by the Editor     With school finishing and with summer activities on the rise, we need to be extra careful when having fun around water.  Parents and carers can reduce the risk of drowning and provide their children valuable skills for life by following some important steps, as outlined by water safety experts.

While swimming is an important part of the Australian culture, and children are naturally attracted to water, drowning remains one of the highest causes of accidental death in children.

The 2011 Australian National Drowning Report revealed that swimming pools and bathtubs had the highest number of drownings for children aged 0-4 years. Other drownings in this age group were due to toddlers accidentally falling in to the water, A sobering statistic is that for every one child who dies as a result of drowning there are another four children admitted to hospital, and one fifth will be disabled for the rest of their lives.

The number one requirement for safety during water activities is careful, constant supervision.
Andrew and Kat Plint founded Hannah’s Foundation in 2007, after the death of their daughter Hannah. The foundation advocates for water safety and creates awareness to prevent such needless loss of life.
Kat Plint says: “The messages of water safety are simple: Supervision, barriers (fencing, life jackets and all safety equipment as back up to when supervision fails), water safety survival skills, CPR. “I don’t like promoting the latter two because they are last resorts.”

The three main water safety steps:

1. Supervision

According to the Royal Life Saving Society of Australia, supervision is constant visual contact with your child.  You should be within arms’ reach and be in a position to respond quickly.  It is not an occasional glance while you nap, read or undertake household chores, and it is not looking outside at your kids playing while you are inside.

Older children should not be asked to watch younger children. Parents leaving young children in the care of older siblings has been a factor in a number of toddler drowning deaths. Older children are not equipped with the skills to perceive and respond to an emergency situation, nor should they be given this responsibility.

At a party, the best way to supervise children is to make an adult responsible for their care.  A supervisor should wear a designated child supervisor hat, and if that supervisor leaves they should hand the hat and responsibility over to another adult.

2. Barriers

 “Pool fencing is still my number one pet hate and still after four years many fences being sold do not comply with the AS 1926.1 and are also not stamped or marked with batch numbers, models and date of manufacture and brands. Many advertise a life time warranty yet it is not stamped on the fence panel as it has to be with glass.” Says Kat Plint.

Barriers can fail when gates are left propped open, if climbable objects allow access to the pool, or if the pool fence is not maintained properly.

3. Water awareness and swimming skills

It is also important for children to be taught key water awareness skills. Water awareness classes, such a Royal Life Saving’s Swim and Survive Wonder Program, focus on the gradual introduction of very basic skills, such as moving in the water, getting the face wet and blowing bubbles for children age 6 to 36 months. The courage program is aimed at children aged 3 to 5, and learn to swim classes are suitable for children 5 years and over.

AUSTSWIM CEO Gordon Mallett suggests that: When looking for a learn to swim and water safety program for your children, seek one with a positive and welcoming environment that includes parents as part of the learning process. A well rounded program will also include all the essentials of water safety, water familiarisation, personal water safety survival knowledge and steps towards stroke development.

Parents are an essential part of the learning process, and as children learn, so do the parents. AUSTSWIM encourages parents to start water familiarisation with your child at home, such as in the bath. With bath-side adult supervision, children can safely explore the buoyancy effect of water, the movement and force of water, and the feeling of water splashing and showering over the body.

Parents can teach water awareness by putting rules in place for when children go near water, and parents should uphold these rules themselves to set a good example.

More water safety tips:

1. Keep small children within reasonable reach at all times
2. Tell children never to run, push or jump on others around water
3. Children’s inflatables do not replace life jackets or proper supervision
4. Do not leave toys in or near the pool where they could attract unsupervised children
5. Don’t assume that a child who knows how to swim isn’t at risk of drowning
6. If a child is shivering or experiencing muscle cramps, get them out of the water
7. Always drain and store plastic or blow up wading pools in an upright position
8. Be sure to remove pool covers completely to reduce the risk of children getting caught underneath.
9. Obey all posted or verbal rules, warning signs or other safety signs when around public pools or other bodies of water.
10. All children should wear life jackets when riding a boat
11. Other hazards include bathtubs, toilets, buckets and pails, ice chests with melted ice, irrigation ditches, wells, and fish ponds.

Links:
http://www.royallifesaving.com.au/www/html/1662-fact-sheets.asp
http://www.austswim.com.au
http://www.watersafety.vic.gov.au/utility/home/
http://hannahsfoundationappeals.org.au/

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