71% of the world is covered by water, children are 100% CURIOUS
For many people, summertime means pool time. However, if you don’t take proper precautions to keep kids safe around water, accidents can occur.
Water is fun for kids but also a place where safety should come first.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, drowning is the leading cause of water accidents for children ages 1 to 4, and the second leading cause for kids 1 to 14 in Texas.
June is the deadliest month for children swimming and playing in pools and spas, 72% of drownings occurred in residential settings.
Water safety is serious, follow the following recommendations to keep your children safe this summer.
- Install a four-sided fence with a self-closing or self-latching gate around all pools and spas.
- Designate a water watcher to supervise children at all times around the water. This person should not be distracted. Flotation devices are not a substitute for supervision.
- Learn how to swim and teach your child how to swim.
- Learn how to perform CPR on children and adults.
- Keep children away from pool drains, pipes, and other openings to avoid entrapments.
- Ensure any pool and spa you use has drain covers that comply with federal safety standards and if you do not know, ask your pool service provider about safe drain covers.
- All children and adolescents should wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets whenever they are on a boat, raft, inner tube or swimming in open water like lakes, rivers or the ocean.
- Make sure that if your family is swimming, they do it in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.
- Enforce rules around the pool. Instruct everyone to never run, push or jump on others in and around the water.
- Have a conversation about water safety with children before you leave on vacation.
Water safety is important at any age. We encourage you to create a safety plan for your entire family.
https://www.unitypoint.org/livewell/article.aspx?id=e7f53ba1-56fe-4784-8a0f-669b29255673
