2 June 2007 SanTan FAMILY FUN
PPrevent the sound of silence in waterrevent the sound of silence in water
by Sharon Schnakenburgaron Schnakenburg “Floaties are not lifesaving devices. They “Floaties are not lifesaving devices. They
The 1960s lyricists Simon and Garfunkel e 1960s lyricists Simon and Garfunkel aare good for fun, but any child in a pool needs re good for fun, but any child in a pool needs
may have been onto something when they tto know how to swim.”
penned their haunting tune “The Sound of Couch strongly recommends all children in
Silence.” Likewise, parents and caregivers wwater wear a Coast Guard approved boating
may not hear the sound of silence when a vvest, which can be purchased at marine
child is suddenly immersed in a pool until it is ssupply stores or some department stores.
too late. “The advantage of the Coast Guard vests
To prevent such incidents, Dan Couch, City fofor children is that they, by design, cause the
of Chandler Fire Department battalion chief, cchild to flip onto their back and keep their
says the overarching factor is maintaining hhead above water,” he says. “But unless
direct eye contact with children. tthere is Coast Guard approval, I wouldn’t use
“Around pools and any body of water, eye tthem.”
to eye to supervise. If you can’t see their No one, even adults and kids who know
eyes, they are not supervised,” he says. “Go hhow to swim, should ever swim alone,
to a pool and just watch. Who is watching aaccording to Couch.
the kids? You would be surprised at kids “The best swimmer in the world can have
who have drowned in a community pool with aan accident – slip and fall, hit their head,
parents present and adults all around the
STSN photo by Gordon Murray
eetc. – or an adult can have a sudden medical
pool. Your eyes watching their eyes.” COVERED: While eye-to-eye supervision is a must, self-closing doors and eevent.”
He also recommends having a designated
gates, pool fences, and nets like this one offer families multiple layers of
In the past two years, Chandler had several
“water watcher,” whose sole duty is to watch
protection when it comes to pool safety.
“immersions” or incidents where a child
people who are in and near the pool. accidentally went underwater but lived through
Besides supervision, another core factor in child water safety is installing and it, Couch says.
maintaining barriers such as pool fences, self-closing doors and self-latching “It can result in something as simple as coughing and spitting up water,
gates, Couch adds. or sometimes these kids will survive because of citizen CPR and efforts of
“If you have a door leading to the pool, it should have self-closing latches and emergency responders, but have some degree of neurological impairment. The
a secondary handle approximately 57 inches from the bottom of the door so impairment can be transient like a pneumonia, but sometimes results in major
children cannot reach it.” neurological impairment that requires constant care and attention at a long-term
He also cautions parents to make sure kids can’t crawl under the pool’s fence. care facility.”
Toys and furniture should be moved away so kids can’t create their own way over Though the city has not had any water-related child drownings within that
the fence either. same timeframe, Couch cannot emphasize enough the importance of water
In addition, making houses convenient for pets can spell danger for kids. safety. “Statistics show that 75 percent of parents divorce after the death of a
“Do you have a doggie door leading out to the pool? Move it or eliminate it,” child. It is something that parents never get over,” he concludes.
Couch admonishes.
Once kids are actually in the pool, other important barriers between kids and Sharon Schnakenburg is a freelance reporter who can be reached at Sharon@
water come into play. SanTanSun.com.
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