12 Thai Kids Drowned in only 5 Days
A day doesn’t seem to pass without the news on Thai TV of another kid who has drowned. It is a sad fact that the number one cause of death for Thai kids is drowning. Which I guess is not surprising when you consider that 11 million Thai kids under the age of 15 cannot swim. According to statistics for last year, 1,049 Thai kids died due to drowning. This averages out at three per day.
Most people think that the majority of drownings take place during the holidays as the kids are left on their own. This is partially true as last year 361 died during the summer holidays which is a third of the yearly total. But, kids also tragically drown every day. On Channel 3 this morning they had a graphic that showed that between 4-9 June 2013, twelve kids drowned. On the 4th June a 6 year old and an 8 year old drowned. On 5th June a 7 year old drowned. On 8th June alone, 7 kids drowned. On 9th June 2 kids drowned.
These statistics will only be reduced if more children can be taught how to swim. But, we also need to warn them of the dangers of swimming in certain areas.
