溺水是1到4岁孩子的头号死因：上了游泳课也要盯紧，泳池围栏要四面合围
美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）说，溺水是1到4岁儿童的头号死因，也是5到14岁儿童意外伤害死亡的第二大原因。溺水发生得很快，而且常常悄无声息，只要有水的地方都可能发生，不只是泳池和湖，连浴缸和装水的桶也算。
游泳课能降低溺水风险，CDC 建议给孩子报名，也建议家长自己学，但有一句话不能省：上过游泳课的孩子在水里或水边仍然需要贴身、不间断的看护，哪怕有救生员在场也要这样，成人应始终待在孩子一臂之内的距离。看孩子的人要放下手机、不读书、不喝酒，因为溺水快得来不及喊。
家里的泳池要装四面围栏：至少四英尺高，把泳池完全围住并与房子隔开，配自动关闭、自动上锁的门，没人用泳池时把会吸引孩子的玩具收走。CDC 特别点明，漂浮臂圈、水翼这类浮具不能防溺水，还容易滑落，给家长和孩子虚假的安全感，经美国海岸警卫队批准的救生衣才更可靠。
数据提醒这件事的代价：每有一名18岁以下儿童溺水死亡，就另有约7名儿童因非致命溺水进急诊，近40%的溺水急诊病例需要住院或转院治疗，这个比例是其他意外伤害的三倍。5到14岁儿童的溺水死亡约40%发生在天然水域，在天然水域活动时，孩子和大人都应穿大小合适、扣紧的海岸警卫队批准救生衣。（来源：美国疾病控制与预防中心）
Drowning Is the Leading Cause of Death for Children Ages 1 to 4: Swim Lessons Help, but Supervision and Four-Sided Fences Decide
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 and the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5 to 14, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says. Drowning happens in seconds and is often silent, and it can happen anywhere there is access to water, including smaller bodies of water such as bathtubs and water-filled buckets, not just pools and lakes.
Swimming lessons can reduce the risk, and CDC encourages lessons for children and for adults themselves, but one sentence cannot be skipped: children who have had lessons still need close and constant supervision in or around water, even when a lifeguard is present, with an adult always within arm's length. The supervising adult should avoid reading, phone use, alcohol and drugs, because drowning happens quickly and quietly.
Home pools need a four-sided fence at least four feet high that fully encloses the pool and separates it from the house, with a self-closing, self-latching gate, and toys that might attract a child removed when the pool is not in use. CDC warns that floaties, arm bands and water wings do not prevent drowning and can slip off, creating a false sense of safety; a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket is more protective.
The cost shows in the numbers: for every child under 18 who dies from drowning, another 7 receive emergency department care for nonfatal drowning, and nearly 40 percent of drownings treated in emergency departments require a hospital stay or transfer, three times the rate for other unintentional injuries. About 40 percent of drowning deaths among children ages 5 to 14 occur in natural water, where children and adults alike are best protected by well-fitted, fully fastened Coast Guard-approved life jackets. (Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
来源：美国疾病控制与预防中心
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：一位母亲陪孩子上游泳课。美国疾病控制与预防中心图片。 / Photo: A mother helps her child during a swim lesson. Image from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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