A devastated mom has issued other parents a warning after her two children tragically drowned while playing a popular pool game.
On Memorial Day weekend, Brittney McWhite and her children, London Marie, 11, and Wadale, 14, were attending a party when the incident occurred.
"When we got there, I was like, okay I'll help set up the food. Kids were playing in the pool." the mother told FOX 29.
"They were playing a game where you go down Marco Polo and you hold your breath."
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When going to check on her children, McWhite said that there was no one in sight.
"I was looking around or whatever I saw the water. I didn't see nobody," she recalled, adding that her children were able to swim.
"They weren't in there for more than like three, four minutes," McWhite said.
"And then they called their names. I say, I don't think they were playing when they jumped in.
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"They were at the bottom of the pool."
Monroe Township Police said they'd received a call at 6:46pm local time following a report of the two children drowning.
According to The Mirror US, London Marie and Wadale were quickly pulled from the pool, but authorities found them unresponsive and they didn't regain consciousness once out of the water.
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After being on life support for a week, McWhite made the difficult decision to end her children's treatment earlier this month.
"Keeping my child hooked onto a machine for the rest of their life is not ideally what any parent should want for their children, so today me and dad decided to end life support," she said.
McWhite said that her children were total opposites, however, they couldn't live without each other.
"I know they’re at peace, it's just very devastating. Not to lose one child but two. I think that's more challenging because you can't stomach that, but you have to keep going." she added.
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McWhite also issued a message to other parents - especially with the summer months fast approaching.
She said: "You can be in the water for a minute. Until you actually get a pulse, you're losing oxygen and in the severity case they lost a lot of oxygen.
"Always have a set of eyes. Prevent your kids from playing games. Make sure the pool is safe. Make sure if it doesn't look right, don't do it.
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"Because once you lose your child, it is hard. It's really hard to stomach."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drowning is the top cause of accidental deaths for children aged 1 to 4, as well as the second leading cause for minors overall.
To prevent drowning, the CDC says that you should:
- Lear basic swimming and water safety skills
- Have a fence that encloses the pool
- Supervise children closely
- Wear a life jacket
- Learn CPR
Topics: US News
Callum Jones