Many of us head to the pools in the summer, but before you and the kids take that dip, you may want to run through a refresher course on safety to decrease drowning dangers.
According to a recent report by the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, drowning is the leading cause of injury death in children ages one to four.
Males make up approximately 80% of drowning victims. Researchers think they often overestimate their swimming abilities.
CDC researchers suggest everyone learn swimming basics and CPR. Children should wear life jackets in all natural bodies of water and weak swimmers should have them on the pool, too. Backyard pools should be fenced off to increase safety, but CDC researchers, and other health experts, say nothing beats being on the lookout.
"The younger kids should never be left unattended," said Dr. Tom Tallman of Cleveland Clinic. "You'll find the tendency in a lot of public pools for parents to let their kids go at it and I'm going to sit over here and visit my friends and the lifeguard has got this under control. Well, they're there to save lives, you're there to make sure you're keeping track of them."
Early formal swimming lessons are also recommended for kids, as well as basic water survival skills.
