Doctors: Drowning no.1 cause of death among kids

[Lite Beer]

Doctors: Drowning no.1 cause of death among kids

SONGKHLA, 1 March 2015 (NNT) – Doctors have warned parents to send their kids to a swimming class during the school break or summer to prevent them from drowning, the number one cause of death among Thai children.

The warning has been issued in response to the statistics of the Ministry of Public Health, which showed that as many as 1,200 Thai youngsters aged below 15 drowned each year, meaning that three children died on a daily basis due to their inability to swim. Children aged between five and nine make up the highest percentage of deaths. Drowning is most frequently reported during summer and semester breaks.

The Disease Control Department meanwhile released another worrisome data showing that each drowning incident often took more than one life as children, who saw their playmate going under water often jumped into the water to help their friend who did not know how to swim.. According to the Department, about 23 percent of Thai children aged below 15 know how to swim. Only four percent, however, know how to survive water accidents.

To prevent such tragedy, doctors suggested that children be taught how to swim and save their own lives in a water accident since children, who had learnt to swim with instructors, had a tendency to survive drowning better than those who could not swim by 20 times.

-- NNT 2015-03-01

[daoyai]

swimming is a basic life skill, 4 y. o. is a good time to teach, will never be forgotten... it becomes second nature.

[kaorop]

i grew up with swimming coach/teacher for a father, lived 5 mins from the beach, had a backyard pool, my father owned a swim centre, done most of the courses and certs, pretty sure i know a bit about swimming.

i would love to travel around and run water safety swimming classes

but no cant do that without employing 4 thais and jumping thru lots of hoops, all to make a few hundred bht an hour and so make a net loss

i have seen other governments kick in money to do such things, but where are the thai's with money?

makes me shudder at the waste of lives, 3 every xxxxxx day!

might help if they got over this modesty/sun thing and put them in proper light bathing suits

long pants and a t shirt are used as test for a water survival cert after you can already swim to a moderate level

not for kids playing in water that cannot swim

Edited March 1, 2015 by kaorop

[Thailand]

Admirable, I hope it gets traction.

But the number one cause of death amongst children,does not seem right?

[noahvail]

I would have thought the number one cause of children's death would have been moyorcycle accidents, sans helmets. But maybe that's just the number one cause of maiming kids.

[Strangebrew]

Maybe parenting classes would be best in order. I taught my girls to swim But even when they went swimming I was always watching them, Just in case but maybe I know how to raise children. Even now while sunning on the beaches I always keep my eyes peeled looking to spot distressed swimmer have pulled several to shore safely and done CPR and mouth to mouth on 6 since I been here and the Philippines. Thank god for my Red Cross training.

[thaiclan]

Something isn't right with those figures. In Australia the leading cause of death in the 1-14 age bracket are road accidents. We have all seen the roads here and kids on bikes (far more than you will see in Oz). How can Australia be a more dangerous place for kids on the road than Thailand?

Drowning is the leading cause of death for the under 5's in Australia. Many of these are babies who drown in very shallow water. Reason being when a baby is face down in water their natural instinct is to scream out for Mum. Thus they ingest a large amount of water into their lungs and drown within seconds :-(

Yes it's shocking how many Thai people cannot swim (even fisherman!)and it should be addressed. Still something doesn't seem quite right with the collation of those figures. I'm sure most people on this forum would agree that road fatalities would surpass drownings...?

[Keesters]

Maybe parenting classes would be best in order. I taught my girls to swim But even when they went swimming I was always watching them, Just in case but maybe I know how to raise children. Even now while sunning on the beaches I always keep my eyes peeled looking to spot distressed swimmer have pulled several to shore safely and done CPR and mouth to mouth on 6 since I been here and the Philippines. Thank god for my Red Cross training.

Even I've pulled a young Thai child to safety after he fell of his inner tube support in water too deep for him to stand in. And I'm a non swimmer too. Kids parents were some meters away stuffing their faces with crab, shrimp etc washing it all down with beer and whiskey.

[uel1968]

I horrified to learn 5 years ago of the death of a 3 year old boy who drowned in my wife's village,i was more horrified to learn,that the child wasnt being supervised by his mum,she was too busy getting drunk and playing cards,i will never forget seeing that little boy,laid outon the floor,such a waste of a young life,his mother,later,committed suicide,Guilty as hell,putting the hope of winning money before the safety of her child!!

