WATER SAFETY EDUCATION FOR PARENTS & CAREGIVERS

1. WATER SAFETY EDUCATION FOR PARENTS &CAREGIVERS

2. A swimming pool is fourteen times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved in the death of a child four and under.

3. Seventy percent of all preschoolers who drown are in the care of one or both parents at the time of drowning.

4. Drowning is more likely to claim your child's life than any other accident.  There is a very real need to protect your child from drowning.

5. Learn to Swim

6. Learn to Swim It’s never too soon to start.

7. It’s never too late to learn.

8. Infants can begin learning to swim before they are able to crawl to water.

9. SWIMMING LESSON GOALS 1. Face-up comfort and lifesaving endurance in the water 2. Development of advanced swimming techniques

10. A child needs to have a good endurance base as well as proficiency at several different strokes to be considered skilled in the water.  

11. Even after a child learns to swim, there is never any guarantee that there won’t be an accident.  

12. No one is ever drownproof or watersafe.

13. Children aren’t even livingroom safe.

14. They need constant supervision.

15. Soccer, Tae Kwon Do, and Dance won’t save your child’s life.

16. Teach your child to swim first.

17. Safe Pools

18. SAFE POOLS Supervision is always your primary layer of protection, but many drowning incidents occur when parental supervision fails and there are no other backup layers in use.

19. LAYERS…. Access doors to the pool area with high locks & alarms Pool safety barrier such as a fence or wall separating the pool from your home Pool alarms

20. "Staging platforms" such as tables and chairs, should not be kept near a pool fence. • Keeping a telephone • at poolside could • prove to be an • invaluable aid in the • event of an accident.

21. Do not allow the pool area to be used as a play area.  The pool is for swimming only.  Isolating the pool area to be used for swimming is the most essential concept of drowning prevention.

22. CPR and your knowledge of rescue techniques are another layer of protection should there be an accident. Finally, an Emergency Action Plan is a must for anyone who has a backyard pool.

23. Every layer of protection possible must be in force at all times or the system is compromised.

24. Choose safe pool toys and use them properly.   

25. Do not use water wings, flotation swimming suits, rings, etc. even with adult supervision.  These devices teach a heads-up posture in the water, arms out to the sides with the back arched and the knees bent in a bicycling-style kicking pattern. This posture and action is contrary to that needed for swimming. In a recreational swimming setting, flotation devices should be used only by those who can swim independently.

26. The use of flotation devices is one of the worst pre-swimming-lesson experiences a child can have.    If your child wears one even a few times, it will take her much longer to learn to swim.    

27. Practice healthy swimming behaviors.

28. Refrain from swimming when you have diarrhea. Avoid swallowing pool water or even getting it in your mouth. Shower before swimming and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers.

29. Take children on bathroom breaks. Check diapers often. Change diapers in a bathroom not at poolside. Thoroughly clean the diaper changing area.

30. Supervision

31. SUPERVISION Vigilant surveillance is the primary duty of all lifeguards.

32. In reality, vigilance is, by human nature, very difficult to maintain, particularly when the visual tasks required by lifeguards become boring, repetitive and routine. 

33. Youth, inexperience, fatigue, heat, and sun also negatively affect the ability of a lifeguard to maintain vigilant surveillance.

34. YOU are responsible for keeping your child safe.

35. When you are the lifeguard…

36. Each non-swimmer requires their own watcher within arms reach at all times. 

37. This is called Touch Supervision.

38. More backyard safety tips…

39. Have safety equipment in place and in working order at all times.Teenagers should not be allowed to use the pool without supervision. Do not serve alcohol to swimmers.Do not allow diving into any backyard pool.

40. Backyard Pool Drownings…

41. Who was in charge of supervision at the time of drowning? 69% of the accidents occurred while one or both parents were responsible for supervision.

42. Who was in charge of supervision at the time of drowning? 10% were adults other than the parents. 14% were sitters 7% were siblings

43. What were the locations of the pool drownings? 65% were in a pool owned by the child's family 22% were in a pool owned by a relative 11% happened at a neighbor's pool.

44. Drownings happen quickly and without warning.  There is no cry for help. 77% of the children had been seen five minutes or less before being missed and subsequently discovered in the pool.

45. And where were they last seen? 46% were last seen in the house prior to being found in the pool.  Of these, 15% were thought to be sleeping. 23% were last seen in the yard, porch, or patio, not in the pool area. 

46. That's a total of 69% that were thought not to be in the pool area, but they were found in the water.

47. Take advantage of the products available to safeguard your pool, but remember, all the technology in the world can't bring back the lifeless body of a child who drowned unnoticed.  

48. Open Water & Boating

49. OPEN WATER It is estimated that in the United States, there are 50,867,840 acres of lakes; 633,109 miles of rivers; and 88,633 miles of coastal shoreline.

50. Chances are that you will spend time near water.