Safety Tips for Swimming Kids

Posted on: August 1st, 2017by Casey Anderson

July, the heart of summer. The heat of summer too in most places. And everyone in all those hot places is looking for a way to cool off. One of the most common ways for many people is the swimming pool. Who doesn’t in enjoy a cold, refreshing dip in the pool?

But with that chill relaxation comes a few things to be cautious of, especially if you’re swimming with young children, or if they’re swimming around you. A lot of people worry about drowning in lakes or oceans, but the majority of drowning incidents happen in pools.

Statistics say that 10 people die a day from drowning, 2 out of those 10 are children 14 years old or younger. For every child that dies from drowning there are 5 more kids that receive emergency care for water submersion related injuries.

So, if you didn’t realize it, water safety is a very serious thing. I’m going to talk about pools today, but keep in mind a child can drown in only one inch of water. You should always keep an eye on your child around any water source.

Alright, now we got the scary facts out of the way, let’s talk about some things you can do to help keep your child safe around the pool.

1. Active supervision is the most important thing
Children who are in, or even around water should have adult supervision and undivided attention. If you’re alone with your kid, that’s you, if your spouse or another adult is nearby, make sure you both know whose turn it is to keep an eye on the kid. Don’t just assuming that the other adult present is watching.

Swimming time is not the time for multitasking, especially with infants and toddlers, or any child that does not know how to swim. You should remain within an arm’s reach of them.

2. Educate your children about water safety
You can either enroll your child in swimming classes, or you can try to teach them yourself. You want to teach children how to float in addition to treading water. If they are frantically swimming they will tire out, but if they know how to calm down and float then that would give them more time to be safe above the water.

Teach your child to always swim with an adult. Even older children should swim with a partner. And they should never, ever get in the water without informing an adult first. Make sure your children of any age understand they cannot swim without telling you.

Have your young children use swim aids, such as arm swimmies, noodles etc but make sure they understand that they are not a fail proof safety device, make sure you understand that as well. Just because your toddler has swimmies on does not mean you can leave them alone in the water.

3. Learn CPR
Seriously, if you have kids why would you not want to do this? It will give you peace of mind and the ability to safe your child’s life if necessary. Many local hospitals, fire departments and various community programs offer CPR. Once your children are older consider teaching them as well. It’s a great skill to have and puts them ahead of the game if they try for a lifeguard job as a teen!

4. Equipment Safety
If you’re using small kiddie pools or inflatable pools, go ahead and empty it immediately after use. Without chemicals to keep it clean the water will just get gross anyway, and this way you don’t have to worry about your child wandering into the water later.

Educate your children about staying away from drains. They can have suction that trap small children in place. If you are installing a new pool at your home, put in multiple drains to reduce the power of suction at each one.

5. Looking for your child
If your or another’s child is missing and you have a pool, check it first, no matter how unlikely. Every second counts in the case of potential drowning injuries.

6. Put sunscreen on your kids
I know this is not directly related to water safety, but…put sunscreen on your kids. Even if they don’t like it, you are the adult. If they refuse, then they don’t get to swim, period. There are far too many dangers related to sun expose, even on cloudy and cool seeming days. Children tend to be more easily distracted and may not realize they are getting burned, making them a higher risk than adults.

Please keep in mind these are only a few tips and in no way a comprehensive guide to water safety. Follow all the safety guides that come with any pool you purchase, and follow all rules at public pools. As long as everyone keeps safe the summer swimming season can be very enjoyable!

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Baby Care Baby Safety
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