National Drowning Prevention Week – water safety tips from AboutKidsHealth
GUEST BLOG: Jessica FishbeinJuly 15-21 is National Drowning Prevention Week (NDPW), which raises awareness of risk factors for drowning and how to be safe in or around water.
To mark NDPW, AboutKidsHealth is sharing important swimming and boating safety tips so kids can stay safe while enjoying the water this summer.
What are signs of drowning?
It can take as little as 20 seconds for a child to drown.
It is important to remember that a child in distress will not be able to yell for help. Avoid distractions while your child is swimming — if you are not watching your child in the water, they will not be able to make noise to get your attention. Monitor children that are in or near water at all times, and be sure to keep young children within arm’s reach.
Signs of drowning include:
• head tilted back with mouth open
• floating face down
• gasping for air
Most drowning or near-drowning incidents occur in backyard pools, inflatable pools and bathtubs. Kids are at risk of drowning even in shallow water that is only inches deep.
Backyard swimming pools
If you have a pool in your backyard, a fence must surround the pool on all sides. The fence should have a latch that is out of your child’s reach to prevent them from entering the pool without supervision.
Life-saving equipment, such as a safety ring with a rope, should be kept near the pool in case of emergency. If a child is missing, check the pool first.
An adult who knows cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for a baby and child and basic life-saving skills should supervise children when they are in the pool.
It is a good idea to enrol children aged four and older in swimming and water safety lessons. However, is important for adults to still watch all children in the pool — even if they have taken swimming lessons.
Keep a safety cover over the pool when it is not being used. Make sure that your pool follows other local by-laws.
Lakes and rivers
Since lakes and rivers are not fenced in like swimming pools, adults must pay close attention to children swimming while at the cottage or the beach. Here are tips to keep in mind:
• Children must always tell an adult before they go swimming.
• Have children that are under three years old (as well as children who cannot swim) wear a life jacket or personal floatation device (PFD) in or around water.
• Children who are swimming should not go far from shore. While they are swimming, they should still be able to see you at all times.
• If you are going to a beach, it is a good idea to pick one that is supervised and free of hazards. Be careful of boats and jet skis that may be out in the water as you are swimming.
Boating safety
All boaters are legally required to have life jackets or PFDs for each person on board.
Life jackets and PFDs must fit properly and be in good condition in order to be effective. Your child’s PFD should be appropriate for their size and weight. The PFD must have a collar that keeps their head out of the water, a handle to lift them up, and a safety strap that stops the PFD from sliding over the head.
When you enter a boat, move slowly so it does not tip over or tip you out. Your child’s arms, legs and head must stay inside the boat at all times.
Make sure one adult can see the child at all times to ensure they do not fall in the water.
AboutKidsHealth is SickKids’ patient-education website and includes more than 3,500 articles on a range of paediatric health topics. For more information on water safety, drowning prevention, and other health care topics, visit www.aboutkidshealth.ca.
If you have a pool in your backyard, a fence must surround the pool on all sides. The fence should have a latch that is out of your child’s reach to prevent them from entering the pool without supervision.
Life-saving equipment, such as a safety ring with a rope, should be kept near the pool in case of emergency. If a child is missing, check the pool first.
An adult who knows cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for a baby and child and basic life-saving skills should supervise children when they are in the pool.
It is a good idea to enrol children aged four and older in swimming and water safety lessons. However, is important for adults to still watch all children in the pool — even if they have taken swimming lessons.
Keep a safety cover over the pool when it is not being used. Make sure that your pool follows other local by-laws.
Be sure to keep young children within arm’s reach.
Since lakes and rivers are not fenced in like swimming pools, adults must pay close attention to children swimming while at the cottage or the beach. Here are tips to keep in mind:
• Children must always tell an adult before they go swimming.
• Have children that are under three years old (as well as children who cannot swim) wear a life jacket or personal floatation device (PFD) in or around water.
• Children who are swimming should not go far from shore. While they are swimming, they should still be able to see you at all times.
• If you are going to a beach, it is a good idea to pick one that is supervised and free of hazards. Be careful of boats and jet skis that may be out in the water as you are swimming.
Boating safety
All boaters are legally required to have life jackets or PFDs for each person on board.
Life jackets and PFDs must fit properly and be in good condition in order to be effective. Your child’s PFD should be appropriate for their size and weight. The PFD must have a collar that keeps their head out of the water, a handle to lift them up, and a safety strap that stops the PFD from sliding over the head.
When you enter a boat, move slowly so it does not tip over or tip you out. Your child’s arms, legs and head must stay inside the boat at all times.
Make sure one adult can see the child at all times to ensure they do not fall in the water.
AboutKidsHealth is SickKids’ patient-education website and includes more than 3,500 articles on a range of paediatric health topics. For more information on water safety, drowning prevention, and other health care topics, visit www.aboutkidshealth.ca.
