With warmer temperatures encroaching, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) reminds Californians to prioritize children’s swimming safety.
Keep in mind these safety tips when children are swimming:
- Watch kids when they are in or around water: Keep young children and weak swimmers within arm’s reach of an adult. Make sure more experienced swimmers are with a partner every time. When in doubt, keep them out.
- Wear a Life Jacket: Everyone should wear a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket when in or near the water. You never know when an accident may happen, and a life jacket can help save you until search and rescue help can arrive.
- Choose a Water Watcher: When there are several adults present, choose one to be responsible for watching children in or near the water for a certain period, such as 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, select another adult to be the Water Watcher.
- Teach children that swimming in open water is different from swimming in a pool: Be aware of situations that are unique to open water, such as limited visibility, depth, uneven surfaces, currents, and undertow. These potential hazards can make swimming in open water more challenging than swimming in a pool.
- Teach children how to swim: Every child is different, so enroll children in swim lessons when they are ready. Consider their age, development and how often they are around water.
- Learn CPR and basic water rescue skills: It is important to know how to respond in an emergency without putting yourself at risk of drowning. Learning these skills may help you save a life.
- Make sure kids learn these five water survival skills:
- Step or jump into water over their head and return to the surface.
- Turn around in the water and orient to safety.
- Float or tread water.
- Combine breathing with forward movement in the water.
- Exit the water.
Deadly Silence
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