Andrea Wakefield discusses Keep Watch message ten years on from losing daughter Shelby
Andrea Wakefield knows all too well the devastating impact child drowning has on a family after her 14-month-old daughter Shelby drowned in a family member’s backyard pool in 2013.
The property was an older house that didn't require a pool fence and with Shelby's inquisitive nature, it wasn't long before she got outside through a faulty door and ended up in the pool, falling in and hitting her head on the way down.
This year marked the ten-year anniversary of Shelby’s drowning. Since the tragedy, Andrea has been a Royal Life Saving Keep Watch ambassador working to prevent drowning deaths of children under five years of age.
“We know that something terrible happened to us and we’re never going to get over it, but at the same time we want to make the best of that and tell the story of what happened so that people become aware of how it can be prevented,” Andrea said.
The hard work is paying off with the recent National Drowning Report numbers showing there has been a 27 per cent decrease on the 10-year average regarding childhood drownings between the ages of zero to four.
Andrea believes that while there has been more community awareness about drowning prevention thanks to more open conversation and transparency around statistics, there is still work to be done.
She is an advocate for more educational programs for new parents and new arrivals to Australia. She would also like to see more support for parents to enrol their children into swimming lessons at an early age.
Shelby's memory continues to be celebrated every year, with her parents reminiscing about her dancing around the living room, being cheeky and always laughing.
Andrea says this year has been harder than others as "we realised Shelby would be leaving primary school this year to start high school, a reminder of milestones Shelby never got to make.''
Since Shelby’s loss, Andrea and her husband were lucky enough to welcome Harper and Austin to their family and they continue to share stories of Shelby with the children.
''The emotions are still there, they continue to sink further into the back but are never gone,'' Andrea says.
Now the grief serves as a reminder of how lucky they were to have Shelby in their lives, even if it was for a short period of time.
Since expanding her family, Andrea was initially anxious about having the kids in the pool for obvious reasons however over time, Andrea has managed to come to terms with her kids wanting to be in the water, learning to be water safe and to make memories.
Andrea would like to leave parents with this message, ''be aware, be present and most of all enjoy all the little moments you have with your kids.''
To learn more about the Keep Watch program, explore the link below.
