Water safety requires vigilance
Water safety requires vigilance in state

By Michael McNutt

Published: March 21, 2008

Paying attention when a child is near any body of water — even a bucket of water — could save that youngster's life, Oklahoma's chief child abuse examiner said.

With Thursday's arrival of spring, the Oklahoma Child Death Review Board kicked off a campaign to warn Oklahomans to be mindful of children while around swimming pools, rivers, lakes and streams.

Attention also must be paid when kids are in bathtubs or near decorative ponds, said Dr. Robert Block, a member of the Child Death Review Board and chairman of the pediatrics department at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in Tulsa.

"Water is a magnet for little children,” he said. "You mustn't let your attention lag for even a second.”

The board reviews every Oklahoma child death with the goal of determining whether it could have been prevented. It plans to launch public awareness campaigns over the next 18 months in five areas: water safety, fire safety, vehicle accidents, unsafe sleep practices and child abuse and neglect.

"Drowning can be prevented by having a responsible adult always looking after children,” Block said.

"People drinking alcohol or using drugs should not be watching children because they cannot respond to an emergency situation.”

Adults watching children in or near water also shouldn't be distracted by things such as talking on the telephone, he said.

He suggested adults empty bathtubs, buckets and inflatable pools immediately after using them.

The board plans to distribute cards that adults who are watching children in or near water can use to remind them of their responsibility.

Fliers and posters are being distributed, and radio and television public service announcements that are part of the board's Think, Prevent and Live campaign should air next month, Block said.

In 2007, 16 children drowned in Oklahoma, Block said. During a period from 2001 to 2006, 143 children drowned, he said.

Those included 80 who drowned in a lake, river or other body of water:

•28 in swimming pools

•18 in bathtubs,

•Four in decorative ponds,

•Three in public swimming areas

•Two in buckets.

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