Manatee County schools start spring break. Officials warn parents of drowning dangers
Nearly one year ago, a parent’s worst nightmare became a reality for Tom and Courtney Bardwell when their 3-year-old daughter drowned in their pool.
Lylah somehow managed to open the gate to the pool in the Bradenton family’s backyard after throwing her doll over, and she went in after the doll. She died several days later, last April.
“I think about what happened that day and the glimpse of just taking my eyes off of her for a couple of minutes,” Tom Bardwell said. “I look back at that moment, I did my normal safety checks and thought nothing could go wrong but it happened. “
The message comes just as Manatee County schools and other districts in the Tampa Bay area are set to let out for spring break.
The Bardwell couple joined members of West Manatee Fire Rescue including District Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski, Manatee County Marine Patrol Chief Joe Westerman, Manatee County Assistant Chief of Special Operations Sean Dwyer, Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge, and Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth at a press conference Thursday at the Kingfish Boat Ramp in Anna Maria Island to alert parents about the dangers of drowning.
In the past year, Manatee county has recorded 19 drowning or near-drownings that involved youth that was 18 years old or younger.
With spring break starting Friday, county officials provided these tips for parents to keep their children safe in and around the water:
Water Safety tips
- Designate a person to watch the water
- Lock pool doors
- Have pool gates up and
- Don’t disable the pool alarm
- Remove toys from the pool area
- Teach kids the dangers of water
- Encourage kids to learn to swim
- Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
Drownings can happen quickly and only take a few inches of water, and learning CPR is important because a few seconds spent doing chest compressions before paramedics arrive can change the outcome for a drowning child.
Encouraging kids to learn to swim was a statement that echoed throughout the press conference, and something Lylah’s parents wished they had done sooner to help prevent her accident.
“We talked about giving her swim lessons and we never got to it we didn’t think it was a risk,” Tom Bardwell said, “I think it was a false sense of security for her putting her in that (flotation device) all the time and not just giving her the honest lessons.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 5:50 AM.
