Orlando Florida. – The state of Florida ranked second in the number of child drownings in the United States, according to data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Total Aquatic Programming.
In 2022, 21 children under the age of 5 died in the state, second only to Arizona where 23 died. Florida was followed by Texas (20), California (9) and Kentucky (8) , as revealed during ‘Safe Pool’. CPSC campaign.
80% of children who died by drowning were under 5 years old.
Sharon Irizarry and Karen Faust, instructors of the self-rescue technique of the Baby swimming resource (ISR) at the Child Safety Village. Both agree that a drowning is a tragedy that can happen when a family least expects it and can also be silent.
“We want them to be happy in the water, but we don’t teach them that it’s dangerous. That it is better to know what to do and how to handle this emergency situation without anyone’s help because that is what is happening, right? “said Irizarry.
Irizarry also explained that not having a swimming pool at home does not mean that children are less likely to drown because “maybe you don’t have a swimming pool at home, but you went to a friend’s house and he had a lake behind the house and the child went there and fell into the lake.
For his part, Faust explained that “70% of children in minority communities are more likely to drown.”
Layers of protection to prevent drowning
There are several techniques that experts recommend to prevent potential drowning deaths according to the National Drowning Prevention Alliance.
1. Constant Monitoring
2. Appoint a water watcher
3. Install a fence
4. Know cardiopulmonary resuscitation
5. Teaching the child to swim
For the latter, one of the techniques strongly recommended by experts is the so-called ISR technique or Baby Swimming Resource, a self-rescue technique.
“The course is every day from Monday to Friday, for a period of approximately six to seven weeks. A national register is created, in this register you put all the information of the child, his growth, how much he measured at birth, how much he weighed. All this is super important because his class is developed according to his needs,” explained Irizarry.
Faust pointed out that this technique is also ideal for children with special needs. “When an autistic child drowns, it’s because they usually leave the house without anyone noticing and they usually like the water. They come in and don’t know how to float and therefore can’t survive,” he explained.
But the drowning numbers speak for themselves and accidents can still happen. Therefore, experts have indicated that knowing how to float at an early age could save many lives.
“The last classes we do are completely dressed: with clothes, shoes, everything that is needed in a normal day. Because on those days accidents happen, not when we are dressed in swimsuits in a swimming pool”, concluded Irizarry
help resources
There are resources for your children to learn this technique for free and the average cost is $600 for the six week course.
If you are an Orange County resident, you can contact the Children’s Safety Village or write to instructor Karen Faust: [email protected]
If you live elsewhere and would like to apply for a scholarship for your child to learn this self-rescue technique, you can contact these foundations dedicated to child drowning prevention such as: The Sylas Project, Live Like Jake Foundation and Carter Lee Foundation.