Drowning


	820 Sherbrook Street Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3A 1R9 telephone 204-774-6511

Impact Home

Young children are at great risk of drowning because they cannot understand the danger that water poses to them.
Toddlers can drown in just a few minutes, whether its in the family pool, a diaper pail, a toilet, or a scrub bucket. Constant supervision around water is extremely important.
In 1998, there were 26 water-related fatalities in Manitoba.¹ Boating (9 deaths), aquatic activities such as swimming (5), inadvertent falls into bodies of water (6), dry land or air transport situations (4) and unknown (2) accounted for all of the deaths. (The "dry land and air transport" category refers to motor vehicles entering water, snowmobiles breaking through ice or air craft entering water).
The Facts

	A child can drown in a few inches of water - enough to cover the mouth and nose.
	Toddlers tend to drown by falling into various collections of water in and around the home.
	In Canada in 1997, 29 toddlers drowned.¹ Thirty-four per cent of these drownings occurred in lakes, 34 per cent in home pools and 13 per cent in bathtubs. Two-thirds of these children were alone at the time of the incident.
	For every toddler who dies from drowning, there are an estimated six to 10 additional near-drownings which require hospitalization.
	Near-drowning may result in varying degrees of brain injury.

Safety Tips

	Always supervise children in and around water, even if they know how to swim. In an emergency, young children could easily forget their training. Remember, you are your child's best life preserver.
	Although older children may be eager to help, supervision should be left to a responsible adult.

At the pool

	All backyard swimming pools and hot tubs must be fenced on four sides to a height of at least 4 feet. Check your local bylaws. Install a self-latching gate with a lock that is out of a child's reach.
	Never use flotation devices like water wings and inflatable rings without constant adult supervision.
	Remove ladders from an above-ground pool when you have finished swimming.
	Late afternoons are often a busy time for many households. Do not allow yourself to become distracted if supervising young children around water at this time of day.

Around the house

Never leave a small child unattended near a bucket filled with any amount of water or other liquid.

In the bathroom

	Young children should never be left in the bathroom unattended.
	Stand guard over a bathtub that is filling with water.
	Don't use a bathtub seat with suction cups. The seat can overturn and flip a baby headfirst into the water.
	Install a toilet-lid locking device.

At play outside

	Dump out all water from a wading pool when you are finished using it.
	Never let your child play on ice-covered retention ponds. Ice conditions on these ponds can change quickly and without warning, creating an extreme hazard.
	Use approved life jackets when boating but do not use them as a floating device for young children. A life jacket is not a substitute for supervision - children have drowned in life jackets.

Sources:

¹The Facts about Drowning in Canada. Canadian Red Cross. Edition 2000.

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Date of last revision: October 26, 2006.