Joanna James
Children love water. And it is always well-advised to make sure that your children are comfortable and at home in the water for you never know when they might find themselves in a situation where it is literally "sink or swim." Here are 7 important safety tips to adhere to.
Just because your kids can swim well, you are not exempt from keeping an eye on them, especially if they are young and more so as they get older. Always make sure that someone is supervising them in the water at all times. Be it another adult, yourself or your other children, have someone on hand to immediately rescue the ones in the water should something go wrong. Did you know that over 3600 people die in the US annually by unintentional drowning? Better to be safe than sorry.
Make sure you enrol your students in swimming lessons early on in their lives so that they are prepared for any instances that they might be in a body of water and need to swim to safety. It is also an excellent way to exercise which is also equally fun.
Before you plan a list of things to do with family when you go to the swimming pool or the beach, establish some water ground rules with your kids. Some of these rules might be not to have breathing competitions underwater, or holding your siblings underwater or not entering the water without prior permission from the person who will be supervising.
Visiting sites the likes of The Family Travel Blog can teach you more about situations like drain entrapment which you should thoroughly explain to your kids. Hair can easily get sucked into the drainage systems of a swimming pool and result in drowning or entrapment. Make sure that your children are wearing swimming caps and are aware of such dangers.
Make sure that your kids never go out into the water alone. It would be advisable to introduce a buddy system where each is responsible for the safety of the others and they can look after each other. Introduce it at a very young age as it shows that children are more likely to fall into the habit of responsibility and will rarely stray from it.
Attend a CPR class and teach it to your children as well. This is a skill that everyone should be able to perform in practice as it can keep everyone safe. It is safer for everyone if someone in the group knows CPR in case of emergencies so you have already done the needful in case paramedics are late.
While foam toys in the pool are fun for kids, make sure that you don't assume they replace a life jacket and will help kids stay afloat.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
