Education is the crucial key, Where's the Funding?

25th October 2011

Education is the crucial key, where’s the funding?

On my recent driving travels I see “Power Nap area ahead 3km”, “rest, revive survive” and “Speed kills” all along a major highway in regional Victoria. Not one billboard, sign or placard in sight had one message of water safety. Why is that??

Water safety? What is it? I think there is no such thing there is just drowning and injury prevention but it is all called Water Safety. Many just don’t like to talk about it, many are in denial or think they are invincible.

After four days travelling the surrounds of Southern Western Sydney, City and Melbourne to various community groups and the lovely region of Latrobe City Council I encountered many sad and happy truths about water safety.

Unfortunately, I speak about the sad truths because the Happy truths are saving lives. It is comforting to see many swim schools and communities focusing on the back floating and teaching kids the dangers of water.

I am honoured to present Hannah’s story to a group of mothers and their children who are eagerly listening to my talk on water safety. The kids are loving the story about “Josh the Baby Otter”. They dance to his song about learning to float and keeping safe with an adult. The kids look like they get it. Yet in the older group of adults is the real sadness.

Many of them are reduced to silent tears for our Hannah’s story and the kids after her. The videos play and you can visualise the emotion in the room. You can hear the sniffles in the background. I make no eye contact for I’m struggling now too. I ask a simple question. Who here baths their children and goes to the toilet or leaves to get towels or clothes? Many, if not all the hands go up. I am shocked but not surprised by the result of the physical survey. It is rare that we get admissions such as this, but it’s one that we need to combat and now. Bath drownings are increasing and its simple to prevent. DON’T leave a child in water if you or someone else don't have your eyes on them. I am not talking about those tragic stories where carers/victims have had medical conditions and those conditions have contributed to deaths. I am specifically talking about those supervisors who leave and then are not supervising.... get the drift?

Now, I am not backward in coming forward. I am also not here as an advocate and educator to make friends. Some agree with me, some don’t. I do what I do because I am passionate, I have a purpose to honour my daughter Hannah.
I am not shocked by the admissions of these mothers but what does make me angry at them is that some people just don't get it. You just don’t leave a child in a bath and walk away. Not even for a second. With no backup plan in place as a barrier, another supervisor would be great because there is no substitute for supervision, especially not a bath ring or the child’s ability in the bath water. The range of excuses to justify their actions, to themselves were coming thick and fast. I had an alternative comment for every one of them. Trust me. Then one mum said “Oh but she can hold her breath at swim lessons we practice all the time in the bath, I would hope drowning never happens to us its why she goes to swimming lessons”.

That’s right a lot of people do rely on hope. Hope they won’t be next and hope that it won’t happen to them. To really bring the message I risk it and play the first three minutes of my 000 call. For anyone who has ever heard the full version the screams through the speakers ring in your ears for days if not weeks. I think the message is getting through now. The mothers are now bawling and I make no apology for it.

To educate is the key, the 10 second risk I call it. It only takes a split second for a child to slip and then another 10 to lose consciousness and then you walk back in, maybe a few more seconds later or even minutes, and then by now you are so frantically attempting to save them. By this time it’s nearly a minute or more has passed and the brain is slowly dying. The sad reality is that 93% of the time CPR FAILS! So why bloody risk it? Always Supervise your child around water and NEVER leave a child alone in water and walk away. Always Supervise them, nothing in life is too important that you have to take that risk.

Another sad reality is blow up pools, the cheapies from $2 shops or the Blue ones with dodgy filtration systems that hold over 2000 litres of water. In the same group of mothers 8 admitted to owning and erecting these pools illegally. Their landlord wouldn’t have a clue, their real estate is none the wiser because the pool doesn’t exist come inspection time and the council obviously doesn’t have a register of it either. SO how can you make an illegal pool compliant?? I reckon these bloody pools should be banned from being sold in the first place. No permit for construction or fencing, no purchase. Simple in theory but damn hard to police.

The education quickly turns to swimming lessons. Sigh. Hannah could swim, your kids can ‘swim’ I say. Then the penny drops. I ask how many of their pools are heated to the degrees that their children learn to swim in? NO hands go up. So here we have eight families, illegal pools, non heated pools and all of it equaling a bloody horrible disaster.

Cold water kills kids and adults too. It’s as simple as that. I remember jumping in fully clothed in my shorts and tank top that fateful day and pulling our naked daughter from our freezing cold pool. Only days before her and her father had both gone blue from having the time of their lives in our unheated pool. Two days later Hannah died from a massive heart attack which I now contribute to the temperature of the water. The massive shock to my breathing, my muscles contracting and my attempts at getting Hannah out of the pool all come flooding back in flashbacks. I excuse myself to get a drink of water. Thinking... why is this happening? Don’t they get it?

The conversation continues that Hannah’s story could be theirs, it’s really only a matter of time. Time that I really don’t want to have to face ever again but do because people are not educated.

The whole system of blow up pools makes me wild. I’ve written numerous letters and reports to the Offices of Fair Trading and Consumer Affairs Minister on this very issue and not a lot is being done. You can import pools yourself online. We just can’t stop it. Education is the key and that too is a struggle and most of the battle.

Where are the water safety messages? The budget for advertising isn’t huge but we need it. Who else will promote the dangers in the fullest truth without gaining something in return? Who will help promote messages without being paid? The list goes on, on what to do, how to educate and do it all on a budget that could, well doesn’t exist really. Donations should be directed to families for support and medical equipment services, not signs on billboards that costs thousands. It’s a tormenting decision that our board has to make.

We need to, as a community, together, help promote the educational messages of water safety. It isn’t just one person spreading their own message, it’s not just one organisation, there are many. However, the messages are silent, silent as the killer drowning itself. We just can’t hear them. We need to hear them. For the sake of little kids. For when a little kids dies the voices are the loudest and persecute the parent, wouldn’t it better to prevent it in the first place?
There are many childhood dangers that are advocated, supported and emotionally promoted. Why is our cause not given the same opportunity of understanding, compassion or empathy? Is it because it’s our fault? Our cause is just as important, as we raise awareness to child drownings and save lives. Save lives is what we hope to achieve. Why are we less important? Well it certainly feels that way.

I support child safety in its entirety but the financial system of Government funding needs to be a whole fairer. Don’t you agree? I can see more time away from my family, being consumed by my passion doing lectures such as these to save lives. All because we aren’t funded. We aren’t supported until sadly it’s too late and then I’m attending another funeral. Seeing another child in a coffin is just another facet of the duties we do here and helping another parent write their child's eulogy.

Would you swap your paid job for mine? I’d love a normal job with real pay. Ive never been paid for my work for Hannah and never will. I have also never been paid for media despite others in the community spreading vicious rumours! Id like to put the record straight on that point because such nastiness hurts our advocacy and disrespects our members and our daughter Hannah. The Foundation has NEVER EVER sold Hannah's Story and will NEVER do so!! Record put straight.

Prevention sounds a whole lot more sensible. Education is the key because there is no cure for drowning only prevention in the first place.

Kat Plint
25th October 2011