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Summer Fun and Water Safety

Summer Fun and Water Safety

inner-tube-boy-200-300Summertime’s here and for many children around the country that means fun in the water!

But here’s the catch… Whether it happens to be a neighborhood pool, a lake near a favorite camping spot or the ocean right across the beach from a vacation rental, playing in and around the water comes with certain risks. And while the rate of accidental death by drowning has been dropping over the years, it is still the leading cause of accidental deaths for children between the ages of one and four.

We believe that parents should pay special attention to these risks—especially at this time of the year. Here are some safety tips for parents whose kids will be spending time around the water during the next few months.

Tip #1. Teach your child to swim.

This is one of the best things you can do for your child, and the earlier the better. You can start familiarizing your child with water as an infant so they do not develop a fear of it. Ensuring that your child receives swimming lessons is especially important if he or she comes from a family of non-swimmers, as children from these households are eight times more likely to drown than children who come from swimming households. If your child can’t swim, be sure he or she wears a life jacket at all times around open water. Children should be taught never to swim alone and not to play around unattended pools or drains.

Tip #2. Remove drowning hazards.

Children—especially young ones—can drown not only in a pool, but also in a tub, toilet, or even a bucket with only a few inches of water at the bottom. Keep bathroom and laundry room doors shut and keep toilet seat lids closed. It’s also a good idea to install a child safety lock on the seat. Keep buckets drained of liquid and store them upside-down when they’re not in use. Remove water from the tub or any kind of wading pool immediately after use.

Tip #3. Be nearby at all times.

Always remain within arm’s reach of your young child in any setting where there is water, including pools, tubs, ponds and buckets. Never leave your child unattended in the tub, even for a minute. Two thirds of home deaths from drowning (apart from pools) occur in the bathtub!

Tip #4. Watch your child constantly.

Children playing in or near the water need to be supervised at all times, even if they know how to swim. It is important not to be distracted by talking on the phone, sending text messages or reading a book, as children can drown very quickly and quietly. Most deaths from drowning occurred just after an adult was watching them. If you find your child is missing, check the water first.

Tip #5. Put up safety barriers.

If you have a pool or spa at home, be sure it is surrounded on all sides by a fence that is at least four feet high. The fence should have a gate that locks automatically, and alarms to both the gate and pool area should be installed. Remember to cover and lock the pool or spa when you are not using it.

Tip #6 Learn CPR.

Children who are rescued from drowning need to receive CPR as soon as possible to decrease the likelihood of death or brain damage. Don’t wait for the paramedics to arrive. Learn CPR and do something!

The Joys of Swimming for Fun and Fitness

The Joys of Swimming for Fun and Fitness

man-swimmming-200-300With summer weather heating things up across much of the country, swimming is a great way to cool off and have some fun!  But did you know that it’s also an excellent way to increase your fitness, help control your weight and improve your overall mood?  Plus, swimming is a type of exercise that people of any age and physical ability can enjoy.  It’s easy on the musculoskeletal system while at the same time providing a good aerobic workout.

Swim for Fun

Even among avid swimmers, boredom in the pool is one of the common reasons for losing interest in sport.  While swimming laps in the pool may not seem like a recipe for fun, here are a few things you can do to add some variety to your in-water workouts.

  • Plan your in-pool workout ahead of time and vary your activities so that variety is built-in.
  • Swim with buddies who have the same water fun and fitness goals that you do.
  • When swimming laps, do things to keep your mind engaged in your activity and help sharpen your technique.  Counting how many strokes you need to complete a length of the pool and how quickly you can do it is one way to look for improvements.  Experimenting with stroke length is another.
  • If you have the option, change up the locations of your swimming workouts.  A change of scenery—from an indoor pool to an outdoor one, or from a lake to the ocean—can make a big difference in how your workout feels.
  • Add to your “playbook” of swimming drills.  You can reach out to others or go online for suggestions to help mix things up.
  • Learn some new strokes or make up some of your own.  You might look silly doing it, but it adds to the experience!

Swim for Fitness

While swimming may not be as accessible as walking, running or even biking in some communities, it has distinctive health benefits that make it well worth the trip to a local pool.  The organization that governs all swimming-related activities in the UK (called the ASA) compiled a report of scientific findings from all over the world about the health benefits of swimming.  Some of them are truly striking.  For instance, researchers have found that swimming regularly reduces men’s risk of dying early by a staggering 50% relative to those who run, walk or do no physical activity.  Experts estimate that just two and a half hours per week of swimming can significantly reduce your risk of chronic disease.

