PSA for those with small children

[Murph]

Please, if you have a swimming pool, please make sure it is fenced, the gate non-operable by small children, or if an above ground, please remove the ladder from the pool when not in use. A child can drown in 6" of water, and they drown fast.

I just returned from a dead two year old (and autopsy on same) who had slipped away from grandmother and was found floating face down in the pool. I really hate having to investigate these, and I really, really hate going to the autopsy on a child. So please take safety precautions, and make sure your child cannot get into the pool without adult supervision.

PSA over.

[Joanna]

That is so incredibly sad! Hearing things like this just breaks my heart. I don't have any kids of my own, but if I did, precautions would most certainly be taken around a pool.

[fran reisner]

How sad! Ya know... we hear about these things happening all the time, and some folks still don't quite understand the dangers (and how quickly those kiddos can slip away without being noticed.) We bought our home (with pool) when our daughter was almost 5 and had been in swim lessons since she was 6 months. Before we decided not to put up a safety fence we tested her ability by throwing her in the pool fully clothed... several times... to make sure she could make it out, and STILL we watched her like a hawk!

[Resa]

How horrible! My dad is a retired detective and always hated working any calls where children were seriously injured or died. We do have an above ground pool and the ladder is only in it when the kids are in it. When they get out it comes out even though they all know how to swim.