Suffocation, drowning, second-hand smoke: New details on 3 child deaths

Suffocation. Drowning. Second-hand smoke.

These were factors in the deaths of three boys aged 13, two and just eight months-old according to new information from the province's child death review committee.

The committee is calling for more awareness around the dangers of tobacco smoke and "the choking game," as well as new regulations aimed at limiting child access to backyard pools.

All three children were known to the Department of Social Development. The news release doesn't say when or where the children died.

"Although we can't be more specific about the children in the latest report, we can say their deaths were not in the past year and neither were under child protection," department spokesperson Anne Mooers wrote in an emailed statement.

• FULL COVERAGE: The Lost Children

The government revamped its child death review system in December, following aCBCNews Investigation that found the public was being told little about how vulnerable children are dying.

The new format provides the child's age, cause of death and more details on how the family was known to the Department of Social Development.

Education needed on 'choking game'

The 13-year-old boy's death was ruled an accident, with the asphyxia caused by neck compression.

The committee recommended an "educational program or information session" for children in middle and high school on the dangers of "the choking game," which involves limiting blood and oxygen flow to the brain with the goal of achieving a high before going unconscious.

It's also known as "the pass out game" or "space monkey game."

The committee made the exact same recommendation in the late 2000s, after another death related to the choking game.

"This subject matter is not only a matter of public safety as well as a health issue," both the old and new recommendations say.

"Therefore, the committee would recommend that agencies such as police and the departments of Health and Education and Early Childhood Development, through their community-based and school programs, promote awareness of such a dangerous activity."

Tobacco smoke played role

Environmental exposure to tobacco smoke played a role in an eight-month-old boy's "sudden unexpected death in infancy," the committee found.

It recommended the province "reinforce" educational information for parents on the dangers of second-hand cigarette smoke.

The government also released the findings of a review into the drowningdeath of a two-year-old boy. His death was ruled an accident.

The committee is calling for the Department of Environment and Local Government to draft new legislation that would require safety additions to backyard pools.

That includes four-sided fencing that's a minimum of four feet, self-closing and self-latching gates and retrofitted fencing for in-ground, above ground and inflatable pools.

The government has 45 days to respond to the recommendations.

Review delayed

The child death review committee's report on the boys' deaths comes as a consultant reviews the province's entire child protection system.

The deadline for consultant George Savouryto submit that report was supposed to be Aug. 31.

The government now says the report will not be made public until the fall, after the September provincial election.

It says the deadline for the release of the report changed because the scope of the review was broadened.

Savoury is now reviewing how three different departments handle child protection matters: Social Development, Education and Early Childhood Development and Justice and Public Safety.

That comes after a shocking case of neglect in Saint John, where five young children were found smeared in feces with little to eat, under the watch of child protection officials.

• 'Almost inhuman' neglect of 5 siblings renews concerns about child protection

The children rarely went to school, but the deplorable conditions weren'tdiscovered until sheriffs showed up to evict the family.

The children's parents were each sentenced earlier this year to two years in prison.