Statistics from the Department of Environmental Management show that each year, on average, more than 370,000 children are injured in accidents – the leading cause of death in children. Among the causes of death due to injury in children, drowning is the leading cause with 3,500 children and adolescents aged 0-19 dying each year, equivalent to about 10 children dying each day. The main causes of drowning in children include:
- Mental and physiological characteristics of each age group
- Lack of safety knowledge and skills
- Lack of adult supervision
- The surrounding water environment is potentially dangerous
- Natural disaster
1. Mental and physiological characteristics of each age group
Age and development
According to statistics, in the world, children in the 1 – 4 year old group have the highest death rate due to drowning, followed by the 5 – 9 year old group1. Similarly in Vietnam, children in the 1 – 4 year old group have the highest mortality rate (12.9/100,000), followed by the 5 – 9 year old group (11/100,000), and the 10 – 14 year old group ( 5.1/ 100 000).
In the group of children under 5 years old (preschool age): The cause of drowning is because they are not aware and cannot proactively ensure safety when exposed to the water environment and must ask for support. other people. Therefore, drowning in children under 5 years of age is often the result of children being left alone or with an incompetent caregiver. In other age groups, when children are studying in elementary school (from 6 years old and above), middle school, and high school, they have formed some knowledge and skills about drowning prevention and are able to higher awareness and attitude. However, children often tend to be more active, curious, love to explore, have risky behaviors, and express themselves. Due to not being fully aware of the dangers, being subjective, and lacking practical experience, when there is no adult supervision, children are susceptible to drowning (WHO, 2008).
Sex
The drowning rate is higher in men than in women in all age groups, except for children under 1 year old. In the age group from 15 to 19, this rate in men is 2.7 times higher than in women. This condition is due to the fact that male children are hyperactive, curious and participate in more vigorous activities than girls in activities that take place in or near open water; More passionate about water entertainment activities. Accordingly, in Vietnam, the rate of male children dying from drowning is nearly 2 times higher than that of female children (10.7/100,000 compared to 5.4/100,000).
Pathological
Epilepsy increases the risk of death from drowning in all water sources, including bathtubs, swimming pools, ponds, and other natural bodies of water. Children and students with epilepsy are at much higher risk of submersion and drowning than normal children both in bathtubs and swimming pools.
2. Lack of safety knowledge and skills
Children and students lack the knowledge and skills to evaluate and identify risks and dangers that can occur from drowning when they participate in work and play activities in daily life near areas. Living areas with water or when swimming or bathing in natural waters or open waters. They do not know where it is safe to swim, most of them act spontaneously, and do not have the habit of following safety regulations to prevent drowning.
.Many children and students know how to swim, even swim well, but still die from drowning because they lack knowledge and proactive prevention skills and do not know safe self-rescue and drowning skills. When learning to swim, children usually learn in swimming pools or ponds, rivers, where there are teachers or parents and many people around. In these places, children have had a lot of exposure and are familiar with the terrain, so they will feel more confident and safe. But when swimming in a different, unfamiliar water environment. If you suddenly encounter an incident and you have not yet mastered swimming and escape skills, you will easily drown. There have been cases where children and students who were good swimmers and bravely saved many friends from drowning, but they themselves drowned and died very mercifully. In addition, there have been many cases of students drowning collectively because they were not equipped with safe drowning rescue knowledge. Therefore, along with learning to swim, children need to be equipped with knowledge and skills to recognize the risks of drowning, and skills to respond to situations when they participate in activities in the living environment. Every day, when participating in swimming or wading to ensure your own safety before receiving support from others.
Read below:
In addition, you can equip knowledge and skills for safety and drowning prevention through SSVN Survival Skills courses at:
3. Lack of adult supervision
In many cases, for many different reasons, children are left unattended or escape the supervision of parents, adults, or responsible people, leading to falls and falls into waters that lead to drowning.
In cases where the supervisor is incompetent, such as a supervisor who is a young brother or sister, a person with certain limitations in behavioral capacity, a person supervising a child who cannot swim and does not have drowning rescue skills, .
In the case of irresponsible supervisors such as waterway vehicle owners, beach owners, event organizers, etc. Failure to comply with regulations when children and students operate near open water or in aquatic environments.
4. The surrounding water environment is potentially dangerous
The water environment around children and students is not safe, with specific manifestations such as: jars, water jars, water basins, water jars, water tanks, and water tanks in the family are not carefully covered; Construction pits are deep but there are no warning signs or barriers; The well wall is not high enough; Swimming pools, swimming areas are unattended or the caretakers do not know how to swim, lack rescue equipment, do not have drowning rescue skills, do not have danger warning signs, etc.
Waterway vehicles do not ensure technical safety and lack safety equipment such as life jackets and rescue boats. Overloading waterways is also a cause of concern when children and students travel on rivers. Swimming pools, beaches, and open water areas without supervision or lifeguards; bridges spanning canals, ditches, rivers, streams, etc. Failure to ensure technical and safety standards is one of the causes of drowning.
5. Natural disasters
Due to limited awareness, knowledge, skills and physical strength, especially when natural disasters suddenly occur, such as heavy rain, floods, etc. The water rises quickly, rises high, and the water swirls and flows strongly, causing children and students to often panic and easily be submerged or swept away into canals, rivers, streams, sewers, etc. leading to death.
Refer to the Flood Injury First Aid course
Eliminating risk factors leading to drowning accidents to create a safe environment for children in families and communities is not thorough. The risk of drowning still exists in many localities across the country, especially rural, mountainous areas and areas with difficult living and economic conditions.
Read more articles on the topic of Drowning Prevention.
Reference source: Department of Physical Education – Ministry of Education and Training
