Editorial: Season for child safety

Thursday, May 4, 2006 | 7:30 a.m.

It's not likely most people's first thought when they contemplate spring, summer and fall in Southern Nevada - but it should be. That thought, simply, is that children are at a higher risk of death or injury during this time.

Every year during these months the Las Vegas Sun and other news sources report about children who were left alone in cars, or who were left unsupervised around back yard pools, and who died or were seriously injured as a result.

The further tragedy is that these deaths and injuries were entirely preventable. Many grief-stricken adults tell stories every year of small children who disappeared from their sight for only a minute, but long enough to slip into the pool and drown.

Parents, other relatives and guardians also tell stories every year of parking and forgetting about a small child in the back of the car, strapped into a car seat. In Southern Nevada's heat, magnified by a car's windows, it only takes a few minutes for a child to be seriously injured or killed.

We believe any adult who transports a child in the back seat of a car should devise memory aids - a large toy in the front passenger seat, a note hanging from the rear-view mirror, an oversized piece of cardboard in their shirt or jacket pocket with the child's name on it are some examples. A regular routine, such as physically touching the back seat every time after parking the car, can work, too. So many children have died here because their guardian simply forgot they were there.

As for swimming pools and spas, a childproof, four-sided fence that is locked when adults are not present is essential. And of course children using the pool should never be left unsupervised. Drain safety is also essential. Former Secretary of State James Baker is now speaking nationally on this issue following the death of his 7-year-old granddaughter, who was pulled to the bottom of a spa by the drain's force.

Unrelenting attention to safety precautions would enable us to write far fewer stories about the tragic deaths of children.