health

A warning to all parents following two drownings and one child in critical condition.

It has been a horror weekend with three separate incidents of children drowning in backyard pools.

In Darwin, a three-year-old boy has tragically died after drowning in the family spa. Emergency services were called to the home in the suburb of Herbert after numerous attempts by family members to revive the boy were unsuccessful.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

In Sydney, two further incidents have resulted in the death of a three-year-old boy, and left another two-year-old boy fighting for his life.

The three-year-old boy was tragically pronounced dead by paramedics attending the scene after the boy collapsed near the family pool in the South Western suburb of Riverwood.

The backyard pool in Riverwood, NSW.
Family of the Camden boy watch on as he is loaded into an ambulance.

Only a short time later, a two-year-old boy was airlifted to hospital where he remains in a critical condition having also fallen into the backyard swimming pool.

The two-year-old boy in critical condition being airlifted to hospital.

These tragic events have renewed warnings from authorities on just how quickly children can get into trouble around the water, and we are being reminded of the need to be vigilant when it comes to water safety, not just in relation to swimming pools but around all bodies of water. This includes bath tubs, buckets, animal troughs, rain water tanks and fish ponds as well as drains where hair can become caught and body parts entrapped.

Kidsafe, The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia, lists drowning as one of the most common causes of accidental death for young children with Australia holding the second worst record in the world for preventable toddler drownings.

Alarmingly, a child can drown silently in as little as five centimetres of water in under two minutes, meaning that only a slight lapse in supervision can have devastating consequences.

Supervision is listed as being the most effective means of preventing drowning in children and therefore parents are being urged to keep an eye on their children at all times and to avoid distraction such as mobile phones.

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Water education is encouraged from an early age. Image: iStock.

We are also being reminded to ensure adequate safety measures like fencing are installed and used properly with all latches functioning and the gates being closed and to check the surrounding areas to ensure that young children are not able to access objects which would enable them to climb over fences.

Pool alarms are further recommended but come with a warning not to rely on them as a first line of defence.

Water education is also highly recommended from a young age but does not replace the need for proper supervision.

Do you have a swimming pool at home?