Pool Vigilance Can Save Lives
Children are at risk even in a crowded backyard setting
By Ethan Mitkowski

(Article Reprinted from June 30, 2002 edition)
When Stew Leonard III drowned during a family vacation in 1989, it was at a crowded birthday celebration with adults and children playing nearby. The 21-month-old toddler had been out of sight for only a few minutes when his parents noticed he was missing.

"I didn't even panic, because there were six other adults outside, and kids playing outside," said Kim Leonard, Stewie's mother.

When no one could account for the toddler, the family frantically searched the house before turning their attention to the backyard pool. There the Norwalk couple found a yellow T-shirt floating in the water, and their son drowned underneath. Attempts at resuscitation failed. Kim and her husband, Stew Leonard Jr., owners of Stew Leonard's grocery stores, believe their son spotted a balloon floating in the pool, tried to reach over the edge to grab it, and fell in.

"I remember the children's pediatrician saying to me to be really careful around the water with (Stewie)," Kim Leonard recalled. "And I remember saying of course I will be. I don't think you realize how quickly it will happen. In our situation, I assumed Stew had him, and Stew assumed I was watching him."

Incidents like that happen more often than parents might think. The only accidents that kill more children each year than drowning are car crashes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1998, the last year for which statistics are available, 1,003 children under age 14 drowned in the United States. Connecticut averages 12 drownings per year of people under age 20. Most of these drownings happen at a swimming pool and involve children between one and four years of age. And, for every child who drowns, four more come close to drowning, and half of those suffer some degree of brain damage.

Many parents just don't think much about that, said Rob Polley, program director for the Norwalk Swim America, a local chapter of a nationwide swimming instruction program.

"A lot of times parents think their kids can swim 10 strokes and they'll be fine," Polley said. "A lot of times that's not the case."

Even some of Polley's strongest swimmers will panic the first time they venture into a pool's deep end. They'll swallow water, flail their arms, and start to sink in a matter of seconds.

"The danger is when you look at a child and say, 'they can swim so I don't have to watch them'," Polley said. "Usually when kids drown, it's silent. There's nothing you can hear. They can't get enough energy or propulsion to keep their heads above water, and they go under. There's no substitute for diligence. The rule is don't let them swim alone."

The best way to prevent children from drowning is to always watch them when they're in or around a pool, and that means actively watching the child; not reading, not running to answer the phone, not napping in the sun, said Patti Flaherty, aquatic director of the Waterbury YMCA.

"Children are quick," said Flaherty. "You have to always watch them. After only 4 or 5 minutes under water, they can drown, or permanent brain damage occurs."

Some parents, when holding swimming parties either at home or at a recreation club, will hire a lifeguard to watch over the pool and their guests, Polley said. But pool owners have to be diligent even when no one is swimming. Pools should be surrounded with gates high enough that children cannot climb over them. Lawn furniture and garbage cans should be kept out of reach as well, so children can't use them to climb on as they climb over a fence. All gates should be self-closing and self-latching, to keep the entrance to a pool secure.

Many people will build a pool gate off the side of their house, effectively using one side of their home as a gate.

If that's the case, doors leading from the house to the pool should be alarmed to keep children from sneaking out of the house into the pool, Polley said.

Pushed by a need to channel the grief they experienced after their son's death, the Leonards formed the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation, a group dedicated to promoting water safety awareness and teaching children to swim. This month, in preparation for the coming summer swim season, the foundation released a new children's book written by the Leonards and Dr. Lawrence Shapiro titled "Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim." The book is targeted at children ages two through six, and tells the story of a young duck who learns to swim before he is allowed in the pool. The book stresses three things: Children must always wear a life vest, they must learn to swim, and an adult must always watch a child in the water. The book comes with a musical CD, that puts these rules in an easy to remember song.

The books are available at Stew Leonard's grocery stores in Norwalk, Danbury and Yonkers, N.Y. The book sold 3,000 copies in two weeks. The Leonards hope the book will make both parents and their children aware of the dangers in even a backyard pool. It is also available through the store Web site, located at www.stewleonards.com.

Parents looking for children's swimming lessons can check with their local YMCA or contact the Connecticut chapter of Swim America, which can be found online at www.swimamericanorwalk.com.