Swimming Pools & Water Safety
Preparation through education is less costly than learning through tragedy. Max Mayfield
Water is great. Water is life.
Everyone loves the beach. A boat ride on a lake, awesome. But with great fun comes great responsibility. Being Water Safe is directly proportional to your behavior in and around the pool, lake, or ocean. Here are some startling statistics.
“In the United States, someone dies from drowning every 10 minutes. One out of every five drowning victims is a child, and, for every child who drowns, another five children get treated with injuries related to being submerged in water. Overall, drowning is the No. 2 leading cause of death for kids aged 5 to 14.”
The Y, 6/14/2019 (https://gwrymca.org/blog/water-safety-tips#close)
Let’s have a happy, open, safe summer in and around water. Here’s a list of water safe tips. This list is compiled from “The YMCA” suggestions and the Red Cross water safety guidelines.
10 Top Water Safe Behaviors
1. Never Swim Alone, Swim with a Buddy. Whether you are in the ocean, lake, or pool. It is always safer to swim with someone else.
2. Enter Feet First. This tip covers you entering a lake, ocean, river, and pool. Many times, you can’t determine the water depth. Unfortunately, severe injury can occur by diving into murky water or shallow water,
3. Don’t jump in to save a friend. Toss a ring buoy or flotation device.
Reach, throw, don’t go. Do you have a pool noodle, ring buoy, life vest,
tube to extend to your friend?
When people panic in the water, they become erratic and frightened. If you were to swim near them to help, they could quite easily grab you, pull you under, or climb over you to get to safety. Survey the scene and look for something that floats and is long that you can get to them.
4. Stay away from the pool drain.
5. Learn How to Swim.
6. Supervise young children. Never turn your back on a child in the water.
7. Teach your kids how to be safe in the water, by your actions & words.
8. Learn CPR.
9. Use only U.S. Coast Guard approved life jackets. Wear them. Floaties, wing tips, or foam toys should only be used under parent supervision. They aren’t flotation devices.
Kids should be taught to swim, learn water safety, and swim where supervised. If, as a parent, you aren’t completely confident in your child’s swimming ability let them wear a life vest. Any other floaties should be used in your view and only while learning to swim. It is important for kids to be confident swimmers!
10. Home Swimming pools: protect your pool by barriers at least 4ft or higher; use safety alarm, remove toys after swimming; stay away from the drains; if a child is missing check the pool first, have a first aid/safety kit* on hand, and enforce commonsense swimming-no running, pushing, or dunking.
Safety kit includes scissors to cut hair, clothing and/or a pool cover. Large safety items include a reaching poles and ring buoys.
Pet Pool Safety—
Most dogs breeds can swim however, some need to be watched carefully, pugs or bulldogs for example. Puppies need supervision around water as well as older dog whose coordination may be weak.
Teach your dog to swim.
Train them about pool safety (wait at the pool’s edge, how to use the stairs to get in and out of the pool.
Enlist the help of a dog trainer it needed.
Pecas learned to use the stairs to get in and out of the pool!
SK Simple Solutions can help organize your vital documents, Grab Bags, First Aid kits and Pet Prepping! Contact us now.
SK Out!
Email: info@SKsimplesolutions.com
Website: SKsimplesolutions.com
