Reminiscent of Mike Tyson’s daughter who died a year ago from the cord on a home treadmill, another famous athlete has lost a child. Former quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, Randall Cunningham’s son died Tuesday afternoon from drowning in their outdoor hot tub.
Found in the backyard of their Nevada home, Cunningham’s son Christian was only two-years-old. Sadly, more than 830 children under the age of 14 die every year from accidental drowning. Parents are encouraged to fence, gate or barrier around the hot tub and pool area.
As reported by USA Today:
Approximately 70% of child drownings occur even though one or both parents is nearby, according to the commission.
Hot tubs pose a number of safety dangers, experts say. To prevent drowning, people should install a fence, gate or barrier around the hot tub area, says Sue Baker, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy in Baltimore. Fences should be at least 4 feet high and have childproof locks.
Doctors disagree about the effectiveness of hot tub covers. In a statement on drowning prevention, experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Center for Injury Research and Policy in Columbus, Ohio, advise keeping tubs covered and locked when not in use.
But Baker says children also become trapped beneath tub covers that aren’t properly secured. “Like childproof aspirin bottles, hot tub covers are a pain to deal with, so people tend to just leave the covers off,” Baker says. “Closing the latch on a childproof gate is so easy to do.”
Experts agree that children should not be allowed inside hot tubs, Baker says. Children have thinner skins than adults, so they burn more quickly and at lower temperatures. Kids’ bodies also heat up three to five times faster than adults’, according to Safe Kids USA.
