Keeping watch on the water

One child drowning…and one near-drowning in Missouri in the last month…is a reminder of how quickly an accident can happen. A 20-month-old boy drowned in St. Louis this weekend. The toddler wandered outside and fell in his father’s pool when no one noticed. Last month…a four-year-old girl nearly drowned in a Columbia hotel pool when her mother stopped paying attention. She was saved with C-P-R. Jim Jeffries, Interim Chief for Missouri’s Bureau of Disabilities Prevention and Injury Control admonishes anyone supervising a child near water to keep a constant eye on them. He says turning your head even for a second can be dangerous when the child you are caring for is near water.