John J. Lennan
Texas Dept. of Family and Protective Services

Constant supervision around water helps prevent child drownings. With thousands of families and children planning to spend the Spring Break holiday enjoying swimming pools, lakes and beaches, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) urges parents and caregivers to keep constant watch on children when they’re around water, especially young children.

Parents and other adults need to be vigilant about watching kids around water, both indoors and outdoors, while also having fun and enjoying being active and together as a family.

Last year 103 children in Texas were drowning victims, ranging in age from 6 months of age to 17 years old. The most reported outdoor location were various pools (53 reports) and indoors bathtubs (10 reports).

Last year most child drownings occurred in backyard (38) or apartment (10) swimming pools. Children can also drown in ponds (6), rivers (3), lakes (15), coastal waters (4), creeks (3), even a bucket (2), anywhere there is water. (There were also pool reports from hotel/motel, 2, community pools, 3)

Learn more about child water safety at our www.watchkidsaroundwater.org child water safety awareness website, and links to other child safety and parenting information www.getparetningtips.com

Additional Texas statistics about child drownings, (victim age/county/reported location) can be found at: https://www.dfps.texas.gov/About_DFPS/Child_Drownings/default.asp

Basic Water Safety Tips Outside the house:

· Never leave children alone around water whether it is in a pool, drainage ditch, creek, pond, lake, or beach.

· Constantly watch children who are swimming or playing in water. They need an adult or certified lifeguard watching and within reach.

· Secure swimming pools. Use fences, self-closing and latching gates, and water surface alarms.

· Completely remove the pool cover when the pool is in use.

· Store water toys away from the water, when not in use, so they don’t attract a small child.

· Don’t assume young children will use good judgment and caution around water.

· Be ready for emergencies. Keep emergency telephone numbers handy and learn CPR.

· Find out if your child’s friends or neighbors have pools.

Inside the house

· Never leave small children alone near any container of water. This includes toilets, tubs, aquariums, or mop buckets.

· Keep bathroom doors closed and secure toilet lids with lid locks.

· Never leave a baby alone in a bath for any reason. Get the things you need before running water. Infants can drown in any amount of water. If you must leave the room, take the child with you.

· Warn babysitters or caregivers about the dangers of water to young children and stress the need for constant supervision.

· Make sure small children cannot leave the house through pet doors or unlocked doors and reach pools or hot tubs.

DFPS Region 11 is comprised of the following 19 South Texas Counties:

Aransas – Bee -Brooks – Cameron – Duval – Hidalgo – Jim Hogg – Jim Wells Kennedy- Kleberg – Live Oak – McMullen – Nueces – Refugio – San Patricio-Starr – Webb – Willacy – Zapata