Keep Your Kids Safe Around the Pool

The summer's hardly begun and, already, the Tampa Bay community is dealing with the drowning deaths of several children, the most recent occurring in Lithia.

One-year-old Kathen Mayo managed to make his way into the family's above-ground pool at their South County Line Road home while his parents were busy preparing dinner June 13. He was taken to South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City, but doctors were unable to save him, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's report.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, little Kathen is among nearly 400 children who drown in pools and spas each year. Another 5,000 children are treated for pool-related injuries.

Drowning is the No. 1 cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 in Florida. Seventy-seven percent were out of their parent's sight for less than five minutes.

That was the case for Bloomingdale East residents Scot and Stacy Smith. In February 2008, the Smiths, parents of three children, had just moved into their pool home and were waiting for their tax refund to purchase a child safety fence.

Before they could buy the fence, however, then-14-month-old Ashlyn wandered out the sliding glass door, crossed the patio and made her way to the swimming pool.

Stacy Smith found her less than five minutes later. Although paramedics were able to resuscitate Ashlyn, she suffered permanent brain damage.

"You hear stories about this happening (to other people) and you think, 'How can this happen? How can you let this happen to your kid?' " Stacy Smith said during an interview with the Tampa Tribune shortly after the accident. "Then I think, 'It happened to me.' "

How To Keep Your Kids Safe

The commission says people who own pools should be especially cautious because more than 70 percent of all pool injuries occur in backyard pools, including in-ground, above-ground and portable pools.

To ensure that children stay safe this summer, the American Red Cross and the CPSC recommend that pool owners:

• Don’t let anyone swim unsupervised in a pool.

•  Fence pools with a 4-foot or taller fence with self-closing and self-latching gates. Make sure pool gates are closed and locked, especially when not in use.

• Install pool and gate alarms.

• Keep life jackets and flotation devices on hand.

• Assign a “water watcher” to keep an eye on anyone swimming in the pool. Keep a phone nearby for emergencies.

•  Keep emergency equipment, such as life preservers, a first aid kit and a cell phone, nearby.

• When the pool is not in use, remove all pool toys.

• Get CPR training.

The CPSC offers additional tips and information on its website. Pool safety information also can be found on the American Red Cross website.

Local Infant Swimming Programs

Parents also may want to check into local infant swimming programs designed to teach babies and toddlers to stay afloat is they should fall into the water.

Katja Borosch is an instructor of Infant Aquatics Survival techniques and the owner of Kinder Swim Inc., based in Bloomingdale West. She's been teaching infants age 5 months and up to swim for the past nine years.

"It's something I would definitely recommend to parents, and not just during the summer, but all year round," said Borosch. "I should be an ongoing thing so children don't forget what they've learned.

"Even a child as young as 5 months old can be taught to float if they fall in the pool," said Borosch.

Of course, she adds that swimming lessons aren't a substitute for vigorous parental supervision.

"You can't drown-proof kids," she said. "You can only give some added protection by teaching them some skills.

For more information on Kinder Swim, contact Borosch at 813-653-7138 or katja@kinderswim.com.

Valrico resident Diane Cutri has spent years teaching infants to swim using the Infant Swimming Resource program. She can be reached at 813-685-8789 or d.cutri@infantswim.com.

Kari Bahour offers the Infant Swimming Resource program in the FishHawk/Boyette area. She can be reached at 813-643-SWIM (7946) or kari@watchmeswim.com.

Teresa Piddington offers the program in the Riverview area. She can be reached at t.piddington@infantswim.com.

Pamela Norris teaches the classes in the Buckhorn Estates area. She can be reached at 813-624-8161 or p.norris@infantswim.com.