Tragic news broke this weekend: Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett suffered the worst loss a parent could ever experience. His two-year-old baby girl, Arrayah, drowned in his family pool. Shaquil Barrett, and everyone in his gorgeous family, will never be the same.
Arrayah turned two just one week ago. They were celebrating their precious girl’s birthday just a few days ago, and now, they’ll be burying her. There is nothing more tragic or heartbreaking.
“Today’s tragic news is heartbreaking for all members of the Buccaneers family,” the Buccaneers said in a statement on Sunday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Shaq, Jordanna and the entire Barrett family during this unimaginably difficult time. While no words can provide true comfort at a time such as this, we offer our support and love as they begin to process this very profound loss of their beloved Arrayah.”
May is National Water Safety Month, which only makes the tragedy faced by Shaquil Barrett and his family that much more heartbreaking: it’s one that is, by no means, uncommon. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children between the ages of one and four years old, and most of the time, these drowning deaths happen in a swimming pool at home.
We all know how easy it is for these kinds of accidents to happen; after all, near-drownings happen even more often than drowning fatalities do. One of the most terrifying moments of my life involved a near-drowning; my husband had taken our kids to our neighborhood community pool when we were living in Florida. I wasn’t there, but evidently, something happened with one of our daughters, who went under the water for some period of time. She was around four at the time. We rushed her to the hospital to be safe, and luckily, she was fine. But the keyword there is luckily. It could so easily have been fatal.
It doesn’t take long for drowning to happen, and it’s usually silent. It doesn’t look like what we picture in movies, with someone screaming help and thrashing around frantically. It’s so silent that people can easily miss it altogether. And now, with the weather getting warmer and summer coming soon, it’s more important than ever to make sure you have water safety plans in place.
First, consider signing your kids up for swimming lessons; this drastically reduces the risk of drowning. Second, keep pools completely fenced off and locked. All of us moms know how quickly a kid can get into mischief or wander off. We go to use the bathroom and even though it’s only 30 seconds, you come back and your kid has colored all over the entire wall with permanent marker, right? Well, the same applies to water safety. Even the most devoted parent cannot watch their child every second of the day. So in the instance that your child gets away from you for a second, you can rest assured that all they’ll do is make a mess… not slip and fall into the pool.
Third, have a dedicated Water Watcher anytime you’re near a body of water. There are so many beautiful lakes and rivers in Pennsylvania that we’ll want to explore now that spring is here, and community pools will be opening up soon. So whenever you go for some water fun with your family, one person needs to sit aside for the sole purpose of watching the water and keeping an eye out for danger. You can swap out so everyone can have fun, but make sure that at all times, someone is paying close attention — someone who isn’t drinking, too.
Shaquil Barrett and his family are experiencing a nightmare that happens to thousands of people, every single year. It can happen all too easily to your family this summer, too. Take water safety seriously, and make sure to keep your children safe.
