Drowning of Wellington Child a Tragic Reminder

Water Safety New Zealand CEO Matt Claridge says the drowning of a Wellington toddler in the bath is a tragic reminder of what can happen when a child is left alone even briefly.

“The message for parents – especially the parents of pre-schoolers - is keep your child within arms reach and line of sight at all times when in or around the water.

Mr Claridge says there’s no acceptable time period to leave a small child unsupervised in or around water and parents need to be aware of this.

“A child can drown within less than a minute, in as little as a few centimetres of water and it happens silently. Parents that leave a young child alone for even a moment while in the bath, at the beach or river or near the pool are taking a huge risk.””

“It’s a tragedy that one family is facing a future without their child as the result of a preventable incident, we don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

ENDS

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