May is National Water Safety Awareness Month. Water safety impacts all families, and every adult who supervises children needs to know basic information on how to keep kids safer in and around water.
When it comes to drowning, the statistics are pretty staggering. Drowning is the leading cause of injury death to children ages one to four—and the second leading cause of injury death for children ages one to 14, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Statistics show that thousands of children are hospitalized each year for nonfatal drowning incidents.
Accidents can happen quickly. A child can drown in as little as one inch of water and in as little time as 20 seconds.
The swim and water safety experts at the new Goldfish Swim School Yorktown Heights (opening summer 2018) believe that every parent and caregiver needs to keep the following water safety tips in mind:
- When kids are around water, designate a “water watcher” who will avoid cell phones, conversations, magazines, and anything else that might distract the adult from watching swimming children EVERY SINGLE SECOND. Most children who drown are supervised.
- The American Red Cross says that the number one thing parents can do to keep kids safer around water is to enroll them in swim lessons. Swimming is an essential life-saving skill with numerous physical, mental, and intellectual benefits.
- Get swim lessons for yourself or any other caregiver who cannot swim or is afraid of water.
- Realize that floaties, noodles, and plastic inner tubes do NOT protect against drowning. They are created as water toys, not life-saving devices. Life jackets should be designated as U.S. Coast Guard-approved.
- Know that even the most seasoned swimmers can still encounter trouble. Ensure swimmers don’t overestimate their skills and understand the importance of never swimming alone.
In addition to these tips, there are several basic skills that the water safety experts at Goldfish Swim School work on with students every week in lessons. Parents can practice these skills with their kids anytime they are in the water together:
- Work on getting in and out of the pool safely. Fin, Fin, Belly, Flipper! Help your little ones learn how to get out of the pool by manipulating their bodies in this order: elbow, elbow, tummy, knee. Practice this often; you can even do this on your living room floor by having your baby climb onto a couch or chair! After you practice, always remember to celebrate. Eventually, your little one will be strong enough to manage the movement on her own! This is a skill that kids continue to use to safely exit the pool — even when they are older!
- Jump, Turn, Swim to the Wall! Let your child jump off the side of the pool to you and help him physically turn back to the wall, and then assist your child in getting out of the pool using the fin, fin, belly, and flipper method. Do this over and over again. As your child gets more confident, let her go under the water and come to the surface independently. This teaches kids to automatically turn back to the wall behind them to climb out. If a child were to fall into a pool, this skill is the quickest way to safety.
- Sea Otter Float. Please work with your child on turning over and getting their face out of the water to take a breath when he/she fatigues.
Goldfish Swim School Yorktown Heights provides swim instruction to children ages four months to 12 years old in a unique setting with highly trained instructors, small class sizes (max 4:1 student-to-teacher ratio), shiver-free 90-degree pools, and a state-of-the-art water purification system. In addition to swim lessons, Goldfish Swim School also offers weekly family swims (for both members and non-members) and birthday party packages.
