10 Tips For Kids Summer Water Safety From Olympic Swimmer Alice Dearing And Water Babies
A long hot summer day with children calls for a splash and play in the water. Whether it’s a paddling pool in the garden, a day at the beach or a swim in the pool on holiday, cooling off in the water is great fun for everyone. However, recent data released by the Royal Lifesaving Society reveals accidental drowning deaths amongst children have doubled since 2019-20 in the UK*. According to the charity, the number of child drowning deaths in England has significantly increased from 20 in 2019-20 to 41 in 2022-23. Tragically a total of 125 children have accidentally lost their lives to drowning in the last four years.
Water Babies – the world’s largest baby swimming school and strategic partners of the Royal Lifesaving Society – has teamed up with British Olympic Swimmer Alice Dearing to give ten top water safety tips to help families to prevent accidents and drowning this Summer.
Alice Dearing said;
“I’ve been swimming from a very young age, and I’m keen to encourage families into the pool with their children. Having spent many hours every week training at the pool and in open water throughout my life, I’m well aware of the dangers. It’s so important to me that parents and children know what to look out for so that they can enjoy the water as much as I do. Swimming should be a great activity that families can enjoy together and create lots of happy memories.”
Water safety tips from Water Babies;
If using an inflatable such as a paddleboard or boat, children should always wear well-fitting lifejackets, as paddleboards and inflatables can easily blow out to sea or get caught on a current.
Paddling pools are great fun but children should always be supervised as drowning can happen even in just a couple of inches of water.
At the end of the day always drain the water out of a paddling pool and turn it over to prevent any accidents.
Think about colours when choosing a baby or child’s swimwear. Solid blues and greens can camouflage a child underwater, whereas colours on the opposite side of the spectrum – orange, red, bright pink, yellow – can be easily spotted by a parent or lifeguard.
Babies and small children get cold very quickly. Be aware of the water temperature and keep it comfortable for them – pool water should be a minimum of 30 degrees celsius. And if your baby is under 12 weeks or 12 pounds this needs to be 32 degrees or above.
When swimming at a UK beach always swim between the red and yellow flags, this area has a lifeguard. If swimming abroad the guidance system will be different – read the signs and ensure you are in a safe, guarded area.
Flotation devices, rubber rings, arm bands, inflatable toys are not life preservers. They can be a fun experience but never take your eyes off your child and keep your child within arms reach when using them, as they can easily float away or even tip your child upside down.
Start swimming lessons as early as possible to build water confidence and understanding of how to move safely in the water. Children who are water confident are less likely to panic if they accidentally fall in and more likely to be able to right themselves, float and calmly breathe in air.
Make a fun competition out of floating practice in the swimming pool – who can float on their back for the longest? If a person – child or adult – is caught unexpectedly in water out of their depth, floating on their back is the safest way to stay afloat and conserve energy until help arrives.
For more water safety tips as well as free videos of vital water skills you can practice with your children at home in the bath, in the pool and on holiday visit www.waterbabies.co.uk
Every week Water Babies teaches over 47,000 babies and children the lifesaving skill of learning how to swim across the UK, Ireland, Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, China and US. Water safety is at the heart of what Water Babies do and is a key part of every lesson. They teach babies, toddlers and children water safety skills that could one day help save a life.
*Source: https://www.waterbabies.co.uk/lessons/swimming-safely/summer…