Safety tips for the home and garden to help prevent drowning – From Water Babies and RLSS UK

Drowning is the third highest cause of accidental death of children in the UK and leads to an average of 400 people’s death every year.

Water Babies are aiming to help prevent any unnecessary water deaths and are urging families to include potentially dangerous areas in their spring clean up of both the house and garden.

And it’s the less obvious dangers we should also be looking out for, says Adrian Lole, Director of Lifesaving at drowning prevention charity the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK).

Adrian said: “Water safety around the home should be a priority for everyone and, although advice around hazards may seem like common sense, there are many dangers that may not be so obvious. It is also important to remember that someone can drown is as little as 2cm of water. We will be raising awareness of this during Drowning Prevention Week from 18 to 26 June.”

Water Babies Swim School is working with the RLSS UK and has created some important safety tips to consider, including checking unused flower pots, play equipment and buckets which may have filled with rainwater during the winter:

Make sure that buckets and containers that have ended up holding water and leaves over the winter have all been emptied and, if possible, keep them turned upside down

Empty the bath as soon as possible after use and always remove toys from the bath and remove plugs, placing out of reach of children

Always use self-closing gates, fences and locks to prevent children from gaining access to pools of water. Also ensure that, after winter, all gates, fences and locks are in good working order – no holes or rusty hinges that may stop them from working efficiently

Securely cover all water storage tanks and drains

Empty paddling pools and buckets as soon as they have been used. Always turn paddling pools upside down once empty

Never leave a child unsupervised around water, under any circumstances

Always supervise bath time – never leave children unattended in or around the bath for any reason including answering the phone or to get a towel

Close lids to toilets, use toilet seat locks and keep doors to bathrooms and utility rooms closedCheck other water containers around the home are empty, out of reach or inaccessible to children, these could include mop buckets or dog bowls

Water Babies co-founder,  Paul Thompson said: “It’s tragic that drowning is still the third highest cause of accidental death for UK children. In most cases it’s the shock of sudden submersion that causes children to panic. We believe that by introducing children to the water as early as possible, they are less likely to experience fear if they do fall in.

“With progressive training, babies can be taught lifesaving skills such as turning on their backs or, following sudden submersion, swimming to the nearest solid object. Over the last few years a dozen of our pupils have saved themselves from drowning, some of whom were just two years old.”