My mum used to say that she was 'drowning in a teacup'. What she meant is that she was overwhelmed and struggling with something that actually didn't need to be so problematic, but the image always stuck with me.
The fact is that it IS possible to drown in a teacup. You only need 5cm of water (enough to cover the nose and mouth) to drown, which is why it's so important for parents and carers to understand the risks of young children being left alone, even for a very short period of time.
Drowning is one of the most common causes of child death. It is often silent - there may not be any warning that anything is wrong.
Drowning accidents are especially high in the spring and summer months - I'm sure you don't need me to explain why people go in the water more often when the weather is warmer! But as a large proportion of drownings happen in the bath, which you're probably doing all year round, don't let the statistics trick you into thinking that bathing your little one in the summer is particularly more dangerous than doing it in the winter.
Keep in mind that drowning isn't the same thing as death by drowning. 'Drowning', as a medical terminology, is when you can't breathe because of water. In theory, you're technically drowning any time you're in the water and can't make it to the surface (for example, you're 7 years old and your older brother decides to practice his wrestling moves in the pool). However, what most people think of as drowning is when you either go unconscious or aspirate (breathe in) liquid when your mouth and nose are submerged in it. You don't need to be fully in the water to drown, just your airways.
Drowning has three possible outcomes. Death, morbidity (injury, or illness like pneumonia) and no-morbidity (everyone is fine). We don't have a lot of data about non-fatal drowning, as they get processed in the record-keeping systems by the injury or illness, rather than in one single category, so most of our data is driven by the numbers of fatalities.
One thing that parents can do to keep children safe around water is to enroll them in swimming lessons. Swimming is an essential life saving skill (as well as a fun way to keep fit).
If you take nothing else away from this page, please let it be these two things.
Drowning is silent and fast
If you're in charge of a child's safety around water, you cannot be distracted. You have to watch them. With your eyes. You can't keep an ear out from the other room. You can't sit on your phone catching up on admin. You have to be looking at them. If you're distracted for just a few minutes, you could look up and realise that your little one has been underwater the whole time.
You have to pay attention.
You can't save someone if you're drowning too
When you're drowning and fighting for your life, you're not thinking straight. It's really common for someone who's drowning to cling to and try to climb anything they can to get their head above water.
If you swim up to someone who's drowning, unless you have a floatation device to offer them, they're going to try and climb up over you to keep themselves out of the water - which means they're going to be pushing you under.
And that's assuming that there are no surprise currents, tides, or dangerous objects that could cause you to run into difficulty in the water as well.
If you come across someone who is drowning, you're in a much better position to help them from outside the water than in it. If you are in the water, keep your distance and control the situation from an arm's length away.
You can't save someone if they're pushing you under.
In the last 5 years, 50% of children aged 7 and under who accidentally drowned, drowned at home.
Generally speaking, the main risk of drowning in the home comes from the bath. If your kids are anything like my brothers, you might have to deal with the occasional head being flushed in the toilet (it only happened once, he'd seen it on tv and wanted to try something...) but that's about it really.
And if you think your children might be inclined to torture their siblings, encourage them to clean the toilet before and after 👍
Getting your kids in the bath can be the hardest part of the day. And then you have to try and get them out again at the end.
It's hard enough when you're dealing with one child, but how are you supposed to cope if you're single-handedly managing multiple bath times at once?
This is all the advice I've got to offer:
If you wouldn't trust your kid to bath or shower entirely by themselves - running their own bath, remembering their towel, climbing in safely, washing themselves properly (including hair), getting out safely, drying off, and then draining the bath - then you shouldn't leave them unattended when they're in the bath at all.
As they get older and start wanting more privacy and autonomy, you can let them take more responsibility for their own personal care and promote yourself to a supervisory position, rather than a hands-on role. Use your personal judgement - you know your child better than anyone else.
Get everything that you need for the bath ready before you hit the water.
It may not seem like a big deal if you step out of the room for just a quick second to go and get the towel, but what if you trip over the cat, or some laundry you TOLD your partner to pick up off the floor? What if you step on a piece of Lego?! Just a quick second could turn into much longer, especially if you're rushing, tired, or frazzled...
If you need to step out of the bathroom for any reason, you should take young children with you.
The danger isn't the risk of what might happen in the 20 seconds you're not there, but what happens if it turns out to be longer than 20 seconds?
You're better off scooping up the baby and getting wet than leaving them in the water while you get the towel.
Bath seats are good for supporting your baby, but they're not a safety aid.
Babies should not be left alone in them as they can slip out, and sometimes the suction cups on the bottom can come loose and they float and become unstable. This isn't a problem if you're in the room and can jump into action to save them, but if it happens when you've popped out for a second, then it can be a really big problem.
Older siblings are not the peace-keeping agents you'd like to think they are.
