Some Water Safety Tips For Kids

Posted by The Popular News Today on Saturday, May 21, 2011

By Byron Jonas


Going to the beach, down to the river, or to the local swimming pool can often be a very fun family activity. However, aside from this fun there are always going to be significant dangers involved with any trip to such a water source and therefore kids need to be taught about water safety as early as possible. Teaching your kids in this fashion is going to be very helpful in limiting the chances of an accident happening.

Teaching your children to swim is the best way of helping them avoid drowning. However, when teaching your kids it is very important that you are supervising them at all times. Never ever wonder off and don't get distracted by your phone. Do not start a conversation with anyone else and keep your soul attention on your children. Children can drown very quickly without making any noise and therefore just a few minutes away from them can lead to disaster.

Teach your kids about good manners when they go to public swimming pools. They certainly shouldn't be running around the water's edge or chasing other children about. This can cause them to slip and fall into deep water. Set down some ground rules and then make sure they obey them.

Swimming in water out of their depth is an extremely dangerous thing for children to do unless they are comfortable in water and can swim well. It is, therefore, very important for you to let your kids know exactly what the markers on the side of swimming pools mean. You should try to teach young children to stay in the shallow areas, and older children who have some experience need to try to avoid jumping in the deeper end if they are not totally comfortable in the water.

When out on open water your kids needs to wear a life jacket, period. 90% of all accidents that will occur with children in open water will be because children are simply not wearing lifejackets when they are out on a boat. If you are taking a boating trip with your kids, always make sure they have lifejackets on, regardless of whether they can swim or not.

Kids also need to be taught that flotation devices are not going to be 100% safe. For example, inflatable rafts can puncture or get overturned. Reliance, therefore, be put to a minimum with these devices.

One final risk is running water. Fast moving water can be dangerous in rivers or other such areas and children have commonly been swept away by flash floods or by going too close to the water's edge. Make sure your children are fully aware of these dangers as well.




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