Water is everywhere, which means that parents need to make sure they are always with a child when they are around water. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in children at the ages of 1-4 years of age. Safe Kids World Wide posted top tips for water safety.
Tip 1: Make
sure children are being watched when they are in and around water. Children
need to be in at least an arm’s reach.
Tip 2:
Anything that water can be held in such as buckets, kiddie pools, tubs, and
containers need to be empty and stored upside down so water does not collect.
Tip 3:
All doors to bathrooms and laundry rooms should be closed along with toilet
lids being locked.
Tip 4:
If there is a pool in the yard, there should be a fence around the pool, which
has a self-closing and self-latching gate.
Tip 5: CPR and basic water rescue skills need to be
known to help save a life.
Children can drown
in less than 2 inches of water, which means this can happen at any given time.
Whether is a pool, lake, kiddie pool or even a sink it can happen. Swimming
lessons are beneficial once a child turns one years old. Children should be
monitored while swimming no matter their age. Families should “Invest in
proper-fitting, Coast Guard-approved flotation devices (life vests) and have
kids wear them whenever near water” ("the Web's most visited site about children's
health").
Even children who go through swimming lessons should
still need to have parental guidance while around water. It has been said that children
ages 1 to4 will be less likely to drown if they have gone through swimming
lessons. The evidence was from a small study, but the AAP has not made mandatory
lessons for children (Water
Safety, 2015). Children under the age of 1 are urged not take
swimming lessons. As a parent or guardian, one thing to look for when signing a
child up for swimming lessons is to make sure they follow the guidelines
through the national YMCA.
According to Kids Health, when thinking water safety, the
temperature of the water is important too. They say that when getting into
water you should go in slowly and make sure that the water is feeling
comfortable. The most recommended water temperature is between 82-86 degrees (the Web’s).
A child’s body temperature may lower faster in water than it does on land.
A few extra tips on water safety are according to Healthy
Children are:
·
- Enforce
safety rules such as running by a pool
·
- Do
not allow a child to use inflatables in place of a life jacket
·
- Pools
that are in back yards, should have a 4-foot high fence around the pool
·
- A
safety ring with a rope needs to be by a pool always
·
- Life
jackets should always be worn by children when swimming and riding in a boat.
·
- Parents
or guardians watching children by water areas, should not be on the phone or
working on the computer and should be focusing on the child.
(Water Safety, 2015)
Safe Kids Worldwide on The New
Celebrity Apprentice. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2017,
The Web's most visited site about
children's health. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2017, from
Water Safety: Tips for Parents of
Young Children. (2015, November 21). Retrieved March 06,
play/Pages/Water-Safety-And-Young-Children.aspx
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