Page 30 - Life in Naples November 2018

Water Safety

It’s silent, happens quickly and is 100%
preventable: Florida has the highest
overall unintentional drowning death
rate for 1-4 year olds, three times
the national average. Enough
children drown each year in
Florida to fill three to four
preschool classrooms
and it CAN happen to
you or a loved one.
Drowning does not
discriminate.

he NCH Safe & Healthy Children’s Coalition
recognizes that multiple layers of protection are
necessary to prevent drowning. We stress that NO single
T device or solution can prevent pediatric drownings.
Parents, caregivers, aquatic facility owners, managers and
operators should use “layers of protection” to provide a system
of increased security to prevent unauthorized access to bodies of
water, especially important for children. This means that multiple
strategies or devices are used constantly and simultaneously.
Please implement and share the following "Layers of Protection:"
 Supervise – Never take your eyes off children in
and around water.

There Is No Substitute for Active Supervision! Actively
supervise children in and around open bodies of water, giving
them your undivided attention. When there are several adults
present and children are swimming, use the Water Watcher card
strategy, which designates an adult as the Water Watcher for a
certain amount of time (such as 15-minute periods) to prevent
lapses in supervision. IF YOUR CHILD IS MISSING, CHECK
NEARBY POOLS AND OTHER WATER AREAS FIRST.

30 Life in Naples | November 2018