activities like playing cards, reading books, talking on the phone and using alcohol or drugs.
The Kaufman County Sheriff’s office declined inForney.com’s invitation for comment for this story.