Beware of drowning!
Anyone who knows me from practical experience knows that I am usually very relaxed and not very anxious when it comes to parenting and development issues and often advise people not to take a too tense view of things. But when it comes to today's topic, there is simply zero room for compromise. It's one of the most important issues in paediatrics: the risk of children drowning.
The rules are clear - and they should ALWAYS be strictly followed:
A child who cannot swim very confidently and is not at least of advanced primary school age must never be left unsupervised near water for even ONE second. Regardless of whether they are wearing water wings or not. And water doesn't just mean a pool or a lake, but also water in a rain barrel, a very shallow paddling pool, a really small stream or the bathtub at home. No child unsupervised! Never!
Accidents are part of children growing up. And for us parents, it is often difficult to find the right balance between protecting and overprotecting, allowing children to gain experience and at the same time limiting unnecessary risks. Fortunately, children usually have a well-functioning guardian angel when it comes to climbing accidents, bicycle accidents, falling down stairs, etc. Unfortunately, this usually fails completely when it comes to water accidents.
Once again: it is not the depth of the waterhole that is decisive, but its accessibility. What many people don't realise is the phenomenon of "dry drowning": In children up to pre-school age, sudden contact with water can lead to reflex breathing arrest and such a massive cramping of the larynx that this can have a fatal outcome.
If you are in the garden with your child at the paddling pool and the telephone rings in the house, you have to go to the toilet or the postman arrives: either tuck your child under your arm, no matter how much they protest, or let the telephone or postman ring and postpone going to the toilet - because your eyes must always remain with your child.
Further interesting tips
U5 screening
Preventive medical check-ups are an important topic for parents. When it comes to the U5, the child is six months old and they already know some of the key elements of these appointments.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
A serious and stressful topic: foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, i.e. disorders caused in the foetus by alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
Weaknesses weaken ..
One of my favourite sentences - from which a small but effective task can be derived: sit down and write down seven things that your child is particularly good at or that you particularly like about them. And then give him positive feedback every day during the week.