Summer vacation is finally upon us! This can mean fun-filled days at the ocean, lake, or pool with friends and family. Spending time in and around water is one of summer’s many highlights, but it’s important to have fun – and be safe while doing it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, drowning is the leading cause of accidental injury death among children ages 1 to 4. Goldfish Swim School – Indianapolis is part of the Indiana Drowning Prevention Coalition, a safety alliance that launched last summer. Other members include the Indianapolis Police Dept., Indianapolis Fire Dept., Riley Children’s at Indiana University Health, National Drowning Prevention Alliance, USA Swimming Foundation, Indiana Parent Teachers Association and Indy Parks and Recreation. The Coalition’s mission is to help bring water safety awareness to the local community.
Andrew Joseph, Goldfish Swim School’s General Manager and Water Safety Expert, provides tips for parents and kids who likely haven’t been in or around water in many months.
Swimming can be one of the most enjoyable parts of summer, so while your family is out enjoying the nice weather, keep safety in mind and of course have fun!
6 Tips for Summer Water Safety
1. Put your cell phone away:
A child can drown in the time it takes to send a text message or answer a phone call. Put your cell phone away when you and your child are around water.
2. Never leave your child unattended:
Water is everywhere whether you are near the lake or ocean on vacation, in a neighborhood pool or near a retention pond. A drowning child usually cannot cry or shout for help, so never turn your back on your child around water.
3. Designate a water watcher:
Assign a Designated Watcher so there are never questions about which adult is responsible for watching the child.
4. Have an emergency plan in place:
Start a conversation with your kids about water safety and share tips with them about what to do if they fall into water. Call paramedics right away even if the child appears ok physically. Learn infant and child CPR. Keep rescue equipment, a phone and emergency numbers nearby.
5. Start swim lessons early:
As young as four months old, enroll children in swim lessons. Teach children water acclimation and aquatic survival skills designed to help them survive should they reach the water alone. Goldfish Swim School has two Indianapolis locations, in Carmel and Fishers and o ers year-round, perpetual swim lessons to children ages 4 months to 12 years old.
6. Conversations with caretakers:
If your child goes to a friend’s house to play, ask the adult what kinds of activities they will engage in, and specifically, if they will be around water, and make sure the children are supervised. When traveling to relatives’ and friends’ homes they may not understand the importance of keeping gates closed, doors locked, etc.
Goldfish Swim School’s Safer Swimmer Pledge
Take the Safer Swimmer Pledge with your kiddo to remind them of the 5 water-safety must-knows before you hit the pools, lakes and beaches this summer!
