Kids Water Safety
1.When it comes to water safety, perhaps the single most important thing you can teach your children is to always swim with a buddy or put another way never swim alone. Any difficulty that a child encounters in water is always magnified and in some unfortunate cases catastrophized if the child is alone. A child gets a mouthful of water and begins to choke, a child’s eyes are burning from chlorine or salt, a child who normally wears glasses is swimming without them, a child ventures too far into deep water, a child becomes tired while swimming, all of these situations can be unsettling to any young swimmer but if that swimmer is alone they develop into disasters. Swimming with a buddy gives a young person cofidence because he or she knows there is someone nearby who can lend a hand, get assistance or even call for help as the situation demands. Swimming alone may set off a panic in young swimmers that may stay with him or her for years to come. Before your child goes near water of any kind this summer make sure they know why its important to swim with a buddy and insist that they swim with one each and every time they go into the water
2. Avoid overexposure to water and sun. As with almost any activity practiced by human beings, swimming too much is not likely to produce the desired effects. Too much exposure to water and the sun that almost always goes with it can cause young people to feel nausea,cramping, dizziness and exhaustion. All of those symptoms when experienced on dry land can be disconcerting, but for children in the rather foreign environment of a pool, lake or ocean the same symptoms can spell danger. It is far easier to avoid too much water and too much sun than it is to cope with the results of either while in the water. Give your children clear instructions about how long they are allowed to stay in the water without a dry land break. Surely the amount of time depends upon the age of the children, their overall conditioning and the heat or chill of sun or water. Just remember there is a limit. Insist that your children observe the practical limits for exposure that you set.
3. Know how to tread water and float before you enter deep water – Mmake certain that your children limit their water activities to shallow water until they have effectively learned to float for a considerable time on their backs and they can demonstrate treading water for a minute or more. Both skills provide young people with the ability to keep their heads above water until they start to swim to an area where they can stand. Being able to float and tread gives a youngster two important safety tools that can also allow them to be in a position to breath efficiently untill help arrives if they encounter difficulty in the water. More than any other tools treading and floating can be used almost indefinitely in alternating pattern to maintain a swimmer in the water and at the same time support their level of confidence that will keep them safe until they can swim to shore or if needed receive an assist.
4. Use Flotation Devices Only In Areas Where You Can Swim Safely Without Them. This rule may seem contradictory even though it is one of the most important rules that you can teach your kids. It would seem that the whole idea of flotation devices is exactly the oppposite, that is you would use them in areas where you can’t function without them. That in fact is when the trouble starts. Flotation devices lift the body and far too often the confidence levels of kids in the water. The exuberance that floating imparts to the body overflows to the thinking process and kids begin to think they can do just about anything on the floatation device. But what happens if by chance, by accident, the child becomes separted from the device? What happens next can be disastrous. It can also be avoided. Floatation devices, used properly can be fun, but if they take children into areas where they are non-proficient swimmers the fun is decidedly over. Insist that floatation devices, if used, be confined to areas where young people can swim without difficulty on their own should they be tossed by or separated from the flotation device.
5. Children entering the water should always walk out and swim in. There are two important parts to this rule. First when entering the water its important for children to learn to walk in. Often times their natural exuberance takes control and kids want to run and throw themselves into the water, as appealing as this may look it is a technique loaded with danger. Walking into the water allows children to measure the temperature, the current if any and most importantly the depth and drop off of the bottom. Running and jumping or diving in can mean putting yourself quickly in danger. The second part of the rule encourages children to swim in, that swim from deep water to shallow never the other way around. By swimming towards shore children always know they are going towards the safer more shallow area. Swimming out again can put children at risk with amazing swiftness. Teach children to always walk out and swim in.
There are many other rules that can help children aroung the waterfront. The more safety tips they know the better. But begin with these five and you are on your way to a summer that is carefree for you because it is safe for them .
