Nine-Year-Old Saves Drowning Toddler

I love stories like this. Last weekend, a 9-year-old Santa Ana, California boy saved the life of a 2-year-old who nearly drowned in a backyard pool. Apparently, the toddler had taken off his water wings and had sunk to the bottom of the pool when the adults had left the area for a few moments. When Max de la Rosa, the 9-year-old, spotted the tot, he dove in and pulled him out. Then the adults, who heard the commotion, came running and performed CPR and called 911. The toddler is expected to recover fully.

This happy story could have ended very differently had the 9-year-old not been there and acted so quickly. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), nearly 350 children under age 5 drown in swimming pools each year, and more than 2,000 are treated in emergency rooms for near-drownings. In many cases, the children slipped quietly into trouble when adults had left them unsupervised or turned their attention for a moment. That’s why one of the cardinal rules of pool safety is to never, ever, leave kids unsupervised near a pool. Also check out the American Academy of Pediatrics’ list of pool safety tips as well as the CPSC’s essential pool safety rules if your kids are going to be anywhere near a pool this summer.

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