Did you know that drowning is one of the leading causes of death here in the United States? I sure didn’t but when it comes to water and my children I have some pretty major fears. It feels like all summer long you see stories about children drowning on the news.
On average 3,533 people die from drowning each year. The majority of those deaths are children under age 4 who drown in back yard swimming pools. This is a horrible but preventable statistic.
How can we prevent drownings? What can we teach our kids to keep them safe even when they aren’t with us?
Thanks to the US Swim School Association(USSSA), I have some great tips to share with you. If we educate ourselves and our children we can properly protect them around pools, lakes and more. Do you have a backyard pool? If so when your children are outside they should always be supervised.
Enroll your children in swimming classes (you can start as young as 6 months old), take a CPR class so that you are prepared if an occasion arises, and have pool fence/barrier installed. All of steps can prevent drownings or save a life.
Water Safety Tips
- Create a verbal cue that you must give to your child before he/she can enter the pool.
- Create a routine for your child to complete before entering the water. ( putting on a swim diaper/swimsuit and then applying sunscreen.)
- Teach your child to open their eyes under water. This way if they ever fall in they can find the edge or steps of the pool.
- Build a water safety plan and have water emergency drills so your children recognize the signs of someone struggling in water and so they know how to help/ what to do in an emergency.
- Always make sure guests know your pool rules before they are outside and in the pool.
- Start swim lessons at 6 months old and continue them all year at a US Swim School member location.
- Always require your children to wear life jackets on personal water crafts, boats and anytime they are in open bodies of water.
Just knocking a ball into the pool could cause a drowning.
About USSSA
US Swim School Association was established in 1988 and has become the largest swim school association in the country. They have over 400 members that provide swim and water safety instruction to more than 500,000 students every year. The members of USSSA receive the latest training in water safety,swim instruction methods and so much more. With USSSA parents and students have a reliable resource when searching for a swim school.
Water Safety my Family
We don’t have a pool but we like to head up to the lake for fishing and summer fun, So I was just telling Doug that we need to get both the boys in swim lessons. I remember when I was a kid and my youngest brother jumped in to the deep end while we were all getting ready, my dad had to jump in fully dressed after him. My brother could have drowned that day and I don’t ever want to have that fear with my children. I want them to be safe, confidant swimmers. I am going to get them registered with the closest USSSA swim school and start lessons.
This is not a paid post. Thank you to US Swim School Association for their tips regarding water safety.