Being at the pool or the beach in the summer sun is definitely fun, but it comes with some risks. We've made it through half of the summer and there have been several toddler pool-related deaths already. The leading cause of death for children four and under after birth defects is accidents. After auto accidents, drowning is the leading cause of death for young children.
Here are 7 key safety tips to take into the last weeks of summer.
1. Like the amazing 16 month toddler in the video, teach your children water safety as early as possible. Some gyms have indoor pools and teach lessons year round.
2. Take a CPR class.
3. The main cause of distraction is needing to run into the house for food, sunscreen, a towel, answer the phone or door. Take the child with you.
4. Assign one person to be the lifeguard, who has no phone or magazine, and is preferably in the pool with the child. In 46 percent of drownings, a child was under supervision of both parents.
5. Don't depend on floaties. They give a false sense of security, but can pop or slip off. Use them sparingly.
6. Clean up all floating toys every time you're done swimming and do not use chlorine floating dispensers that look like toys. Children are attracted to them.
7. Emphasize pool risks to the babysitter and remind her of the need for continual watchfulness
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| Beth Weise |
If only every child were trained this early...
ReplyDeleteRight! My granddaughter just turned 3 and they have been taking her to their gym for lessons every Saturday morning and she can now swim the width, catch her breath and float on her back. What it takes is warm water.
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