Summer Weather: It’s Time to “See and Save” a child

Drowning, hot car deaths attributed to warmer weather

Summer weather is already upon us and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is urging all Texans to be on guard against one of the leading causes of death among infants, toddlers and young children: accidental drowning. Dozens of children have already drowned in Texas this year. Each year, DFPS keeps an unofficial count of child drowning deaths.

In addition, Texas led the nation last year in the number of children who died after being left alone in hot cars. Of the 42 heat-related deaths in the U.S. in 2008, nine occurred in Texas, with more than half in Houston and two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Texas has the most vehicle-related hyperthermia deaths during the past decade.

“Each of these tragedies could have been prevented, simply by not leaving children alone,” said Sasha Rasco, DFPS assistant commissioner for Child Care Licensing. “Children should never be left unsupervised for any length of time either in water or near water or in hot vehicles because the results can be devastating in a matter of minutes. If you can’t see them, you can’t save them.”

This year’s drowning deaths have typically occurred in swimming pools, bayous, and ponds. Federal statistics show that children under one year most often drown in bathtubs, buckets, or toilets, while children from one to four years old drown most often in residential swimming pools. Most young children who drowned in pools were last seen in the home, had been out of sight less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time.

Although some hot car deaths occur when children climb into the trunks of unlocked cars, most children die because they are simply left alone in the vehicle. In most cases, a parent, caregiver, or day care provider gets distracted for just a minute and forgets a child is in the vehicle.

Visit the “See & Save” website at www.seeandsave.org for more information.