Mazie’s Mission Water Safety Awareness

by KAREN LAGRANGE COX

Mazie’s Mission is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that Adam and Heather Broussard started in 2021 after their nearly seventeen-month-old daughter, Mazie, drowned in their swimming pool. Read Mazie’s Story

Mazie’s Mission aims to bring awareness, educate, and promote water safety so that no family has to experience the loss of a child due to drowning.

Mazie’s Mission Works Towards

• Educate the community about water safety. This includes teaching children about the dangers of water and how to stay safe around it. It also includes teaching adults about their responsibility to supervise children in and around water.
• Collaborate with local partners to prevent infant and child drowning. This could involve working with local pools, ponds, beaches, and other water facilities to ensure adequate safety measures are in place. It could also involve working with local schools and community organizations to provide water safety education.
• Ensure that all children have access to swimming lessons. Swimming lessons are one of the best ways to prevent drowning. Make sure that all children, regardless of their income or background, have the opportunity to learn how to swim.

The organization encourages everyone to become familiar with these drowning prevention tips and layers of protection to stay safe around water year-round.

Water Safety Tips

1. Children can drown in as little as 1 INCH of water.  Actively supervise children in and around water (toilets, bathtubs, fountains, pools, ponds, etc.) inside and outside your home. When you go anywhere, such as a park with a pond, the beach, or the lake, know that children will be drawn to water. AVOID DISTRACTIONS OF ANY KIND. 
2. ​Once bath time is over, immediately drain the tub. Keep toilet lids closed and doors to bathrooms closed.
3. ​Pick up toys in the pool or around when finished playing.
4. ​When shopping for swimsuits, look for bright color options, avoiding darker shades, especially blue.

Drowning Facts

• According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of death for infants and young children ages 1-4.​
• Drowning is the #2 cause of death for ages 5-14.
• Louisiana experienced a 60% increase in the number of infant and child drownings (ages 0-14), from 15 in 2019 to 24 in 2020.
• ​In previous years, Louisiana had the fourth highest drowning rate for children 1-14 years in the United States, and drowning remains the third leading cause of death for Louisiana children in this age group.
• ​​69% of drowning happens when children aren’t even expected to be swimming, yet they slip away.
• ​A toddler can drown in 30 seconds. 
• For each drowning death, FIVE TIMES as many children are hospitalized, many with permanent brain injuries.
• ​Drowning peaks again for teenagers, usually in natural water and happens to ‘strong swimmers.’

​Open Water Safety Tips

View the Open Water Safety checklist

To learn more about Mazie’s Mission or to donate, visit its Facebook Page or website.

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