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Jul 1, 2009 3:35 pm US/Central
Local Parents Urged To Watch Kids Near Water
By Melissa Newton
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images
As the Fourth of July holiday weekend approaches, child advocates are urging parents to pay special attention to their kids while they are around water.
Since January, 60 children have drowned in Texas, with 30 of those drownings happening in the last month alone.
Christina Harkness knows just how dangerous the water can be. "I had an incident as a child. It wasn't a near drowning but it was an injury that could have turned into a drowning," she explained. "So, I'm always a little nervous around the pool."
Now, Harkness, a mother of two, takes extra precautions to keep her kids safe. "Things can happen so quickly," she said.
Children's Medical Center and the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas have teamed up to educate parents about water safety.
Workers used a lifelike doll to show just how easy it is for a situation to turn deadly. "A child that drowns can become unconscious in a matter of 60 seconds," explained Jennifer Pewitt with YMCA of Metropolitcan Dallas.
A lot of people are heading out to the lake this holiday weekend, and experts say parents should be extra cautious. "I would say the easiest way to avoid being one of those terrible statistics is to wear a properly fitted life jacket," said Pewitt.
While experts say a life jacket can help keep a child afloat, it should never replace adult supervision when kids are swimming.
Experts say the majority of drownings happen while a child is being accompanied by a parent.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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