Seasonal Safety
Parents Need to Be Extra Vigilant

Safe Kids USA Offers Pool and Spa Safety Tips

As pool season kicks off this Memorial Day weekend, Safe Kids USA reminds parents to be extra vigilant around pools and open water as child drownings increase 89 percent in the summer months over the rest of the year.

Drowning is the number two cause of accidental death for children ages 14 and under.

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“The most important precaution is active supervision. Simply being near your child is not necessarily supervising,” said Chrissy Cianflone, director of program operations. Although 94 percent of parents say they supervise their children while swimming, many acknowledge that they engage in other distracting activities at the same time — for example, talking, eating, reading or taking care of another child.

When there are children in or near the water, adults should take turns serving as the designated “Water Watcher,” paying undivided attention.

New Pool/Spa Law Will Help Save Lives

On Dec. 19, 2007, President Bush signed the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 into law. The law is named for the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III. Graeme died tragically at the age of 7 in 2002 after being trapped under water due to the suction from a spa drain.

Among other things, the law will make it illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell drain covers that do not adhere to the standards for anti-entrapment safety set by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). For additional information, please visit the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act Advocacy Web Page on the Safe Kids USA site.

POSTED MAY 2008