Amelia was 8 months old when she flipped underwater while sitting in her bath seat. Luckily, her mother pulled her out in time and saved her from nearly drowning (Click here to read the full story). We are happy to report that Amelia is alive and well today. In fact, she’ll be celebrating her 19th birthday this month!
What we can’t overlook, however, is the fact that drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. Amelia’s story is a lucky one- it only takes a few seconds and as little as one inch of water for an infant to drown.
KID recommends just not using bath seats at all. We worked hard to develop a strong mandatory standard and no products have been able to meet that standard yet. They give caregivers a false sense of security when in actuality children can slip out of the seats or tip into the water. As Amelia’s mother, Carolyn, voiced, “If such an ‘accident’ can happen to me (a pediatric registered nurse, CPR instructor, former volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, and obsessively safety-conscious mother), then it can happen to anyone”. Bath seats are not reliable products to place your children in. What KID recommends is using a small baby bathtub within the larger bath instead.
Use the hashtag #FamilyVoicesFriday to share Amelia’s story as well as the precautions parents can take when bathing their children! Stay tuned for more next week.
