Water Safety: Information Every Family Needs to Know

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Water Safety Information Every Family Needs to Know

May is the official kick-off of summer with Memorial Day celebrated and is also National Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Month. Every adult should know basic water safety information and teach their children the basic skills on how to keep them safe and prevent an accident. As a South Florida family, we know that swimming is an essential lifesaving skill and couldn’t wait to enroll the girls in swimming lessons.

Summer is here, which means a lot of water activities, vacations, and pool time in the sunshine state! Did you know that in 2017, 81 children died in Florida due to drowning? As a parent to little ones we need to practice four water safety rules:

  1. Supervision – It takes just a few minutes for a child to drown, you should always designate a “water watcher” without any distractions.
  2. Barriers – Always make sure a child cannot enter the pool area without adult supervision.
  3. Swimming Lessons – Your child should know the basic water safety skills and learn to swim to help prevent drowning.
  4. Emergency Preparedness – As a parent, it is important to learn CPR. When a child stops breathing there is a small window of time in which resuscitation can occur. Always have a phone nearby to immediately contact 911.

Goldfish Swim School in Pembroke Pines has an experienced staff of trained and certified swim instructors?

The swim and water safety experts at Goldfish Swim School Pembroke Pines share practical tips and skills just in time for National Water Safety Awareness Month.

Did you know that:

  • Drowning is the number one cause of injury-related death for children ages one to four.
  • Drowning kills nearly 1,000 children every year.
  • Formal swimming lessons reduce the likelihood of childhood drowning by 88 percent.
  • Florida leads the country in child drownings. This statistic has to change!

May is National Water Safety Awareness Month and as we head to pool and beach season, it’s the perfect time for all families and caregivers to review essential swim and water safety basics.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently published updated recommendations on water safety.  In the policy statement, the AAP lays out strategies to protect children at each stage of their life. Notably, the AAP recommends that all children should enroll in a learn to swim program by age one.

So, what do parents need to know when it comes to water safety? We asked the swim and water safety experts at Goldfish Swim School in Pembroke Pines to share water safety essentials with us:

What type of supervision is required when kids are in or around water?

Goldfish Swim School: Any time kids are around water, designate a “water guardian” who will avoid cell phones, conversations, magazines and anything else that might distract the adult from watching children EVERY SINGLE SECOND. Note that most children who drown are supervised. Adults should practice “touch supervision” for young swimmers and keep them within an arm’s reach at all times.


What about puddle jumpers, floaties, and other floatation devices? How do I know which one are safe to use?

Goldfish Swim School: Know that floaties, noodles and plastic inner tubes do NOT protect against drowning. They are created as water toys, not life-saving devices. Life jackets should be designated as U.S. Coast Guard-approved.

What should I look for in a learn-to-swim program?

Goldfish Swim School: Enroll children in high quality swim lessons where kids will focus on mastering “water competency skills” — a few lessons here and there are not enough. We offer a perpetual lesson model because we know that kids need regular, consistent practice in order to develop and maintain these critical water safety skills. There is no such thing as “drown-proofing” kid. Water safety should be top of mind year-round for all families.

What do babies learn in swim lessons?

Goldfish Swim School: We have seen first-hand in our learn-to-swim facilities the many benefits of getting kids into swim lessons at an early age. Our Mini Classes start at four months of age and the curriculum creates a strong foundation for water safety. Mini Class activities include singing group songs, games, activities and getting little ones comfortable and safe in the water. Babies practice their grasp reflex, move on to holding onto the wall and eventually inching their way down it. With the help of mom or dad, babies work on their pulling paddle, “Superman” glides, sea otter floats and kicks. As babies progress through the Mini Program, they will work on crab walking, getting out of the pool safely by climbing up using the “fin, fin, belly, flipper” technique and breath control. These activities are the building blocks of basic water safety skills.

What water safety skills can parents practice with their kids?

Goldfish Swim School: There are several basic skills that our instructors at Goldfish Swim School work on with students every week. Parents can practice these skills with their kids anytime they are in the water together:

  • Work on getting in and out of the pool safely. Fin, Fin, Belly, Flipper! Help your little ones learn how to get out of the pool by manipulating their bodies in this order: elbow, elbow, tummy, knee. Practice this often; you can even do this on your living room floor by having your baby climb onto a couch or chair! After you practice, always remember to celebrate. Eventually, your little one will be strong enough to manage the movement on their own! This is a skill that kids continue to use to safely exit the pool — even when they are older!
  • Jump, Turn, Swim to the Wall! Once they have the movement down, let your child jump off the side of the pool to you, help them physically turn back to the wall and then assist them in getting out of the pool by using the Fin, Fin, Belly, Flipper method. Do this over and over again. As they get more confident, let them go under the water and come to the surface on their own. This teaches kids to automatically turn back to the wall behind them to climb out. If a child were to fall into a pool, this skill could help them find the quickest way to safety.
  • Rollover/Sea Otter Float. Work with your child on turning over and getting their faces out of the water to take a breath when he/she fatigues.

The Goldfish Swim School team encourages to you make swimming a family activity. Get lessons for adults who do not know how to swim and practice swim skills together to keep swimming fun and positive! Join us this summer for weekly lessons, a weeklong Jump Start Clinic or a family swim event.

We look forward to a fun and safe summer for all Florida families!

This post is sponsored by Goldfish Swim School

Goldfish Swim School provides swim instruction to children ages 4 months to 12 years in a family-friendly setting with highly trained instructors, small class sizes (max 4:1 student-teacher ratio), shiver-free 90-degree pools using a proven curriculum. Classes are offered in a safe, child-friendly and fun environment using their research-based philosophy called The Science of SwimPlay®. Visit the website for more information: goldfishswimschool.com.

 

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Annie Makhanlall
Annie Makhanlall is the co-founder and owner of Broward Mom Collective, LLC. Wearing many hats is her specialty. She brings creativity and sparkle to everything that she does. Her followers are always looking forward to seeing her savvy couponing skills and daily adventures while balancing life. She is the mom that walks down the hall with 2 bookbags on her shoulders; lunch bags in one hand and coffee in the other all the while managing to take pictures of her daughters… Yup, that’s Annie! She enjoys spending quality time with her family; creating arts and crafts; holding nostalgic family picnics at the park; baking and decorating delicious cookies and adding glitter to just about everything she does! She loves connecting and networking with the people living in her community. She is a night-owl, very creative, family-oriented, coffee lover, glitter mom, passionate, and always pushing herself to be better than the person she was yesterday! She strives to connect families with local resources while helping local businesses. She is constantly brainstorming, hoping to crack the code on Motherhood while being the Perfectly Imperfect Mompreneur.

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