Today I read another tragic article about a two-year old boy from New Port Richey who drowned virtually under his mother’s very nose. While the mother napped, the boy somehow got out of the home’s sliding glass door, and made his way into the pool.
Unfortunately, in Florida we read at least one story like this every week each summer. As an Orlando accident attorney, I often become involved in these matters when the person who lost track of the drowned child was a babysitter, caretaker, or some kind of organization. One can imagine that there is nothing worse then sitting with grieving parents discussing how easy it would have been for someone to lock or safety bolt a sliding glass door.
The real tragedy in these cases is the fact that these drowning incidents can be so easily prevented. Here are some quick and easy safety tips to consider whenever you are going to mix children and pools:
- Keep a close eye on children in any pool area — as well as in or around any buildings adjacent to a pool area.
- Instruct (and remind) kids that they are never to go near a swimming pool unless they have an adult with them and supervising them.
- When a child is in a building adjacent or near a pool, all exterior doors must be closed, locked, and preferably, child-proofed.
- Make sure your children have at least some basic level of swimming lessons or training. Even infants can be taught to float on thier backs for short periods of time.
- When you are finished in the pool, make sure you pull out all of the pool toys and anything else that might be attractive to a young child.
If we all follow these safety tips hopefully we can avoid the gut-wrenching tragedy that accompanies the wrongful death of a child.
If you have any questions regarding pool safety or an accident involving negligent supervision of a child in a pool area, you can always call Orlando personal injury attorney Kim Cullen at 407-644-4444.
