It’s summer and many of us are heading to the pool or filling our pools for the first time. Drowning is something that happens far too often and I am sure is something that crosses every parents mind. But now Experts Warn, Child Drownings Linked to Phone-Distracted Parents so thinking about it, just isn’t enough…
According to The German Lifeguard Association, nearing 300 drownings have already occurred this year and many are blamed on parents being distracted by their phones.
“We’re experiencing on a daily basis that people treat swimming pools like a kindergarten and simply don’t pay attention. In the past, parents and grandparents spent more time with their children in the swimming pool. But increasing numbers of parents are fixated by their smartphones and are not looking left or right, let alone paying attention to their children. It’s sad that parents behave so neglectfully these days.” -Peter Harzheim, president of the German federation of swimming pool supervisors (Source)
German lifeguards also blamed a lack of mandatory swimming education in school systems at a time when parents are increasingly too busy to squeeze in swim lessons for kids.
And German lifeguards are not the only experts pleading for parents to pay attention.
The global concern exists in the United States as well. In fact, =a Texas mother was charged after a witness reportedly claimed
she was using her phone while three of her children drowned in an apartment complex pool in 2015.
The World Health Organization states that in findings in
The Global report on drowning (2014) shows that age is one of the major risk factors for drowning. This relationship is often associated with a lapse in supervision. Globally, the highest drowning rates are among children 1–4 years, followed by children 5–9 years. In the WHO Western Pacific Region children aged 5–14 years die more frequently from drowning than any other cause. (
Source)
Drowning can happen in an instance and may not even seem like drowning at all. More importantly, drowning can be prevented.
Let’s work together to get children (and adults) proper swim lessons, education on how to handle themselves around water and parents please put your phones and other distractions away when your children are near water. Please don’t become one of the heartbreaking drowning statistics this year!
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