Children drowning: these reflections that save lives every summer

Noyade remain the main cause of accidental mortality in young children

In France, every summer, the drowning that involves young children recalls a dramatic reality: a child can drown in less than thirty seconds, in twenty centimeters of water, without noise.

Family swimming pool, sea, river or simple basin: no mirror of water is trivial. These accidents often occur in daily environments, during moments of relaxation when vigilance is inactive.

Healthcare professionals remember this: drowning is fast, silent and mainly affects children under the age of six. The testimonies of the parents in mourning are unanimous: everything was fine, until the moment the child escaped their attention. Very often, it lasts only a few seconds.

Incessant surveillance, even at home

The vital reflection is simple: Never divert your eyes from a child close to a point of water. And they do not entrust his surveillance to another child, even older.

Ideal? That an adult is designated as a single supervisor for the duration of swimming, without a phone, without distraction.

On the edge of a swimming pool or swimming pool, the child must remain at hand from the adult. This proximity allows you to intervene immediately in case of fall or aspiration under water. Swimming must be interrupted if the adult must be absent, even briefly.

The right reflections to be systematically applied

Here are the main recommendations to follow to effectively prevent drowning in children:

• Never leave a child alone near the waterEven a few seconds (swimming pool, sea, river, tub, swimming pool, etc.).
• Designate an adult responsible for surveillanceWithout distraction (no phone, no reading).
• Keep the baby During swimming, especially for those under 6 years old.
• Equips private swimming pools with a compliant safety device : barrier, alarm, rigid coverage or shelter.
• Check the correct functioning of the safety equipment At each beginning of the season.
• Remove toys and floating objects Swimming pool after each swimming to prevent the child from trying to recover them alone.
• Prohibit access to the swimming pool outside the moments of swimming (Closed barrier, discount coverage, etc.).
• Avoid inflatable buoys and mattresses as the only protectionsbecause they can turn or derive.
• Promote the learning of swimming for 4 or 5 yearsAnd familiarize the youngest with water in a safe environment.
• The adults present at the first aid gestures beginsIn particular, cardio-response resuscitation.
• Always empty the basins or ships after useand keep them out of reach.
• Sensitize children on the dangers of water From an early age, without dramatizing but without trivializing them.

A safe summer begins with anticipation

Preparing a summer without drowning means integrating these simple but non -negotiable gestures. Continuous monitoring, security devices in the state, approved attention: so many elements that can save human lives. Because a successful summer is above all a summer when everyone is at home.