Families are busy making plans for spring break. Many of those plans include trips to the beach or pool! As parents plan for the week, water and swim safety needs to be top of mind. Water-related accidents can happen fast and parents need to be aware of ways to keep kids safer around water (especially on crowded holiday weeks).
What do parents need to know when it comes to water safety?
First, the facts:
Drowning is the leading cause of injury death for children ages one to four—and the second leading cause of injury death for children ages one to 14, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to the drownings reported, many children also suffer other water-related injuries each summer. This is a topic that every family needs to be aware of.
What does drowning look like? What are the warning signs?
Drowning happens quickly. A child can drown in as little as one inch of water and in as little time as 20 seconds. Often, adults are around when a child is drowning but they are unaware of what is happening. Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that we see on television is rarely seen in real life. You will not see screaming kids flailing their arms! Constant supervision is important so you notice a child whose face has gone under water or is struggling. If a child is taking on water, he WILL NOT be able to shout out for help.
Look for these other signs of drowning:
● Head low in the water, mouth at water level
● Head tilted back with mouth open
● Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
● Eyes closed
● Not using legs and vertical in the water
● Hyperventilating or gasping
● Trying to roll over on the back
What do families need to know when it comes to being safer around the water?
● Anytime 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.
● 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.
● Get swim lessons for yourself or any other caregiver who cannot swim or is afraid of water.
The American Red Cross says that the number one thing that parents can do to keep kids safer around water is to enroll them in swim lessons.
Goldfish Swim School Johns Creek offers lessons for children ages 4 months through 12 years-old. Our learn-to-swim curriculum is the very best one out there and we know how to get even the most reluctant swimmers comfortable in the water. Our program is different because of our warm, welcoming facility, highly trained instructors, small class sizes and shiver-free 90-degree pools. We also know that convenience counts. We offer every level of swim lessons at times that are convenient for you and your child moves up to the next level when he or she is ready (and you keep the same time slot!). Families with kids of different ages and skill levels can have all of their swimmers in the pool during at the same time and you can always schedule a makeup lesson if you need to miss a class. We want to make the learn-to-swim process as easy as possible for families.
We’d love to see you in our pool! Please visit our website or call (770) 744-0250 for more information about lessons!
Goldfish Swim School Johns Creek provides swim instruction to children ages 4 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 Johns Creek also offers weekly family swims (for both members and non-members) and birthday party packages. For more information or to register for lessons, visit the website or call (770) 744-0250.
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