Did you know that every year more than 600 children drown? With summer coming up shortly, water safety is extremely important. Many families will be going to the beach, boats, lake or pools and every year more children are drowning because safety precautions were not taken and lack of supervision.
Nationwide, it’s the number-one cause of accidental death in kids ages 1 to 4 and the second-most-common cause of injury-related death in children ages 1 to 14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Educating yourself on safety tips for the summer is the first step in preparing for the summer months. In recognition of May being National Water Safety Month, we are here to share some water safety tips for your family for the upcoming summer. Here are water safety tips for your family this summer:
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Don’t always rely on flotation devices for safety
Some flotation devices can trap your child’s feet into it and if they were to tip over, it could prevent them from being able to get to the surface. The recommended device would be a well-fitted lifejacket. Never leave your child unattended in a flotation device, especially if your child does not know how to swim yet.
Know your surroundings
Whether you are on a lake, at the pool or ocean, make sure you know what the surroundings are like. Is there a lifeguard? Are there first-aid kits? Is the water rough? Are there any warnings in the local area’s waters? These are all extremely important things to know when visiting water over the summer. Not only do you need to make sure the water is safe for your child to be in, but are there other eyes and experienced swimmers just in case there is an emergency.
Supervise your children
Parents are always watching their children to make sure they are okay and not getting hurt, but sometimes when there are friends or family members around, there might be some distractions and we take our eyes off of our children for a split second. That is the time when something could happen when you are distracted by something else. If it is imperative that you have to take your eyes off of the children in the water, designate someone else to make sure they are watching them.
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Set rules and boundaries for safety
When visiting any body of water, it is crucial to provide rules to your family about what is acceptable and what is not. How far can they go into the water? Should they be diving or jumping? Is it high tide today? Can they go underwater? These are all important things that sometimes we assume that everyone might know and don’t go over the boundaries beforehand. Setting limitations helps provide water safety for your children.
Be aware of the depth of water
Be sure to check out how deep the water is in the location that you are going. If you are at a pool, check out the depth of the pool and determine a good location for your children to be and where they should not be. If you are at a river and the water is shallow, wearing water shoes is a great way to protect your children from slipping on the slick rocks on the ground or stubbing their toes on the rocks. And if are at the ocean, be aware of high tide or low tide and the lifeguards warning of any riptide areas.
Check the temperature and weather
Before jumping into the water, check the temperature for your children first. Depending on the location and time of the year, it might be a little chilly still. Checking the weather the day you will be visiting the water, check to make sure there won’t be any thunderstorms or high winds when you are visiting.
Sign up for swimming lessons
Swimming lessons are an extremely valuable tool for children during the summer time. During swimming lessons, children learn first how to float and then how to swim. Learning how to float is a great lesson for children in case they happen to ever fall into a pool or body of water, they would be able to save themselves by floating until help arrived.
Become Certified
The American Red Cross has tons of choices for classes that parents could take to educate themselves on life-saving opportunities. At the very least, taking a First Aid class is helpful to know the proper way to bandage a wound if it were to occur. They also offer CPR classes and have lists of locations for swim classes based on where you live.
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