Summer Water Safety:

Prevent accidents with these simple tips

by Daniel Sean Kaye

While summer is an exciting and fun time for children, adults should remember that dangers lurk in many places, especially near water.

According to The State of Home Safety in America report, amassed by the Home Safety Council (HSC), drowning is the fifth leading cause of unintentional injury related death. Silent and sudden, drowning often happens in home swimming pools. Drowning victims often make no noise once in distress, so constant supervision is critical. Here are some home pool area safety tips, from the HSC:

•If a child is missing, check the pool area first.
•Install four-sided fencing with self-locking, self-closing gates. Fencing should completely isolate the pool from the home and be at least five feet high. Always keep gates closed and latched. Never prop a gate open or disable the lock.
•Always practice constant, adult supervision around any body of water, including pools and spas, and never leave your child alone or in the care of another child.
•No one is “drown proof,” so no one should swim alone – even adults.
•Learn and practice basic lifesaving techniques, including First Aid and CPR, and insist that anyone who cares for your children learn CPR.
•Keep a cordless, water-resistant telephone close to the pool area.
•Post emergency numbers and CPR instructions near the pool area.
•Teach children that drains, grates, and filters are not toys. Never stick fingers or toes in these openings and stay away from suction devices.
•Post safety rules in a highly visible location. Make sure children understand and obey the rules.
•Completely remove pool and spa covers prior to swimming.
•Stay out of the pool during severe weather and thunderstorms, especially if lightning is forecast or present.

Child rearing expert Bette Holtzman is the vice president of consumer and family advocacy at The Goldberger Company, a family owned and operated toy company that specializes in toys for children aged 0 to 3. Here are some safe swimming tips parents should know for swimming with very young children: 

•Exercise touch/reach supervision – always be within an arm’s length of the child. Floaties and water wings are not an alternative to supervision; they will not prevent a child from drowning. 
•Practice safety near any place with water both inside and out: tub, toilet, fish pond, buckets of water, coolers, fountains, hot tubs, and even big puddles.
•Very young children need one-to-one undivided parent-to-child interaction. Forget the phone, reading, or watching other children. Never leave the child unattended in or near water to answer the telephone, door bell, etc. – even if the child is in a kiddie pool, at the water’s edge, or in the shallow end of a large pool.
•Pay attention to the older children.
•Ask other parents to help supervise at pool parties with several young children. At parties, designate “pool guards” who don’t drink or socialize (two or three can rotate). Teach children ages 8-12 how to respond to an emergency – what to do, when to do it, what their address and phone number are, etc.
•Empty the kiddie pool and get covers with locks for hot tubs and spas. Follow state or county guidelines for home pools. Empty cleaning buckets after mopping, shut bathroom doors, and use mesh covers over fish ponds.
•Ask your pediatrician at what age your child will be ready to learn to swim. Children younger than four-years of age are not developmentally able to swim properly and safely. Knowing how to swim doesn’t protect against drowning. Make sure instructors are certified and have proper experience.
•Enforce basic rules for all pools such as “no running,” “no diving,” and “no swimming alone.” Do not leave toys near the pool, especially riding toys such as trucks, bikes, and wagons. Do not leave toys floating in the pool.

Here are tips, according to TIPP (The Injury Prevention Program) from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

•Do not put a swimming pool in your yard until your children are older than five years.
•Keep rescue equipment such as a shepherd’s hook or life preserver by the pool.
•A power safety cover that meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) may add to the protection of your children but should not be used in place of the fence between your house and the pool. Even fencing around your pool and using a power safety cover will not prevent all drownings.
•Remember, teaching your child how to swim DOES NOT mean your child is safe in water.

Here are tips from the American Red Cross:
•Children should wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal floatation device (PFD) when around the water.
•Watch out for the dangerous “too’s” – too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too much strenuous activity.
•Be knowledgeable of the water environment you are in and its potential hazards, such as deep and shallow areas, currents, depth changes, obstructions, and where the entry and exit points are located.
•Use a feet-first entry when entering the water. Enter headfirst only when the area is clearly marked for diving and has no obstructions.
•Never leave furniture near the fence that would enable a child to climb over the fence.
•Keep pole, rope*, and personal flotation devices (PFDs) by the pool and know how to use them. *Be sure rope is accessible only to those old enough to use in an emergency.

And when not at home (at beaches, lakes, waterparks):

•Select a supervised area, with a trained lifeguard.
•Select a clean and well maintained area. It shows management’s concern for health and safety.
•Select an area that has good water quality and safe natural conditions. Watch out for murky water, hidden underwater objects, unexpected drop-offs, aquatic plant life, water pollution, strong tides, big waves, and currents.
•Be sure rafts and docks are in good condition – no loose boards or exposed nails. Never swim under a raft or dock. Always look before jumping off a dock or raft to be sure no one is in the way.
•Avoid drainage ditches and arroyos. After heavy rains they can become raging rivers and even the strongest swimmers are no match for their power.
•Check the surf conditions before you enter the water – look for warning flags or check with lifeguards for water and beach conditions, or any potential hazards.
•Stay away from piers, pilings, and diving platforms when in the water.
•Make sure you have enough energy to swim back to shore.
•Don’t swim against a current, swim gradually out of the current by swimming across it.
•Read all posted signs. Follow the rules and directions given by lifeguards. Ask questions if you’re not sure about a procedure.
•Before you start down a water slide, get in the correct position—face up and feet first.
•If you cannot swim, wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.

Following these precautions may very well prevent needless tragedies.  Let’s all have a relaxing, enjoyable, and safe summer!