Sad News.....

[Zep]

Boy, 4, Drowns In Hot Tub
Child Died At Hospital

June 12, 2006

HOUSTON -- A 4-year-old boy drowned in a
hot tub on Sunday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Officials said the boy was playing in the hot tub
at a home on Buckboard Lane in Simonton at
about 4:25 p.m. when his father found him on
the bottom.

Investigators said the father was a contractor
working at the home.

Officials said the homeowner gave the child CPR.
The boy was transported by helicopter to
Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he died.

The drowning is under investigation.


http://www.click2houston.com/news/9356190/detail.html

(sorry i suppose this should be posted "across the street" in the other forum)

[tmknies1]

Very sad and tragic. What makes is even more unfortunate is that if the child was watched or could not gain access to the hot tub it could have been avoided.

[wmccall]

[(sorry i suppose this should be posted "across the street" in the other forum)

I think this is a great place to post and discuss this. More comments after I read the story.


Well, I guess you pretty much posted it all.   I now live in a neighborhood I wouldn't let a 4 year old in alone, but some people probably still have that luxury. Do you think a 4 year old could unlatch a pair of straps and open a cover well enough to get in?

[Chas]

Think of the heartache.. loss combined with the obvious sense of involvement.

A child can be in danger from just about any standing water - from a large pail to a swimming pool. We sure need to be watchful.

Prayers for the grieving family members.

[cappykat]

Chas...so true...worth repeating.

A child can be in danger from just about any standing water - from a large pail to a swimming pool. We sure need to be watchful.

[Drewski]

I was a Paramedic for 15 years in a mid-size city on the east coast (Norfolk) and, unfortunately, have worked many child drowning cases.

The simple fact is that if the water is deep enough for a kid (or adult) to put their face in, they CAN drown. I worked one kid that drowned in ankle deep water in a bath tub when mom went to answer the phone. He had a 10 minute submersion and unfortunately died.  The shortest submersion and drowning I worked was a child who fell into a pool, started struggling and immediately submerged. The guard dived out of her chair and was with the kid within 30 seconds giving mouth-to-mouth in the pool. We worked the child for a full 30 minutes, but still couldn't recover him.

I have a TON of experience with kids in my tub and here's my advice:

• NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, have a child under 80 LBS or 12 years old in the tub alone. If they are under 14 (or 110 LBS) and can't swim, same deal. Even "watching" them through a window is unsafe. In this situation, sit with them or have an older kid or adult in the tub.
  
  
• For small kids under 50 LBS or less than 8, especially if they CAN'T swim, consider using "tight" swimwear. For girls it's usually not a problem (unless they wear those "skirt" type suits, but for boys it's a big problem. Most boys like knee length "jams" or "board shorts" and the problem is they fill with air from the jets. Kids naturally want to "push" it in water and if a little kid goes "butt up" with air in the suit, they have a TERRIBLE time trying to right themselves and can easily panic and "inhale" water. This happened to my 6 year nephew 2 years ago before he learned how to swim. Fortunately, I was in the tub and righted him. From that day on, if they couldn't swim, were small and wanted to get in the tub, they wore Speedos. E-bay has an excellent selection for less than $5 each.
  
  
• If a kid is under the age of 4, I probably would not let him or her in the tub unless I or his parents were present. 4 and under work well in a flat pool with shallow water, but the ledges and steps in spas are too complex for their balancing ability.
  
  
• Finally, don't let kids play in the tub with the cover half on. The problem here is that depending on your fill level, only a few inches of air remain under the cover. Invariably they will want to swim under the cover along with getting out on top of the cover. This creates a problem because they become difficult to see and can be pushed under from someone jumping on the cover. Additionally, if a wind gust catches the cover and smacks them in the head, they could easily be knocked unconscious and drown.

Don't think I "worry" about this stuff all the time, I really don't. I do, however, have a CLEAR understanding about the rules for kids who get in my tub (about 14 kids, ages 4 to 13) and they know if they BUST them, they get "hot tub" restriction for the rest of the time they are visiting (no hot tub until next time). If they bust one of the 4 rules listed above, they get one MONTH restriction and a REAL talking. If they bust it twice, NO MORE TUB, period.

So far, I've never had to use the "NO TUB" restriction and only used the 30 day restriction once. I've also NEVER had a problem in my tub with kids (aside from water chemistry issues).

Food for thought...

Drewski

[Zep]

Excellent post Drewski.

Thats what makes this place great,
is you learn something every day.

Things we all need to be reminded of.

Speaking of accidents in hot tubs.

I know it is a case by case situation but...

Should a new hot tub owner purchase
additional home owners insurance like
someone with a pool?

Any thoughts in general?

[wmccall]

Excellent post Drewski.

Any thoughts in general?