Your older child is more likely to inflict damage enforcing the rules than to effectively prevent and police their younger siblings' behaviour. I'm the youngest child, so I know from experience that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Keep bath toys either in the bath and accessible or out of the bathroom completely.
Children standing up and reaching for toys just out of reach - especially at the slopey end of the bath - is when slips and falls are most likely to happen. Anything that's going in the water should go straight in the water.
Children with disabilities or complex medical conditions like epilepsy where they could have a seizure are also at risk of drowning in the bath. Don't leave them unattended.
I get it, the UK doesn't have the kind of weather that is means that we have pools in every other back garden, but you'll likely be in a situation at some point where you're in a garden with a pond, a paddling pool, an overground pool, a hot tub, or even an in ground swimming pool that you'll want to be aware of the risks.
If you have a garden pond, swimming pool or hot tub, make sure it is fenced off or securely cover it
There are currently no laws in the UK requiring safety fences around pools, but it's a good idea to have them anyway. Not just for your kids, it can be hard for animals to get out if the water level is lower that the edge. Especially if there's a ladder but now steps. Nobody wants to deal with fishing dead hedgehogs out of their pool on a Sunday morning, it's a great way to ruin a perfectly sunny day.
Pool covers can create a false sense of security
Not all pool covers are designed to support weight, and if your child or pet tries to walk on the cover and falls in, it's nearly impossible for them to get out by themself. The cover itself makes it very hard to swim back to the edge, and they can get tangled up in the material or even caught underneath it.
Even if your child is not alone when they fall in, it can be very hard for the person with them to get them out again, and that's before everyone starts panicking. Once panic sets in, it's nearly impossible to think straight.
Getting caught in a pool cover is one of my worst nightmares: a covered pool is arguably more dangerous than an uncovered pool.
Always supervise children around paddling pools, and make sure they are emptied once you have finished using them
Even a sweet little paddling pool can be dangerous if your child falls face down and can't get up. I know that it's a waste of water to empty and refill the paddling pool every day, so use your best judgement. If you're done in the pool for the day but your children will not be around it unsupervised, that's one thing, But if you're leaving the kids to play outside unsupervised, please consider emptying the pool before you leave them.
Ponds are gross and your child is definitely going to try and fall in
Every kid goes through a frog phase. Scooping up frogspawn and tadpoles is a right of passage for the children of the UK. Natural ponds often have slow sloping sides that get boggy before they get swimmy, but man made ones - especially those made from a plastic pond form - tend to have a hard edge and a sudden drop.
If you have a pond in your garden, consider fencing it off, or laying down those plastic grids that sit an inch below the water so you can't fall in. They have the added benefit of stopping the local cats fishing out all your swimmy things.
If you want to explore ponds with your kids (which you definitely should, because ponds are gross but kind of awesome), make sure they don't lean too far forward when they're scooping, and if you don't know where the exact edge of the water is, use a long stick to poke the ground and test it before you step.
Don't assume someone else is watching
If you're at a family gathering or a party where there are loads of kids and adults, never assume that someone must be watching over the children. Make sure you know who is supervising, and make sure that they're giving it their full attention.
Drowning is silent, so if the responsible adult is on their phone, reading a magazine, or tending the barbeque, they're risking the safety of all the children who are playing.
If you're the responsible adult and you need to leave or focus your attention on something else for some reason, make sure you pass on the responsibility to another adult, and make sure they know that you're going 'off duty'.
Remember that your friends and family might not be as concerned as you are
When you visit someone else's house, they might have water features in their garden that you're unaware of. I'm not saying that your friends are bad parents or anything, but they might not feel like their garden is dangerous because their kids KNOW not to go near the water.
However, children are somehow become braver and more stupid whenever they travel in packs (I knew a kid who stuck his whole hand in a pile of dog poop because his friends dared him to), so even if all the children are smart and responsible on their own, together, they might be less so.
Now, I totally appreciate that it's good for your child's development to get up to a bit of mischief, but please remember that there might be risks that they're not aware of, and it's your responsibility (and problem) to make sure that their mischief doesn't become dangerous.
Heading to the coast or out on the water is a great way to have fun and stay active. But, if you're not careful, it's a lot easier to get into trouble in the water than you might think. Conditions can change quickly and if you're not prepared, you can easily get caught out.
In the last 5 years, 30% of accidental drownings in the UK occurred at the beach, on the shore, or on the coast.
Make sure your child knows the dangers of swimming in open water
When I was 13 or so (I don't remember exactly) I was at a beach with my older cousin. We were floating on boogie boards, and bobbling about, when we suddenly realised that we were far out. Like, really really far out. We started kicking, and we made our way back to the shore, and by the time we got back we were exhausted and the family was beginning to wonder where we were.
Looking back as an adult now, I realise how worried my cousin (as the responsible adult at the time) must have been. Fortunately we were both pretty good swimmers and we weren't caught in any particularly dangerous currents, the sea was quite calm, we had just drifted out with the tide.
