Water Safety

Summer is coming up and a lot of people will be playing in and around water. Bodies of water can be beautiful but also very dangerous. Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death in children and teens. Water safety is very important!

When small children are present, keep an eye on them. Make sure they do not get too close to the edge of the water. Little children do not understand about sinking and drowning.

I was at the pool once when a little boy was sitting on the edge of the pool watching his dad show him the motions of how to swim. He was young and probably thought that he could easily float on the water so he just went right in! Thankfully, his dad quickly got him back up and the boy had held his breath so he was fine. But it was scary! Therefore, make sure little kids do not try to go into the pool on their own!

When you first arrive at a body of water, always enter a body of water with your feet first. Never dive into a body of water until you have checked for obstacles and have found out how deep it is. Never dive in shallow water or in water that has obstacles in it. You could damage your spinal cord and be paralyzed for life!

Avoid swimming in water that is too cold. You can get hypothermia. Temperatures are colder in water than on land.

When the sun is out, be sure to drink plenty of liquids to prevent from getting dehydrated.

Also, wear waterproof sun screen so you will not get sunburned.

In addition, when you go swimming remember...

-To go with someone

-To not swim during bad weather.

-To not swim at night.

At the beach, there are rip tides. If you get caught in a rip tide, do not fight against it. Swim diagonally to the shore. Even though there are life guards at some beaches, they cannot see everything. Watch to make sure small children do not go into the ocean by themselves.

When buying a life jacket, look for the U.S. Coast Guard approval number. When boating, rafting, etc., wear a life jacket. Arm floaties will not prevent anyone from drowning! Arm floaties are not a substitute for a life jacket and adult supervision.

If you own a Jacuzzi, it needs to have a cover on it so that your kids cannot get into it by themselves. Make sure the temperature is not too hot when you get into it. It is not recommended for adults to remain in a hot tub for more than 15 minutes (10 minutes for kids).

If you own a small child pool, remember to empty it after every use. Don’t leave water in it! Children can drown in just a little bit of water...just a couple inches is enough to drown in.

To read an article that includes great information regarding chlorine safety (which is really important!), you can visit aquasplashonline.com Note: Chlorine is highly poisonous and explosive!

In addition, you can read about houseboat safety at all-about-houseboats.com

Have a fun, safe summer!