I suppose the safe statement would be check with your insurance agent, but is there an agent who doesn't think you need more coverage?  Is thera  chiropractor that doesn't think you need an adjustment?

[Skellman]

Should a new hot tub owner purchase
additional home owners insurance like
someone with a pool?

I'm certainly not an insurance salesman but, when I had the pool put in my agent recommended what is called an "umbrella" policy. That covers my whole lot.

[Vinny]

What Drewski said is a great post.

I own a pool and tub and don't believe that you need extra insurance - you need to be there! No matter how old anyone is something can happen - kids can play rough and think it's OK until a tragedy strikes.

My youngest was 2 years old and wanted to go from point a to point b and went straight into an inground pool. I was there to pluck him out with no harm done - he wasn't even going into the pool at that time. 10 minutes before that he had "water wings" on.

I believe people take things for granted at times. My children ages 15 and 11 are NOT allowed in either one when we're not home - PERIOD!!! (actually now that I write this we don't leave our 11 YO home at all without us being there and my 15 YO can do very little when we aren't there).

I kind of laugh at some of the pool scenarios. To get into my pool you need to open a gate on the ladder but I look around and see in ground pools without any barriers to the pool other than a property parimeter fence. I think it's more likely that a child will have more problems with a in ground than an above ground but they got away with it. Wjen I purchased my pool I thought it was the law to put a fence (wording in BOCA is barrier) between the open area and pool area.

Unfortunately the fact of the matter is being a parent is a full time job and there are times when you need to be more dilligent as a parent and around water is one of those times.

[Skellman]

Isn't that's why it's called insurance?
I agree that parents need to be aware of where their young children are at all times.
The liability comes into play when the knuckleheads come in your yard and jump in when you're not around.
They get hurt because of their own stupidity and guess who is responsible.

[Zep]

re: don't believe that you need extra
insurance - you need to be there

Vinny.....I am not pro or con on
extra insurance but for the sake of the discussion....

You say you "don't believe you need extra insurance"

But what if you are there at home Vinny.....
and some adult slips while getting out of the
tub or misses the steps and breaks their neck?

Couldn't they sue you?

Do most hot tub owners have an umbrella?

BTW...I have combo locks on both my front
and back gates.....plus my cover has the
little snap locks that require a special little
plastic key to unsnap them.

[Vinny]

Sorry to say that if any kid opens my gate (which by the way has a "beware of dog" sign on it), comes into my yard, either opens the gate to the pool or opens the cover to my tub and goes into either and gets hurt ... I'll stop there as insurance aint gonna help and God forbid a toddler did it and they got that far (OK they can't read the sign), that parent should be shot

[Vinny]

re: don't believe that you need extra
insurance - you need to be there

Vinny.....I am not pro or con on
extra insurance but for the sake of the discussion....

You say you "don't believe you need extra insurance"

But what if you are there at home Vinny.....
and some adult slips while getting out of the
tub or misses the steps and breaks their neck?

Couldn't they sue you?

Do most hot tub owners have an umbrella?

BTW...I have combo locks on both my front
and back gates.....plus my cover has the
little snap locks that require a special little
plastic key to unsnap them.

The more insurance you have, the more the lawyers will sue for.

I do have insurance on my house but it's to protect me in case of something happening. The insurance industry is one of those leach industries IMO. You need more for this reason, you need it for that reason ... oh wait you want to put in a claim - BAM!!! You've had insurance for 10 years and there's a $5,000 claim - you are now a problem and after all the millions they bilked, I mean profit that they made, they cry boo hoo, it costs too much. Too many times I hear how insurance, ANY INSURANCE, will not pay for something. Whether it's a house claim, auto or even health and when a disaster strikes (Katrina) they don't want to pay out.

I seem to be the ONLY person of my immediate neighborhood that actually de ices my walkway in the winter - I do it as a precaution so that no one will get hurt.

If someone falls on my property, I'll just catapult them into one of my neighbor's yards!

[Bonibelle]

As I read this article, it reminded me of something that happened to me. I had a contractor finishing my kitchen over the 4th of July week. My husband insisted that I let him work even though we were going away. Well it turns out that he brought his two kids (11 and 6) and let them swim in my pool while he supposedly worked.
He never asked me, and wouldn't have even told me except that my kids were upset that some of the pool toys were destroyed. He saw me use the pool while he was working so he knew where I kept the keys to the pool locks.  Thankfully nothing happened to his kids...but who would have been responsible if it did?
Why would you bring children to work anyway? And what kind of nut thinks an 11 year old can be responsible for a 6 year old in a pool?

I want my husband to read this thread because he is forever leaving the pool gates open at night. He never imagines that something like this could happen...It is devastating and sadly, the father will have to live with his mistake for the rest of his life.