[trogers]

Great advice for city folks. Try looking for a public pool in the countryside.

So where do country kids learn to swim? At ponds, klongs, and reservoirs, learning from their peers, and some end up drowning.

[FredNL]

Great advice for city folks. Try looking for a public pool in the countryside.

So where do country kids learn to swim? At ponds, klongs, and reservoirs, learning from their peers, and some end up drowning.

They learn it at school using a chair to lay on. Follow the teacher. I've seen them doing it !!!

A complete laugh. Sad but true.

Edited March 1, 2015 by FredNL

[Thai at Heart]

What? More youth drownings than car accidents?

Unbelievable.

[stat088]

What? More youth drownings than car accidents?

Unbelievable.

Yes complete rubbish.

Who are these Doctors? Names please.

If at least 26,000 people are killed on the roads every year that is 71 people per day. If only 1 in 10 are children then thats 7 children per day.

[geriatrickid]

Admirable, I hope it gets traction.

But the number one cause of death amongst children,does not seem right?

It is correct, but I understand why you are questioning. Remember that this is mortality, and not injury.

Drowning has been the number 1 cause for the past 15 years. You were most likely expecting to see transport related causes as the no. 1, but it is actually no. 2 at 1/2 the mortality rate. Falls, trips, electrocutions, called inanimate injuries are the no. 3 cause of death.

The no. 1 cause of severe injuries in Thai children is transport incidents, and it represents about 40% of all injuries. This is just as serious as drowning because the children are often left with serious disabilities such as missing limbs, paralysis or brain damage. Falls and inanimate injuries are no. 2 and no. 3.

It is laudable that there is mention of drowning, but the target no. 1 should be transport related mortality and injuries. However, that's not the intent of the doctors group. All they are trying to do is to bring attention to a serious issue, common to all countries where there is access to bodies of water. This is the yearly notice. In a few weeks we will be reading about kids drowning in the klongs or at the ocean as we do every year once school holidays and Songkran rolls in.

[samjaidee]

"To prevent such tragedy, doctors suggested that children be taught how to swim and save their own lives in a water accident since children, who had learnt to swim with instructors, had a tendency to survive drowning better than those who could not swim by 20 times."

The nature of drowning is that no one survives it. You either drown or don't. That is of course unless someone resuscitates you, after drowning. In that case, you have survived drowning, but not due to an ability to swim.

What baffles me is that children are not taught at school. Some will argue that schools don't have swimming pools; neither did the primary school I went to in London in the '60s yet we went to the local swimming baths every week. Learning to swim was a fundamental part of the school curriculum.

[bluebluewater]

Admirable, I hope it gets traction.

But the number one cause of death amongst children,does not seem right?

It is correct, but I understand why you are questioning. Remember that this is mortality, and not injury.

Drowning has been the number 1 cause for the past 15 years. You were most likely expecting to see transport related causes as the no. 1, but it is actually no. 2 at 1/2 the mortality rate. Falls, trips, electrocutions, called inanimate injuries are the no. 3 cause of death.

So says you but I gotta say that I too do not believe that more children die in Thailand every year because of drowning than die in road accidents.

Fewer that 1,200 children die in road accidents every year? I have serious doubts about that.

Cheers!

Edited March 2, 2015 by bluebluewater

[bheard]

That report is based on government figures, which are designed to conceal the truth.

Check the web site at the following address:

http://swimsafe.org/drowning/drowning-data/

There you will see unbiased numbers - way more horrifying!!

2645 per year in Thailand, that's more than 7 PER DAY.

Every day more than 7 children drown in thailand. And nothing is done.

[cup-O-coffee]

The number one cause of death for children is lack of adult supervision, care or attention. The OP is merely one of the many sub-categories of that, and moreover another indirect means to avoid any (at all) responsibility, duty or obligation; ...Thais speaking about something without really addressing the truth. Blame it on water... yeah... right.

[wabothai]

This sounds better: We doctors urge the government to start building public swimmingpools for the kids to learn to swim, too many drown.

Or is the government too busy building 4-lane highways, traintrajects and even a bullit train and while you are at it lawmakers you may consider making a law where under the constitution all kids have the rights and the obligation to learn to swim.

[anon467367354]

in the US drowning used to be the #1 cause of death for children, now ages 0-14 it's congenital anomalies.

Obviously the drug companies providing GMO's and other crap for consumption are winning.

