Lifesaving Video Game Teaches You To 'Spot The Drowning Child'
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Drowning doesn't look like drowning.
That's a message computer programmer Francisco Saldaña is getting across in an interactive video game called Spot The Drowning Child.
It's an educational game that can save lives. Saldaña uses videos of lifeguards saving drowning children and really drives home just how difficult it is to see the distress signs. The pools are crowded. It takes an eagle-eye to see each child individually.
The Genesis Project provided the videos. The non-profit was established after the tragic 2014 drowning death of Genesis Homes at a pool in South Carolina. Saldaña says he added the interactivity.
The game reveals that the so-called Instinctive Drowning Response "is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water." Dr. Francisco A. Pia came up with the theory. He says often drowning victims don't splash, wave, or call for help. "They may just look like they are treading water and looking up."
Pia says when in doubt, ask. If the child can answer they are probably alright. If they stare blankly, "you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them."
"Children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why," says Pia.
Here are some other signs to look for:
- Head low in the water, mouth at water level
- Head tilted back with mouth open
- Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
- Eyes closed
- Hair over forehead or eyes
- Not using legs – Vertical
- Hyperventilating or gasping
- Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
- Trying to roll over on the back
- Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder
Here is one of the videos Saldaña posted on YouTube:
CBSSF.com writer, producer Jan Mabry is also executive producer and host of The Bronze Report. She lives in Northern California. Follow her on Twitter @janmabr.
