In Wake Of Recent Bathtub Drownings Parents Urged To 'Lifeguard Your Child'

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – At least three North Texas children have drowned in bathtubs in 2019.

In the past two weeks, two of the children who were taken to Cook Children's Medical Center, ultimately died from drowning in bathtubs.

In the midst of these tragedies, Cook Children's launched a newly-focused drowning prevention campaign aimed at reducing the number of children injured and killed while bathing.

For the past several years, Cook Children's has used the 'Lifeguard Your Child' campaign as way to encourage 100 percent adult supervision of children in and around water.

This campaign has been solely focused on water safety related to swimming until now.

But as of Tuesday, the 'Lifeguard Your Child' campaign has a new, urgent message to parents: "Don't ever take your eyes off of your child in a bathtub."

"When talking to parents about bathtub safety, I like to stress 'touch supervision' in infants and young children." said Corwin Warmink, medical director of Emergency Services at Cook Children's. "This means you are close enough to reach your child at all times versus just watching them from a distance... A drowning happens quickly and silently. A baby can slip under the water and parents may not even realize it, if they aren't right there with the baby," said Dr. Warmink.

While the ideal age for a child to bathe alone is up for discussion, Dr. Warmink says the general rule of thumb is around school age. "But it really depends on the child and his or her maturity level," he adds.

Dana Walraven, manager of Community Health Outreach at Cook Children's, reminds parents there is never a safe amount of time to leave your child in the bath.

She says if a doorbell rings or you need to leave the bath for even a brief moment, get the child out of the bathtub while you are gone.

"A child can drown in the time it takes to answer the phone," Walraven said. "We ask parents for constant supervision of their child while in the water. You literally can't take your eyes off of a child while in the bathtub, even for a second. Bath time is a great time to bond with your baby, but it can be a dangerous time in and around water without proper adult supervision."