Community Safety

Preventing Drowning

By Super User 543

Drowning does not only happen in swimming pools or in open water like the sea or in rivers. A child can drown in 30 seconds in just a few centimetres of water.

It is a silent killer and therefore essential to be constantly vigilant when you are around water with children.

REMEMBER: Children do not only drown when they are swimming, they can also drown if they fall into water while fully dressed.

Always be alert to possible dangers

  • Teach children to swim as young as possible, including survival skills such as floating and treading water.
  • Supervise children constantly while they are in or near water. A child should never swim alone.
  • If a child cannot swim, keep away from places where they can drown.
  • Remember that buoyancy aids such as inflatable wings and tubes are only aids. Do not rely on them to protect your child from drowning.
  • Warn against boisterous play in or near water, such as riding bicycles or running on dam walls or around swimming pools.
  • Teach your child how to stay afloat in water with their clothes on.
  • Never let children dive or jump into water they don’t know, or when people are in the way.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD DROWNS

  • Take the child out of the water.
  • Get help, if you are not alone.
  • Check for breathing and responsiveness.
  • If the child is not breathing, start rescue breathing.
  • Begin chest compressions.
  • Repeat the process.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

  • Life Threatening Ekurhuleni Emergency Line: 011 458 0911
  • National Toll-Free Number: 10177
  • 112 : Cell Phone