Is your child safe at home?

Fact: People can drown in just 2cm of water! So, remember not to leave your child unsupervised in baths. What can you do? Empty bathtubs after every use!

You never know when your child decides that the washing machine might be a good hiding place. What can you do? Install a child lock on the doors.

Falling into washbasins might not only cause near-drowning, but it might also cause brain and head injuries. What can you do? Remove the plug and keep washbasins empty after use.

A bucket of water might seem far from being a water hazard but you will never know what might happen when you leave your child unsupervised. What can you do? Empty the buckets and keep the buckets away when it’s not in use

Having a fish pond around the house might be for recreational purposes or for some, it might be for “feng-shui” purposes. Don’t let this become a disaster when your younglings happen to fall into it. What can you do? Install isolation fences with self-closing and self-latching gates around

Your child might have fun running around the house, exploring every nooks and corner. They might come across the water tank installed and fall unexpectedly into the tank. What can you do? Make it accessible emergency shut-off for pump

The tropical weather year-round in Malaysia especially during this lockdown period has led a lot of people to purchase their very own inflatable paddle pool for their child at home. Are you one of them? What can you do? Keep your children supervised when they are playing in the paddle pool. Remember to empty it and put away after use.

You might have a splash pool around your condo or clubhouse. It might also be a vacation in a hotel or water-parks. Have you ever thought of the dangers in within on top of the fun that you are about to experience? There are estimated 4174 people on average each year are treated in hospital emergency departments for non-fatal drowning injuries in recreational water settings, over 65% of these cases occurred in swimming pools and over 52% were in children under the age of 5 (CDC, 2004). It might be a near-drowning experience, it might also be an injury caused when sliding down the ginormous water-slide that seems unthreatening at first glance. What can you do? Educate your child on the possible water hazards before letting them off to play. Safeguard your child by keeping a close eye on them. When we say supervise, it means undivided attention on your child’s every movement with them in sight and proximate distance (aka putting away our phones).

A number of drowning deaths have also occurred after the body or a limb has been held against a drain by the suction of the circulation pump, typically between the ages of 8 and 16 years. (CPSC, undated) Being confined in a closed space might lead your lil ones to play with open drains, inserting hands or feet into the pipe, and then becoming trapped with the resulting suction. What can you do? Regular checks on the locked safety covers. Ensure the accessibility to emergency shut-off for pump and emergency services.

Contributory factors to drowning in hot-tubs: 1) Hair entrapment, 2) Alcohol consumption, 3) High water temperatures Believe it or not, over the period of 5 years (1999-2003) there were 1,676 Americans reported having drowned in a tub ( Scripps Howard News Service, 2018). Approximately one-third of these were drownings of children under five years of age (CPSC, undated). What can you do? Maintaining water temperature in hot tubs below 40 °C. Install Grilles/pipes on drain gates preclude hair entrapment. Continuous parental/caregiver supervision of children. Restriction of use when alcohol is likely to be consumed.