As summer nears, Lurie Children's Hospital shares tips to prevent accidental drownings
Summer is nearing and as it does, doctors at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago and other experts shared tips for water safety and how to protect kids from accidental drownings.
According to Lurie, drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children aged 1 to 4. Chicago's beaches are a huge draw for locals and visitors alike during the summer months, so they said water safety is more important than ever.
Lake Michigan leads the Great Lakes in drownings, officials said, so representatives from the hospital, Goldfish Swim School Chicagoland, UIC School of Public Health and the mother of a child who survived drowning held a panel Wednesday morning to discuss the importance of water safety and share tips.
Lurie Children's Hospital encourages parents to enroll their children in swim lessons when they are ready; while knowing how to swim doesn't make you "drown proof," children who can swim are safer in the water than those without.
The hospital also reminds parents they should never leave their children alone in or near water, be it a pool, a beach or even a bathtub, and reminds everyone not to swim alone in open water, swim after dark in open water and to dive into open water without knowing how deep it is (regardless of whether it looks deep or not).
If you have a pool, its important to make sure it has proper fencing and gates to ensure children cant easily access it and fall in when not supervised, the hospital said. They also strongly encourage a lifeguard or adult who knows CPR be watching children when swimming in a pool.
If you're swimming the lake and find yourself caught in a rip current, swim parallel to shore until you're free of the current, then swim diagonally until you're back on sure.