A good all-around exercise, swimming involves both aerobic activity and working against resistance.  Unlike most aerobic activities, however, swimming involves little in the way of jarring impact (like the shocks and jolts involved with running) and doesn’t require you to support your full body weight while doing it.  When submerged up to your neck in water, your body weight is effectively reduced by 90 percent.  As a result, overweight and obese people can get a good workout without placing large amounts of painful stress on the lower body’s muscles and joints.  This removes a common deterrent to exercise for a large (and growing) part of the US population and suggests that swimming could be an attractive option for people trying to manage their weight.

Arthritis sufferers or those with musculoskeletal injuries can also benefit from swimming, since studies have shown that it improves range of motion without causing a worsening of symptoms such as pain and stiffness.  In fact, according to the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, swimming as a form of exercise (as opposed to running or practicing other impact sports) can reduce your risk of osteoarthritis.

Beyond increasing fitness levels and helping to manage weight, swimming may provide a variety of other health benefits:

  • Studies performed on people suffering from fibromyalgia have found that exercise performed in a warm pool reduced anxiety and depression and caused an improvement in mood.
  • For older adults, swimming has been shown to improve quality of life and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.  Post-menopausal women in particular are at increased risk of bone loss, and swimming provides a safe and effective form of the resistance exercise that is needed to maintain bone density.
  • Pregnant women find that swimming strengthens their shoulder and abdominal muscles, which are put under increased stress during pregnancy.  Obstetricians recommend swimming as a good form of exercise for most pregnant women, as it provides them with temporary relief from the extra weight they are carrying.

It’s hard to exaggerate the potential fitness benefits of swimming.  Swimming helps to build cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength and endurance.  It tones your muscles and helps to maintain healthy heart and lung function.  It also improves flexibility, reduces blood pressure and alleviates stress.  Whether in a community pool, at a nearby lake or in the ocean, swimming offers an ideal way for most people to keep fit that’s also easy on the body’s musculoskeletal system.

So get out there this summer and have some fun in the water!

Summer Water Safety for Kids

Summer Water Safety for Kids

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boy-with-water-wings

For lots of kids, there aren’t many activities in the summer that are more fun than swimming, whether it’s in a pool, lake, or ocean. And while it’s great exercise for your children to be spending a lot of time in and around the water, there are (of course) dangers that they should be aware of. As a parent, you undoubtedly want to keep your child safe in the water this summer, so here are a handful of simple precautions to take and instructions to give your children before they put a toe in the water.

Explain to your children the importance of water safety. Make sure they know and understand the following:

  • That they must always stay in the line of vision of a supervisor, be it you, a caretaker, or a lifeguard.
  • That they must obey all rules of the place they are swimming—for example, if a public pool says “No Diving,” then your kids should absolutely not dive. Remind them to respect the regulations laid down by lifeguards or other authority figures.
  • That they should never, ever swim unattended until they have proven they thoroughly understand the rules and dangers of the water. This rule applies only to older children, and swimming in the ocean alone is not acceptable, no matter how careful your child is—there are too many variables and dangers that even the most cautious swimmer cannot avoid, such as riptides and undertows.

It’s a good idea for your child to take a water safety course with a certified water safety instructor. Check your local YMCA if you don’t know where to start.

If you have a residential pool, there are some essential safety precautions that you and your children must take.

 

  • When the pool is not in active use and there are no adults present to supervise, it is important that you set up a barrier so that young children do not fall in or use the pool without permission. A gate with a lock around the entirety of the pool is one way to accomplish this. The Red Cross recommends that you “Ensure that pool barriers enclose the entire pool area, are at least 4-feet high with gates that are self-closing, self-latching and open outward, and away from the pool. The latch should be high enough to be out of a small child’s reach.”
  • You should teach your child to always, always ask permission to use the pool. This can cut way down on unauthorized use of the pool, and thus cut way down on the risks involved with having a pool with children in the house.
  • For younger children who don’t quite have the hang of swimming on their own, water wings or a life jacket are a must, even if an adult is supervising.
  • When you are supervising, pay close attention. org advises: “Put the cell phone away, forget about all the other things you have to do and give young children 100% of your attention when they are near or around water.”
  • Learn CPR. This is something every parent should do regardless of whether their kids swim or not; it’s simply a responsible thing to learn, and it could save your child or someone else’s life—and that makes learning it worth more than gold.