Restrain children 12 and under in a back seat. Never put a rear-facing infant or convertible safety seat in the front passenger seat of a vehicle with an active passenger air bag. Make sure to read your child safety seat instruction manual and your motor vehicle owner s manual for directions on proper installation. In addition, the majority of drownings and near-drownings occur in residential swimming pools. Therefore, they are at risk of drowning in wading pools, bathtubs, buckets, diaper pails, toilets, spas and hot tubs.
Older children are more likely to drown in open water sites, such as lakes, rivers and oceans.
In 1997, nearly 1,000 children ages 14 and under drowned. Near drownings have high fatality rates. Fifteen percent of children admitted for near drowning die in the hospital. And as many as twentypercent of near-drowning survivors suffer severe, permanent neurological disability. For every child who drowns, an additional four are hospitalized for near drowning and for every hospital admission, approximately four children are treated in hospital emergency rooms.