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Child Crawls through Pet Door Drowns in Pool

A toddler’s head circumference ranges 6 1/2 “to 7 ½” age 1-2 years and a child can squeeze through any space she can stick her head through. As temperatures rise and we all spend more time in the pool, around the fountain and in the hot tub we need to be ever vigilant in protecting kids from drowning.

Carol Rafone lost her son in a way you might not have ever considered until you hear her story. “It was a typical late afternoon and the house was buzzing with three adults and two children when Matthew found the doggie door behind the couch. He crawled through it and made his way onto an enclosed patio area and then through a pool fence. We found Matthew just a few minutes later floating face-down in the pool. He died 13 agonizing days later from injuries related to his “near-drowning” accident. www.PetAccessDangers.org

In fact ABC news has reported over 100 incidents of kids crawling through pet doors into danger. http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7564779

Bottom line, if you have a pool, spa, hot tub even a fountain—any body of water a kid could stick his head in, you as a parent, relative, friend or homeowner have a duty to not allow kids access to these bodies of water without uninterrupted visual supervision.

There are myriad stories of kids squeezing through pool fences (no pool fence should have any gap anywhere larger than 4”—measure yours—demand and measure this spec in construction.

There are so many more cases where an adult was watching the child but for some reason, even while in the pool area, took her eyes off the child, he slid into the water and was gone. When this happens you don’t hear a thing. There is no scream or splashing. The toddler simply slides under the water and drowns in minutes. Adults fall asleep, get distracted by television, a party, friends whatever and the child gets access to the fountain or pool falls in and drowns.

Homeowners with or without children should seriously consider a pool fence with a self closing gate to completely isolate the pool. In the interest of aesthetics are you willing to take the risk that there will never be a toddler in your home that might find her way into your backyard unattended?

When responsible for a child as a parent, relative, friend or babysitter, always immediately inspect any place you take a child when you first arrive to determine if there is water with access that you need to be concerned about. If there is the rule is simple—you cannot take your eyes off the child while at that home or establishment.

The number of child drowning each year is staggering and the imaginative ways that kids find their way to water always growing. The message for us adults is simple. Kids cannot be allowed unsupervised access to water. Period.

So check your doggie doors, can your kids crawl through them? If so, what dangers are they exposed to? Can you risk having the door? Should you consider an alarm on the door? Do you have a fence around your pool and spa? If not, consider the risk. There are some very attractive and unique pool fences made of wrought iron as well as rebar in desert plant and animal configurations. There are also portable fences that fold up that can be put around the pool when kids will be in the house.

If you have a pool fence be sure there is no gap anywhere, from slat to slat and from ground to first bar, from wall to fence of more than 4”.

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Child Crawls through Pet Door Drowns in Pool