Dear Editor,
With Easter Vacation next week, and the rains we have been
having, the pictures of kids sliding down an embankment to the cool
water below look very enticing.
Dear Editor,
With Easter Vacation next week, and the rains we have been having, the pictures of kids sliding down an embankment to the cool water below look very enticing. When we print these kinds of pictures, can we also state the dangers of being in any area of water where there is no adult supervision? Children not only drown in unsupervised backyard swimming pools, but other water areas as well.
I can personally show you a Sub-Acute Hospital in Saratoga with 31 children in it, many of whom have had drowning accidents; it’s not a pretty sight. My grandson Jaevan is one of these patients. When he was 15 months old, his baby-sitter fell asleep while watching him and his 2 1/2-year-old brother. They both found their way to the backyard and Jaevan fell in the pool. He will be 4 in May. He survived, but he died that day, and was later revived at the hospital. He will never be the same Jaevan we once had, but we can still hold him and love him, we just pray that he knows us.
Please help educate the public on water safety. If you have a pool, make sure you have secure locks and alarms on your back doors, your gates to your backyard should lock so that a child cannot accidentally find their way into your backyard and pool. If you are having a party with children, please have people designated to watch the pool at all times. Teach your children about the dangers of going near the water at the levy, creeks or lakes, it only takes a few minutes to change your life forever.
Lynn Hennessee-Cordia
