Float
Keep your summer both fun and safe!
The ability to float and breathe regardless of the water's depth for an indefinite period of time is vital.
Sobering Facts
With the Summer holidays fast approaching, our thoughts are turned to sandy beaches, secluded water spots, taking a refreshing dip in the lake, lounging by the pool or possibly even dusting off the inflatable kids pool for the garden. The more grown up kids may go off exploring by themselves or find themselves at the hotel pool or at the beach with friends in an unsupervised fashion. But how prepared are you and your children for this new (and often once yearly) proximity to relatively deep water? How water safe are you? Do you know the simple deep water survival techniques such as floating and treading water? Did you know that most drownings don’t even occur in deep water? A child can drown in as little as an inch of water and in less time than it takes to answer the telephone.
It is a sobering thought that every year 356 children between the ages of 0-14 drown in pools and Spas. 77% of deaths involve children younger than 5. Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children 1-4 than any other cause apart from birth defects.
Now, you may be thinking that this doesn’t apply to your children- “young Isabella and Ralf learnt to swim a couple of years ago and so it should be fine…” Actually, many kids who are good swimmers drown also. It may often be this confidence in water which ends up catching them out as they swim a little too far out from the shore, or they are playing in a shallow river but with a surprisingly strong current, or they end up in the deep end of the local pool. Being a good swimmer will always be useful, but it may not be enough. What is more important is how they react when things go a little wrong that will save lives.
So enough of the doom and gloom! How can you help to keep your children's Summer both fun and safe?
— Expat Parents CH
Prepare
It certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit your local swimming school prior to the vacations just to brush up on your kids’ swimming technique and general water confidence. There are a range of Swim schools that have a range of swimming courses for kids that will aid confidence in water, improve on swimming fitness and provide familiarity with techniques such as diving, swimming using a snorkel, swimming with waves or a tide machine. Small Foot run an intensive summer preparation course which is personalised to the child and which targets topics such as security in and around water, the most important bathing rules, bodies of water to avoid, the dangers of hidden currents, and various rescue aids. Children are taught skills to ensure that they can save themselves in the event they encounter a problem in the water. Rather than trying to swim to the edge of the pool, they’ll focus on floating and staying calm.
“You can save your life by staying relaxed. If you fight the water you’ll quickly get exhausted. Remember to float”
We should make a key distinction between your children knowing how to swim and them knowing the appropriate survival techniques i.e what to do if (God forbid) they should get into trouble in the water, whether it is the swimming pool, or at the lake; whether they are wearing their swimming costumes or they have fallen into a lake fully clothed.
Toys and inflatables are not life jackets, are often unstable and as such can be a hazard.
A summer to be enjoyed
Everyone looks forward to getting away, letting our hair down and giving the children the freedom to explore and to splash about in the water. But parents tend to relax and gain a false sense of security for children in a holiday setting, when in fact they should be more attentive than usual. So what are the do’s and don’ts?
It is not always easy as a parent to keep an eye on children at all times. Especially as so much can happen in a matter of seconds. Supervising adults or older siblings should be in arms reach of children under 5 so that if the child slips underwater, they can be pulled to safety immediately, and this adult must be able to swim. Toys and inflatables are not life jackets and are often unstable and as such can be a hazard. If your children are going off by themselves to swim or to explore,they should always go in a group of at least two people. They should test the depth of natural bodies of water before swimming too far or before diving. They should be careful of beaches with strong waves or a large high tide/low tide difference, follow the safety notices of pools and beaches.
Children should learn how to roll from a face-down position in the water to a face-up independent back float.
Float
However, as shocking as it may sound, we have all been guilty in some respect of taking our eye of the ball. It is the survival techniques taught in many of these summer swimming courses that will help bridge this gap.
The ability to float and breathe regardless of the water’s depth for an indefinite period of time is vital. Many of the summer camps that have lakes only allow children to play in the lake if they can demonstrate the ability to tread water for 5 minutes or so. Children should learn how to roll from a face-down position in the water to a face-up independent back float. Toddlers in shallow water should be taught to raise their heads out of water to take a breath when swimming. If your child falls into water, knowing how to roll onto their back could save their lives. Where possible, parents should learn some CPR and basic water safety techniques.
In saying all of this, I am wary of sounding like those rather ominous and downright depressing public safety adverts popular in the 1980’s whose only purpose seemed to be to frighten the living daylights out of parents and children alike! The chances of you having an water based accident are very slim, but the key is to have the various survival techniques at the front of one’s mind so that they become second nature. As the old adage goes- practice makes perfect. Visit your local swimming school with the family before the summer vacations start in earnest, it could be the difference between a great fun filled memorable summer, and a summer to forget.
