According to the DROWNING surveys conducted each year by Public Health France, each summer an average of 500 deaths by drowning are recorded in France. Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in everyday life. in children under 15. In this age group, it is the lack of monitoring (55% of cases) and the fact not knowing how to swim (47%) which are the main causes of drownings.
“It is probably out of reach to want to change the behavior of very young children, who are by nature curious and immature. On the other hand, parents must be made to understand that between 2 and 4 years old, they must be watched constantly. A child can drown silently, in less than three minutes, in twenty centimeters of water”insists Public Health France.
Regardless of the location of the water activity (sea, lake, swimming pool, etc.), a child must always be supervised by an adult who takes responsibility for it, even if he is just playing. In order to reduce the risks associated with swimming, it is advisable to equip them with quality armbands (bearing the CE marking and the NF 13138-1 standard) adapted to their size, weight and age. And teach your child to swim as early as possible, from 4-5 years old.
1 in 7 people cannot swim
the Health Barometer 2016shows that one in seven French people can’t swim. However, learning to swim, a drowning prevention factor, can be done at any age.
But even if you know how to swim, it is important to choose supervised bathing areas, where the intervention of rescue teams is faster, and to take your physical condition into account. We avoid going into the water if we are tired or sick. We also keep in mind that it is more difficult to swim in a natural environment than in a swimming pool and that it is important to warn those around us that we are going to swim.
Read also :
Drowning: a few minutes to react
How to check the safety of a swimming pool
