Teaching Children Water Safety Techniques
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Summer has started, and with it, children get to enjoy more water activities that they might not be able to enjoy during colder seasons unless they live in places like Florida, where it is hot practically all year. Children can enjoy water in pools, lakes, rivers, and oceans, but they can also come into contact with water that is equally dangerous, like in their own home, believe it or not.
There was one case at my school recently where this mom found her two-year-old son with his head inside the toilet, legs in the air, and drowning. It took a second of distraction on her part to almost lose her son.
Scary Facts About Drowning
- Children younger than 1-year-old are most likely to drown at home in the toilet, a bucket, or the bathtub. It just takes an inch of water for this to happen.
- The leading cause of death among children aged 1 to 4 years is drowning.
- Drowning is in third place among causes of death among children 19 years old and under.
Importance of Teaching Your Children Water Safety
Accidents happen, I know that, but taking important precautions to avoid them helps. That’s why it is so important to teach your children about water safety rules and how to swim from a young age.
The more knowledge they have, the less likely they are to have a water-related injury or drown if they accidentally fall into a pool or another type of body of water.
There are some basic water-related rules that you should teach your children from a very early age. Constantly remind your children of these rules and practice them to make sure they understand and remember them if something happens.
Rules to teach your children about water safety:
- Ask permission. Children need to understand that they cannot go anywhere near a pool or another body of water without asking permission first. Talk to your children, no matter how old they are. Explain how dangerous it is to fall into the water and how important it is to ask permission before going into the water.
- Float. It is extremely important for your children to learn this skill. If a child accidentally falls into a pool, having the ability to roll over and float to be able to breathe and call for help could mean the difference between life and death.
- Never swim alone. It’s important to teach your children not to go near a body of water alone, regardless of age, because if they do and something happens, they will have nobody to help them.
- Don’t reach for dropped objects. Your children need to understand that if they drop something into the water, it will be very easy for them to fall in if they try to reach it. Teach them to ask an adult to help rescue whatever they dropped, if possible.
I created an infographic with these rules, thinking it might be helpful to keep handy to remind your children of them and help prevent a tragedy. It is completely free, and you can get it by just clicking on the link below.
10 Top Water-Related Tips to Keep Your Children Safe
I am sure that you are aware of the dangers that children face around bodies of water. I am also pretty confident that you have thought about every possible way to protect your children, but sometimes even the best parents (or adults, for that matter) get distracted or tired or anything else, and we might forget about some of the things we have to take into consideration to protect our children around pools, lakes, rivers, or any other type of body of water. I would like to help you remember some of the most important tips to keep in mind.
Tips to Keep Your Children Safe:
Tip #1 – Supervise your children without distractions. Keep your children close enough that you can reach them in a split second. Never leave them alone.
Tip #2 – Be sober around water. Never use drugs or alcohol that will probably delay your ability to assess the risk, react on time, and swim effectively.
Tip #3. Keep tubs and other containers empty. As I said before, children only need an inch of water to drown. Drain any container you use immediately after you finish, and if it’s outside your house, keep it upside down to prevent rain from filling it.
Tip #4 – Keep the door to your bathroom and laundry rooms closed. Remember that prevention is the best way to avoid your child drowning.
Tip # 5 – Secure your toilet’s lid. Remember the mother at my center I told you about? She installed safety guards on her toilets after her son almost drowned. It’s an inconvenience, I know, but it’s also a good way to prevent a tragedy.
Tip #6 – Fence your pool. This is a great way to prevent your children from accidentally falling into your pool, and always use self-closing gates. That way, you can be sure they won’t be left open by accident.
Tip # 7 – Always call 9-1-1 first. It doesn’t matter how scared you are. Before you do anything, call for professional help. If something happens to you while you are trying to rescue your children and you haven’t called for help, most likely neither of you will survive.
Tip #8 – Learn CPR and First Aid. This skill is not just for paramedics, doctors, and nurses. All of my staff and I take this training every two years. You never know when you might need to use it, and it is an extremely important skill that could prevent death.
Tip #9 – Always wear a life jacket. It is very important that the entire group going on any type of water vehicle, even pets, use life jackets. If something happens and somebody falls into the water, the life jacket will protect that person or pet until somebody rescues them.
Tip #10 – Teach your children the water-related rules. Knowing the water-related rules might prevent your children from doing something dangerous that might jeopardize their safety around water, and it could prevent a serious injury or death.
I put these tips together in this infographic to keep them handy for you. It is completely FREE, and you can grab it by clicking on the link below.
No matter how well you teach your children water safety, remember that supervising them around water (including the bathtub and toilet) is the best way to prevent a tragedy.
I hope these rules and tips help. Enjoy the water this summer, but always remember the dangers.
Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.
Love,
P.S. If you would like to see an article about how to make something specific, please let me know, and I will do my best to write it for you. My goal is to help you in any way I can, and I don’t like anything better than posting something you might find useful.
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