by Cassie McGovern
Six years ago, our life as a family of five with three beautiful girls took a tragic, life-altering turn. When our 19 month-old baby girl fell into our swimming pool, we became a statistic. Now we belong to a club that nobody wants to be a part of – we are parents who have lost a child. Nothing will ever be the same… and there is always one empty seat where she would have been, our family will ALWAYS have a void because our precious girl did not have basic water survival skills and because, when she wasn’t in my sight, I searched our home first instead of our pool. Drowning is Preventable!
Drowning or near drownings are more common than anyone imagines. In the years since Em has left us, we have found that most parents feel it will not happen to them. Parents say, “I’m always with my child,” or “They are still too young,” or “My child cried through his first lesson so we never went back,” or “The lessons are too expensive,” or “The lessons don’t work with our schedule.” That was the category we were in before Em’s accident; however, it also makes me feel that those parents assume they are better parents than we were or are.
“It happened to you, but it wont happen to us,” they think.
Both my husband and myself were home, all of our children were there with us, and I was putting groceries away with Em in my sight. I walked to the adjacent room for a minute, came back and she was not where I left her. So I looked through my house and, when she wasn’t there I proceeded to our back yard which is fenced and has a pool gate that may have been left unlatched. That is where I found her. When you have any body of water at or near your home look there first! Not one parent can say they watch their children 100% of the time–you use the rest room, brush your teeth, change your clothes, fold laundry. It doesn’t mean you are a bad parent. It is life and accidents happen.
Parents’ priorities tend to be to get their children involved in football, soccer, dance and organized activities. However, teaching your child basic water survival skills should be done first, at about 6-9 months of age. You would never think of not placing your child in a car seat in your vehicle; teaching basic water survival skills is as vitally important, especially in Florida.
We suggest parents have 1) Door alarms on all doors (cost less than $20 per unit at Lowes/Home Depot) 2) 4′ gate blocking any body of water 3) Basic water survival skills when the child becomes mobile and 4) Eye contact on your children at all times.
It hurts that our baby girl paid with her life, but we are determined to make a difference to fight this fight for the rest of our lives. Find out how YOU can help save your children (or someone else’s) from drowning. www.mcgovernfoundation.com