[NoshowJones]

I am not surprised at this at all, I believe that most of the drownings will be in rivers and ponds, but at the swimming pool near where I live, there are two pools in use and there is never anyone supervising. If you went to the swimming baths in the UK, there are always people watching the pool.

[northernphil]

I would have thought the number one cause of children's death would have been moyorcycle accidents, sans helmets. But maybe that's just the number one cause of maiming kids.

Exactly what I would of thought. How many every day ? But then some of the blame would have to go else where such as poor roads , lack of the law being applied to non crash hat wearers etc, whereas drowning is mostly the fault of guardian/parent. If you buy ciggies they come with a health warning , Why don't scooters ? Such as " Keep away from children , can cause maiming or death " Just a thought.

[ginjag]

Great advice for city folks. Try looking for a public pool in the countryside.

So where do country kids learn to swim? At ponds, klongs, and reservoirs, learning from their peers, and some end up drowning.

Majority of kids are from the rural areas, this is where a vast amount will lose their lives-------NO swimming facilities. every town should have a pool , here it seems that only cities have them.

Local authorities, allocation of funds from each provincial town. Who cares really, Home life ?? m/cycle blind eye turned, parental guidance near non existent, Every large high school should try to build a pool. swimming lessons 1 hour sessions at a local pool--could be hotel hired an idea.

[farangUSA]

Do not teach them how to swim but rather how to float.

[Jonmarleesco]

'... had a tendency to survive drowning better ...' A strange way to put it. '... were more capable of avoiding drowning ...' But as much at the root of Thai child-drowning incidents is the Thais' careless and laissez-faire approach to safety, everywhere.

[kaorop]

Do not teach them how to swim but rather how to float.

Well actually its called water safety and thats how proper courses run, water safety and swimming instruction come hand in hand.

[peni ferret]

so i was tinking about dis.

in the farangistan i come from there are strict rules about fencing pools with child proof fences. not same thailand. perhaps thats why thailand has such a high incidence compared to farangistan

[ExPratt]

Both of my two kids here learnt to swim at a very early age as there was a pool where I lived. You couldn't get them out of the water up until they were about 10, now they prefer to play games on their phones

[webfact]

More parents send children to learn swimming as drowning topping cause of deaths among youths under 15



BANGKOK: -- With growing concern of drowning being the top cause of deaths among Thai youths under 15 years old, now parents are sending their children to take swimming course to prevent tragedies.

Study by the Child Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Centre of Ramathibodi Hospital revealed that more than 1,400 youths under 15 years old died from drowning each year, or an average four deaths a day, becoming the top cause of deaths of children.

The death figures doubled the deaths of youths from road mishaps, it said.

This prompted the need to encourage parents to send their children to attend swimming courses, particularly during the long summer holidays when schools closes and children have no places to go, forcing them to go out swimming in public ponds, canals to enjoy themselves..

In Phitsanulok province, many schools now have opened swimming courses for children to learn how to swim properly during the summer holiday from March to May.

The opening of the swimming courses has attracted many parents to send their children to learn.

Parents worried that leaving their children at homes alone might force them to go out swimming in public ponds, canals without asking permission from them.

And this might lead to tragedy if their children have no swimming skills, or can’t swim.

A swimming teacher Chaovisit Manmketarakit said teachers will teach them how to swim and how to save their lives in case of accident.

But knowing how to swim isn’t enough as when children learn how to swim, they will have more courage to swim .

So they are prone to higher risk if they don’t know where they can swim or should avoid in case of strong current, or even jump to the water from the bridge which is dangerous if they have no skills, he said.

The swimming course will teach how to swim and how to save life, he said.

Earlier the Ministry of Public Health said children aged between five and nine make up the highest percentage of deaths. Drowning is most frequently reported during summer and semester breaks.

Also the Disease Control Department recently released another worrisome data showing that each drowning incident often took more than one life as children, who saw their playmate going under water often jumped into the water to help their friend who did not know how to swim..

According to the Department, about 23 percent of Thai children aged below 15 know how to swim. Only four percent, however, know how to survive water accidents, NNT reported.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/more-parents-send-children-to-learn-swimming-as-drowning-topping-cause-of-deaths-among-youths-under-15-2


-- Thai PBS 2015-03-16

[Stradavarius37]

It should ready "Thai Parents Piss Poor Parenting Skills are the #1 Cause of Death for Thai Children Today". And their ignorance regarding any sort of safety thinking.