The drowning accident occurred during the Christmas holidays, in the swimming pool at the twins’ backyard. The twins, a boy and a girl, were found unconscious by their mother, Fleur Manago, who immediately pulled them out of the pool. According to this report, despite trying to resuscitate the tots before the paramedics arrived to rush them to the hospital, the twins could not be saved.
Elsae Susanto, a neighbour of the Managos, said everyone on the street was shocked and saddened, as per this report. “They’re such lovely neighbours and they’re very caring parents. It’s really sad,” she stated.
Both toddlers were put on life support machines. However, the Manago daughter passed away on Boxing Day and her brother died three days later. Apparently Fleur and husband Robert had just looked away for a brief moment when the drowning accident occurred. Though Managos’ neighbours spoke highly of the parents, the police are investigating how the twins got into the pool.
Continue reading to learn tips to keep your toddler safe from such accidents in swimming pools!
Toddlers can be a handful, no doubt. But that’s all the more reason for you to be extra cautious around them, especially if there is a swimming pool in your backyard or you happen to take them some place with a swimming pool in the vicinity. Here are some dos and don’ts to adhere to if heading towards the pool with your toddler:
- Keep an eye. Always! Never look away, not even for a few seconds. For a situation to turn sour, you don’t need that long.
- Keep an eye, even if there is a lifeguard: Just because you are in a public swimming pool with a lifeguard around, doesn’t mean you can afford to sit back and get a shut-eye. The lifeguard is looking out for everyone in the pool, not just your child.
- Stay close: If going to the pool with a baby or a toddler, always keep a hand on them. Hold them close enough for you to respond to an emergency.
- Never dunk!: As much as they love the idea of it, please avoid dunking your child, especially if he is under three. “My daughter is all of eight and still petrified of going near the pool, all courtesy my one mistake of playfully dunking her in the water when she was a little over two years. She swallowed a bit of water and started gasping. While a couple of coughs later she was fine, the incident scared her enough to stay out of the pool,” confesses Reshmi Menon, a marketing professional.
- No life-jackets, no swimming: Never replace a life jacket with inflatable toys and mattresses. A toy is meant to be played with and a mattress will NOT save a child from drowning. That’s the job of a life-jacket.
- Have child-safe locks: For those who have a swimming pool in their backyard, ensure that the doors and windows leading to the pool have child-proof locks. Also, look out for elevated areas the children can access to climb over and tumble into the pool, when unnoticed. Having a fence around the pool or a cover with child-safe locks will also help.
While these are the absolute basic rules to be adhered to when heading towards a swimming pool or if you have one in your backyard, what will also help is knowing how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a child. Like I keep saying, one can’t be careful enough with ever-so-curious children around.
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