10 Children Die While Swimming In NJ In Just One Month

An alarming trend has happened at New Jersey beaches and pools over the past month that has left some asking this question: Why?

Ten children have died at New Jersey beaches and pools since June, and those who work to protect the lives of minors have come forward to offer tips on how to prevent more tragedies from happening in the water.

New Jersey does not require hotel and motel pools to be protected by lifeguards. Carol Ann Giardelli, director of Safe Kids New Jersey, in an interview with NJ101.5, said that kids should never swim alone as a result.

“In an ideal world at the Jersey Shore, there would be lifeguards at every hotel or motel,” Giardelli told the station. “So we really have to depend on the parents to watch the children. It is their ultimate responsibility.”

Two of the drownings involved hotel pools, while others took place at lakes and the ocean. Those include:

• A young girl vacationing from Pennsylvania died after drowning in a pool at a Jersey Shore motel on July 9, police said. According to the Wildwood Police Department, the incident happened around 4:30 p.m. in the pool at the Nantucket Inn & Suites on Ocean Avenue in Wildwood. Read more here...
• A 2-year-old child died in Galloway Township after being found unresponsive in a pool. Read more here...
• A young girl from Levittown, Pennsylvania, died after drowning in a New Jersey lake on July 6. Kaylin Pahulick, 4, was pronounced dead shortly after 2:30 a.m. on July 10 at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. Read more here...
• A 12-year-old girl tragically drowned Sunday at Sandy Hook. Bianca Palma, 12, of Elizabeth, was identified as the girl who drowned at Beach E at Sandy Hook Gateway National Recreation Area. Palma was rescued at around 5:50 p.m. Sunday. Read more here...
• Marty Barchue, a 17-year-old student at Hamilton West High School, was pulled from a lake in Hamilton Township after he drowned last month. He was one of four teen boys who were swimming in Roebling Memorial Park in Hamilton Township when the current became too strong and swept them away, according to authorities. Read more here...
• An 11-year-old girl from Newark died after she touched a rail on a metal boat lift that had become energized in Toms River. The girl was visiting friends at a home on Tobago Avenue in the Shelter Cove section of town when the incident happened shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday, Toms River police spokesman Ralph Stocco said. Read more here...
• Emily Gonzalez-Perez of Belmar, 12, died last month, just days after her cousin Mitzi Hernandez, 13, drowned off the Ninth Avenue beach in Belmar. Emily died at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where she had been since she and her cousin, both students at Belmar Elementary School, were pulled from the ocean on an unguarded beach with no parents nearby. Read more here....
• A citizen walking on the Atlantic City beach located the body of Ramon Quinn, 15, of Pleasantville at Morris Avenue at last month. He went missing when he attempted to rescue Kaliy-ah Hand, 16, of Atlantic City, whose body was recovered in Margate. Read more here....

Rip currents have been an issue this summer. The National Weather Service's Mount Holly office forecasts the risk of rip currents daily, but points out that "rip currents are always possible, especially near jetties and other structures."

Read more: Rip Currents: What To Look For, How To Survive Them

But some of these cases have also involved children swimming in areas where they take their lives at risk.

Safe Kids New Jersey, meanwhile, advises that kids swim with a responsible adult who agrees to watch the kids in the water without distractions and wear a "Water Watcher card." according to the organization. "After a certain amount of time (such as 15-minutes), the Water Watcher card is passed to another adult, who is responsible for the active supervision."

The American Red Cross suggests owners make pool safety their priority by following these guidelines:

• Secure your pool with appropriate barriers. Completely surround your pool with a 4-feet high fence or barrier with a self-closing, self-latching gate. Place a safety cover on the pool or hot tub when not in use and remove any ladders or steps used for access. Consider installing a pool alarm that goes off if anyone enters the pool.
• Keep children under active supervision at all times. Stay in arm’s reach of young kids. Designate a responsible person to watch the water when people are in the pool—never allow anyone to swim alone. Have young or inexperienced swimmers wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
• Ensure everyone in the home knows how to swim well by enrolling them in age-appropriate water orientation and learn-to-swim courses from the Red Cross.
• Keep your pool or hot tub water clean and clear. Maintain proper chemical levels, circulation and filtration. Regularly test and adjust the chemical levels to minimize the risk of earaches, rashes or more serious diseases.
• Establish and enforce rules and safe behaviors, such as “no diving,” “stay away from drain covers,” “swim with a buddy” and “walk please.”
• Ensure everyone in the home knows how to respond to aquatic emergencies by having appropriate safety equipment and taking water safety, first aid and CPR courses from the Red Cross.

The Electric Shock Drowning Association also offers suggestions on how to protect yourself in the water. That information can be found here.

Patch file photo