Swimming Lessons
Every child should know how to swim. This is the most important safeguard that any family can have. A child that does not know how to swim will panic if they fall into a body of water. A panicking child who does not know how to swim has very little chance of survival if they find themselves in a body of water, unsupervised. Children should start swimming lessons early. Here at All Star Swim Academy we start our infant swimming lessons as young as six months old. We believe that an early introduction to swimming produces safer children. Parents must ensure that their children know what to do in an emergency event. Specifically, children need to know how to roll over from their tummy to their back, so that they can get air, and they need to know how to return to the closest wall and safely climb out. Quite simply, here at All Star Swim Academy we believe that an unskilled child is an unsafe child when they are around the water. That is why we instill strong water safety skills in all of our kids beginning at each child’s first swimming lesson.
Safety Barriers
If parents have a pool in their backyard they must take every added precaution to make sure that children do not have easy access to the body of water. This means that safety fences are a must. In addition, we recommend that these safety fences have a lock on them, and that only the parents have access to the key. This precaution ensures that children cannot enter the pool without adults being aware. When the pool is not being used, these fences must remain closed. If there are young children in the house, parents should also be cautious regarding the presence of doggie doors. Tragedies often happen because a young child found access to the backyard through the doggie door when an adult was unaware. If the backyard has a pool in it, these children are then that much closer to danger; hence a safety fence is an absolute necessity. Barriers are not an option, they are a requirement to keep your children safe.
Adult Supervision
Children should always be supervised when they are in and around the water. No child or adult is ever “drown-proof.” Even the most proficient swimmer can become suddenly ill or injured when swimming; hence it is never safe for people to swim alone. Adults must take extra precautions to ensure that children are supervised when they are at a large gathering, such as a birthday party or family barbecue. Often, at these gatherings, parents may assume that another relative such as an aunt or uncle is watching the water, while at the same time, aunt or uncle presumes that someone else is supervising. Situations like this can quickly turn an exciting family gathering into a tragic event. To prevent this, parents should always make sure that there is a designated “water-watcher” at all times during a large gathering. Ideally, one should get a certified lifeguard to fulfill this role; however if this is not possible, parents should only assign a proficient swimmer to be the designated “water-watcher.”