Drowning: Major Risk for Pre-schoolers
By: Charlotte Ames
Updated: May 25, 2012
The Memorial Day weekend is typically the one when many people open their pools for the summer, or head to a public pool for the first time. But before you and the kids take that first dip, keep in mind that drowning is the leading cause of injury death in children ages one to four.
CDC researchers suggest everyone learn swimming basics and CPR. Children should wear life jackets in all natural bodies of water and weak swimmers should have them on in the pool, too.
And Dr. Tom Tallman, an emergency physician at Cleveland Clinic says, "the younger kids should never be left unattended. You'll find the tendency in a lot of public pools for parents to let their kids go at it and I'm going to sit over here and visit my friends and the lifeguard has got this under control. Well, they're there to save lives, you're there to make sure you're keeping track of them."
CDC researchers suggest everyone learn swimming basics and CPR. Children should wear life jackets in all natural bodies of water and weak swimmers should have them on in the pool, too.
And Dr. Tom Tallman, an emergency physician at Cleveland Clinic says, "the younger kids should never be left unattended. You'll find the tendency in a lot of public pools for parents to let their kids go at it and I'm going to sit over here and visit my friends and the lifeguard has got this under control. Well, they're there to save lives, you're there to make sure you're keeping track of them."
Charlotte Ames is the area's only local Health Reporter and brings you the latest medical health news weeknights. You can catch Healthcast on WTAJ News at 5:00pm and her Health Headlines report on WTAJ News at 5:30pm.