Child Safety Urged for Labor Day Weekend

Drowning and hot cars claim children's lives

WESLACO - With the Labor Day weekend approaching, the Department of Family and Protective Services urges all Texans to guard against two of the biggest causes of death for infants and toddlers during hot weather: accidental drowning and hot car deaths.

Already 72 children have drowned in Texas this year, more than any other year since DFPS began its unofficial count in 2005. Also, there have been six hot car deaths in Texas so far this year.

"Each of these tragedies could have been prevented, simply by not leaving children alone, near water or in vehicles," said Sue Milam, Deputy Commissioner for DFPS. "Children should never be left unsupervised for any period of time, near water or in any vehicle because the results can be devastating. If you can't see them, you can't save them!"

Most of this year's tragedies happened in swimming pools or bathtubs. Yet in March a two-year-old boy drowned in a washing machine and in February another child drowned in a septic tank hole. Children have been known to drown in toilets, mop buckets, or most any receptacle containing even a few inches of water.

In hot weather, a closed vehicle can reach lethal temperatures in just a few minutes. Most children who perish in overheated vehicles are in the back seat, buckled in child safety seats.

"Always look before you leave a vehicle," Milam said. "When a child is in the back seat, it is a good idea to put a purse or briefcase there, too. Or keep a stuffed animal in the car seat, and when the child is there put the stuffed animal in the front seat. Those are both good reminders."

Texas is one of only 14 states which make it illegal to leave a child unattended in a vehicle. In Texas, it is against the law if a person leaves a child younger than seven years of age in a vehicle longer than five minutes.

For more information about water safety for children, and the dangers of hot cars for children, see seeandsave.org.

For more in-depth information about hot car deaths in Texas and nationwide, please refer to www.ggweather.com/heat/, a site operated by the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University.