Holiday Weekends mean lots of people will be headed to the lake and beach. While many parents worry about their children’s safety around swimming pools, as they should and need to do, drowning incidents can also occur in natural bodies of water.
Safety precautions need to be taken around all water environments. According to the Center for Disease Control, about half of all drowning incidents occur in natural water settings such as lakes, rivers, or oceans. And, almost 75% of people killed in boating
accidents die as a result of drowning. There are steps parents can be taking to keep their children safer in the water. The United States Swim School Association has put together the following guidelines to help keep children safe while boating this summer.
• Make sure your children know how to properly wear a lifejacket. And always have children under 12 wear a life jacket at all times when boating or using personal watercraft.
• Personal floatation devices (PFDs) should always be U.S. Coast Guard approved. Never substitute water wings or other recreational type floating toys for an approved PFD.
• Create a water safety plan for your family and have water emergency drills with your kids covering how to recognize the signs of someone struggling in water and what to do in this type of emergency.
• Teach your children the “throw don’t go” rescue method. Instead of entering the water to help a struggling person, teach your child to throw in a rope, reach with a stick, paddle or other object to pull the person in.
• If you take your kids on a shore excursion while boating, be aware of tides and currents and other risks the ocean or beach may have.
• Non-motorized boats can also pose a risk. If your family is canoeing or kayaking be sure your child is wearing a life jacket and knows what to do if the boat flips.
• If your child is playing near a natural body of water and accidentally falls in, teach your child to roll over on his or her back and float until help arrives if exiting the water is not an option.
• Never use floatation devices or water wings to keep your child safe in the water. Rely on your direct supervision.
Swimming lessons are a great addition to help keep your child safer while boating and around open water. For more information about swimming lessons and water safety and to find a Unites States Swim School Association member swim school near you,
visit: www.usswimschools.org.
About US Swim School Association:
US Swim School Association (USSSA) began in 1988 to fill a gap in the swim school industry. USSSA has become the largest and preeminent swim school association in the country with over 400 members providing swim and water safety instruction to over 500,000 students each year. Swim schools receive invaluable benefits as USSSA members, receiving the latest training in water safety, swim instruction methods and tools, invitations to annual conferences, and many other benefits that help establish and build each individual business. Through USSSA, parents and students are provided with a reliable and trustworthy resource when searching for a swim school and can rest assured they have chosen a top school when they choose a USSSA affiliated location. For
more information, visit www.usswimschools.org
Photo Credit: <a href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonpier/3831632675/”>Jason Pier in DC</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/”>cc</a>
