May 8, 2020

By Ali Sensintaffar, HRCA Assistant Aquatic Program Coordinator

Talking to Your Child About Water Safety
With talks of starting to reopen everything, let’s take some time to talk about water safety with our children. As a swim instructor, one of the main things that we touch on in every single level of our swim lessons is safety. Here are the topics that we cover:

1. What number do we call in an emergency?
   The number to call in emergencies is 911. When we call 911, we can reach the police, fire station, or the paramedics. To engage the kids more, I will often ask them if we can reach other people by calling 911, such as Dominos or Grandma. This usually results in laughter with them shouting “no” to me because they know I’m being silly.
2. What is an emergency?
   We emphasize what is an emergency when we talk about 911 so that kids know when it’s appropriate to call. I will often ask them questions such as, “If I’m having a hard time figuring out my math homework, should I call 911?” To which they will respond “no.” I’ll also ask them, “If I fall and break my arm, is that an emergency?” Usually, the kids will say “yes” to which I will then ask, “But if I break my arm, can my mom take me to the hospital?” to which they will respond “yes.” Then I ask, “So if my mom can take me to the hospital, do I need to call 911?” “No.” “So is it an emergency?” “No.” I ask questions like these to engage the children’s higher-level thinking so that they can think about what constitutes a real emergency.
3. Who needs to be with us when we get in the pool?
   We need a parent or a trusted grown-up as well as a lifeguard.
4. What do the lifeguards look like?
   They have whistles, carry around big red tubes and have shirts that say “Lifeguard” on them.
5. If the lifeguard tells us to do something should we listen?
   Yes, we should always listen to the lifeguards.
6. Why? Are the lifeguards trying to be meanie-heads when they tell us something?
   No (usually giggles at my use of “meanie-heads”). The lifeguards are trying to keep us safe at the pool which is why we always listen to them.
7. Do we run in the pool area?
   No. We should make sure to walk on the pool deck because it’s slippery.
8. Why not?
   Because we could slip and fall and get hurt. And that’s no fun, right?
9. What do we do if we see someone drowning?
   We want to find a lifeguard or the nearest adult for help. If there are no adults around, we emphasize that under no circumstances should the child jump in to help them. The reason for this being is that when drowning, a person is panicking and not thinking clearly. More often than not, they will try to grab the nearest object to float with. If a child jumps in, then the person who is drowning could try to use them to float, which is a major safety and health concern. So at that point, I have the children name things in the pool area that float (the life preserver, kickboards, noodles, etc.). We then practice throwing objects that float towards someone who is pretending to drown (with the lifeguard’s permission).
10. When do we wear lifejackets?
    We wear lifejackets if we are not strong swimmers, if we can’t touch the bottom of the pool, or if we go to the lake or the ocean.
11. Should you put lifejackets on before you get on a boat or after you get on a boat?
    Before because you could fall in as you’re getting in the boat and a lifejacket will help keep you from drowning.
12. Who all should wear lifejackets on a boat?
    Everyone! Mom, Dad, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, even your swim instructor should wear lifejackets. If you fall off a boat, you could get injured which could prevent you from swimming. That’s why even the strongest swimmers should wear lifejackets on a boat.

Here is a great article for parents to read about drowning called Drowning doesn't look like drowning. It has a lot of statistics in it such as, “Of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult.” It also goes into depth about what drowning can look like so that we are all prepared to have a fun, safe time in the water!

Check it out and let me know if you learned anything new!