After 107 drownings in Texas last year, safety around water is especially important as summer approaches, said Candi Revere, association aquatics director for the YMCA of Greater Houston.
Harris County, also the most populous county in Texas, had the most drownings of any county in the state with 18, she said.
"We want everybody to be safe this summer so we don’t have any more drownings," Revere said.
As parents prepare for an anticipated scorching Texas summer and visiting area swimming pools and other bodies of water, here are five tips to help keep children from drowning this year:
- Provide close supervision: Make sure an adult or strong swimmer is present as long as children or inexperienced swimmers are in the water.
- Understand that drowning is a silent killer: Unlike what is portrayed in movies and television shows, someone who is drowning is not able to wave, scream or call for help.
- Learn to swim: Get swimming lessons for children as early as possible.
- It does not matter how deep the water is: Kids can drown in as little as an inch of water.
- Keep the pool area secure: Make sure backyards with pools have fencing around the pool.
