St. Louis, MO
Birch McMullin, owner of British Swim School St. Louis, was interviewed on Thursday on National Public Radio’s St. Louis affiliate to talk about drowning prevention and water safety. He was part of a panel on St. Louis on the Air with Don Marsh.
Drowning deaths still happen “way too often” Birch said, “but don’t get the same attention that other topics do and, he pointed out, “drowning is actually the No. 1 cause of accidental death for children 1 to 4 [years old], and that’s above car accidents.”
He added that for very young children, survival skills are key – particularly learning to flip over and float on their back so that they can breathe, call out and be visible.
“Most drownings are not when a toddler sneaks out of the house and manages to get to the pool – it’s actually where the parents have gone to the pool with the child, and maybe they just run inside to grab a soda or they get distracted on the phone,” he said. “So they happen most of the time while there is supervision going on.
“So if a child can roll over and float and call for help, most of the time a parent is then close enough to respond to that. And it buys them that extra time that can turn what could be a very dangerous situation into just a very scary one.”
The participants also included Emily Wujcik, Aquatics and Safety Coordinator for SLU and Stephe McCormick founder of Backyard Lifeguards as well as Lisa McMullin, Birch’s mother who lost a child to drowning many years ago and who, along with the other participants wants to increase awareness of the prevalence of drowning and the ways to prevent this most preventable of injuries.
Listen to the Complete Interview
British Swim School St. Louis offers premium water survival and swimming lessons for infants, toddlers, children and adults, starting at just 3 months old. We proudly serve the St. Louis communities of Afton, Ballwin, Brentwood, Chesterfield, Clayton, Concord, Crestwood, Creve Coeur, Dardenne Prairie, Eureka, Fenton, High Ridge, Howell Island, Kirkwood, Ladue, Lake St. Louis, Manchester, Maplewood, Maryland Heights, New Town, Olivette, Overland, Richmond Heights, St. Charles, Orchard Farm, St. Paul, St. Peters, Sunset Hills, Town and Country, Valley Park, Webster Groves, Weldon Springs, and Wildwood. Call 314-312-1878 to enroll or find a class online.