My point is, that even in 'good conditions', there's always a risk.
You can't tell what's going on underneath the water
Currents, under currents, deep water, and dangerous objects hidden under the water are all things that you can't necessarily see.
Undercurrents can pull you under the water - or exhaust you while you fight against it.
Deep waters can look calm even if they're moving very fast, because if the water is deep enough it won't be affected by the things sitting on the river bed. Even if the water doesn't pull you under, it can whisk you away pretty quickly.
Dams and bridges restrict the amount of water that flows and create strong and irregular undercurrents as the water swirls around creating turbulence. Once you're caught in one of these currents it's really difficult to get out, even if you're a fantastic swimmer, so be extra extra careful when swimming around man made structures in flowing waters or in reservoirs.
Cold water shock is a thing
Cold water shock can hit anyone, even experienced swimmers who've never had it before. it makes the muscles in your torso seize up, and you just can't breathe.
I experienced it for the first time aged 30, and I've been swimming my whole life. I stayed calm, focused on keeping my head above the water, and waited for my body to adjust. But I was walking into the sea, so I was able to control my depth in the water by kneeling and sitting in shallow water. If that had happened to me when I'd jumped into water that I couldn't easily have gotten out of, I genuinely think I would have drowned. I felt like I lost control of my whole body, and it was honestly, really really scary.
If that had happened to me as a child, even if there were no long term repercussions, it would have put me off swimming for life, and that would have been really rubbish. So make sure you're aware of the water temperature before you jump (or throw any children) in, and if it's very cold consider getting in slowly, one toe at a time.
Look for the lifeguards - if possible, swim in designated, supervised areas
Areas supervised by lifeguards are marked with red and yellow flags. Try to stick inside those areas, because the lifeguards know what they're doing.
A read flag means that the water is dangerous, and though it's not illegal to go into those waters, it's a really, REALLY bad idea.
The black and white chequered flags are for where people can body board or surfboard - you should never swim in those areas because getting hit in the back of the head by a surfboard is deeply unpleasant.
You can read more about the beach safety and what the flags mean HERE
Never use inflatables in open water
They can be swept away with the wind and currents. The only thing worse that being swept out to sea on an inflatable, is if you're swept out to sea on an inflatable that pops...
On a boat, everyone should wear a life jacket. Everyone. Even you. Especially you.
I don't care how good a swimmer you are. Wear the life jacket.
It's one thing being a strong swimmer where you're swimming distance from the place where you get in and out of the water, it's another thing falling off a boat in the middle of a lake or in the sea.
And imagine if nobody realised you'd fallen out?! How long can you tread water for? How long would it take for someone to notice you were gone, and how long would it take for them to find you? And what if there's a current and you get taken off somewhere else? How long would it be before you get exhausted and start to struggle?
Just wear the life jacket, and make sure anyone you don't want to die wears one too. Maybe you'll look good in luminous orange...
If your child can't swim, don't let them swim
I'm not saying they shouldn't go in the water. Not at all. But anyone who can't swim shouldn't be going in water where they can't stand and MUST swim. If they do insist on going into deep water (remember that deep water just means water that is too deep to stand up in), they need to be wearing a personal floatation device (a PFD). This might mean a life jacket, a life belt pack, or a buoyancy aid.
I don't know enough about the pros and cons of each kind, so I recommend that you research the available options before you buy the first option the search engine give you.
I know there are some Brits out there who go swimming in the sea in the middle of winter, but I feel like they're the exception, not the rule.
So what are the risks (and even the likelihood of running into them) of water in the winter? Here's what I've got for you:
Slippery paths, patches of ice and a lack of daylight can make being near water more dangerous than in the summer months
Time your walks to make the most of the daylight; if you need to walk in the evening only use well-lit areas or take a route not alongside water. In the dark you might not see the edge of where land runs out and yo hit water, especially if there's been a lot of rain and the path is full of puddles.
The ice is always less thick than you think
The fact is that it's rarel cold enough in the UK for an body of water to freeze enough to walk or skate on. It's not like in Canada where the lakes get so cold you can play ice hockey on then.
You should never let your children go out onto frozen lakes, ponds, or rivers. If the fall through the ice - especially into moving water - they can get pulled under.
If they've fallen through the ice, you will too, so you should never follow someone out onto the ice to help them. Instead throw something for them to hold onto and call 999 for help.
Hypothermia isn't as fast as you think it is
Please do not misunderstand me, I am not saying that hypothermia isn't dangerous.
BUT
It takes 20-30 minutes for hypothermia to set in, so if you or your child has fallen into cold water and can't get out - and this is the important bit - but IS NOT actively drowning, you've got more time than you think to take action.
DO NOT go into the water to help them. Take a look around and see if you can find something to throw to them to help them climb out. A jacket or scarf that you can keep hold of one end, or a long stick or branch.
The RNLI website
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