How do you prevent drowning?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

My son landed his first real job. I’m so proud of him. His new position is Recreation Attendant at a beautiful resort. Way to go Ethan!

There was an opening for a Lifeguard. Ethan’s not a trained Lifeguard, so that wasn’t even an option for him.

At least there will be Lifeguards on duty. You don’t always see that at resorts.

Why is that? Why not do everything possible to prevent drowning?

Nobody is entirely immune to water-related accidents. It can happen to anyone of us.

And you can have complete peace of mind knowing that an extra set of eyes are watching over you.

So how do you prevent drowning? To always swim in a lifeguarded area is just one way to prevent drowning.

Here is the complete CIRCLE OF DROWNING PREVENTION presented by the American Red Cross:

LINKS IN THE CIRCLE

1. First of all, provide close and constant attention to children you are supervising in or near water.
2. And fence pools and spas with adequate barriers, including four-sided fencing.
3. Also, learn swimming and water safety survival skills.
4. In addition, children, inexperienced swimmers, and boaters should wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets.
5. Finally, always swim in a lifeguarded area.

As outlined above, multiple layers of protection are essential to help prevent drowning. Always plan ahead for aquatic activities and consider all the links in the circle when doing so.

And make sure that close and constant attention is just as it says “close and constant attention.” Drowning happens quickly and silently. Don’t let the child or children that you’re supervising out of your sight even for a second.

Because of a momentary lapse of supervision, many children have drowned in their home pools while under the care of one or both parents. It takes less than five minutes.

Also consider fencing in your pool, spa and or landscape water features. Children ages 1-4 years most often drown in home pools, simply because there are no barriers.

Make sure you and everyone in your family know how to swim and insist that children and inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets whenever in on or around water.

And last but not least always swim in a lifeguarded area and never swim alone.

If you have any thoughts on the subject or experiences that you would like to share, I would love to hear from you.

Love the water, so
Tessa how do you prevent drowning?

P.S. Get the FREE water safety app to help ensure your family stays safe in, on and around the water. It includes kid-friendly videos and quizzes. Search the iTunes app store for Swim by American Red Cross or click here. For Google Play you can use the same search parameters or click here. It provides the latest in water safety guidance to help ensure your family stays safe in, on and around the water.

P.P.S. To start your child on the path to becoming water safe, click here.

least amount of water it takes to drown

Something wonderful has happened in my life, and I want to share it with you. I purchased a mop, but not just any mop. It’s the O-Cedar Spin Mop! I feel like a 1950’s housewife when I talk about this, but I just love my new mop. It’s the best! I honestly do feel like a mid-century housewife when my favorite toy is a mop.

I have no affiliation with it; I just love to share with you anything that makes my life easier. Maybe it’ll make your life easier too.

If you do have the O-Cedar Spin Mop or some other kind of mop that includes a bucket, be sure to empty it after each use, especially if you have very young children.

Any water deep enough to cover the mouth and nose, which can be less than two inches, can cause drowning. least amount of water it takes to drown

I know I may sound like a broken record (what do you know, another 1950’s reference). I’m just full of them today. As I was saying, and as I’ve said in the past, provide constant and vigilant supervision of children around all sources of water.

First of all, check for all potential water hazards in and around your home such as:

• buckets of water so
• toilets
• bathtubs
• sinks least amount of water it takes to drown
• puddles
• kiddie pools
• swimming pools
• swimming pool covers
• spas least amount of water it takes to drown
• landscape water features

Also to prevent accidents from happening, provide close adult supervision. Furthermore, be sure to empty all buckets of water, close bathroom doors, use safety locks on toilets, never leave a child unattended in a bathtub, drain the tub and sinks and empty kiddie pools. And finally, include barriers around swimming pools, spas, and water features.

Practice the same supervision and vigilance when visiting another home.

Also, scour your community and make sure your child stays away from landscape water features, such as ponds and waterfalls.

And access to any nearby streams, lakes, rivers and large community ponds should be strictly prohibited unless accompanied by a responsible adult.

No matter how well your child can swim and no matter how shallow the water is, always, always provide constant and vigilant adult supervision.

If you have any thoughts on the subject or experiences that you would like to share, I would love to hear from you.

Love the water but fence it in, least amount of water it takes to drown
Tessa least amount of water it takes to drown

P.S. Get the FREE water safety app to help ensure your family stays safe in, on and around the water. It includes kid-friendly videos and quizzes. Search the iTunes app store for Swim by American Red Cross or click here. For Google Play you can use the same search parameters or click here. It provides the latest in water safety guidance to help ensure your family stays safe in, on and around the water.

P.P.S. To start your child on the path to becoming water safe, click here.

I completed the bill proposal to enforce barriers around home swimming pools. It’s now in the hands of Congressman Raul Ruiz. In case you missed the email about my mission, you can read it here. Now we wait, and in the meantime, we do everything we can to keep ourselves and our families water safe which includes learning how to recognize if someone is drowning.

97% of people were unable to identify a swimmer in danger according to the American Red Cross water safety app.

This statistic doesn’t surprise me since drowning happens quietly and quickly and can easily go unnoticed. Even when under the care of one or both parents.

So it’s important to know what to look for and always be hyper-vigilant.

There are two types of drowning victims:

1. A person who silently slips beneath the surface because of an injury or medical condition (seizure disorders, being among the most common).
2. An individual who is trying to remain above the surface by pressing down with his arms. He is unable to call for help because his primary purpose is to breathe. This person will only be able to continue his fight for about 20 to 60 seconds.

In some cases, the victim will be able to call out for help, but only briefly, because then all of his energy will be focused on trying to get a breath.

Look for these signs to recognize a swimmer in danger:

• The victim might look like he’s treading water, but when his mouth is at or below water level, make sure to ask if he’s okay. If he doesn’t answer, then he needs immediate help.
• He is vertical with his head tilted back, hair in his face and eyes are glassy or closed. Adults are vertical, while children are usually face down.
• He’s gasping for air, as his attempt to swim or rollover is thwarted.
• He’s climbing an invisible ladder.

HOW TO HELP A SWIMMER IN DANGER

A person has the best chance of survival when you implement the American Red Cross Chain of Drowning Survival.

LINKS IN THE CHAIN

• First of all, recognize the signs of someone in trouble and shout for help.
• Next, reach or throw the person a rescue or flotation device.
• And call 911.
• Finally, begin rescue breathing and CPR.
• Use an AED if available and transfer care to advanced life support.

And for more drowning statistics and information on preventing accidents to keep you and your family safe, get the free water safety app. For the iTunes app store click here and for Google Play click here.

If you have any thoughts on the subject or experiences that you would like to share, I would love to hear from you.

Love the water,
Tessa

P.S. Get the FREE water safety app to help ensure your family stays safe in, on and around the water. It includes kid-friendly videos and quizzes. Search the iTunes app store for Swim by American Red Cross or click here. For Google Play you can use the same search parameters or click here. It provides the latest in water safety guidance to help ensure your family stays safe in, on and around the water.

P.P.S. To start your child on the path to becoming water safe, click here.

What does it mean to be water safe?

No one is entirely and completely water safe in every situation. Not even the most confident swimmer in the world.

Accidents happen. Many swimming pools are constructed with very hard materials such as concrete or tile.

A child or an adult can accidentally fall in and hit their head and lose consciousness while completely immersed.

And then there are those of us who don’t make the best decisions.

I’ll admit it; I am one of those people. When I was 24 years old, I didn’t look before diving in, so I scraped the bridge of my nose and forehead on entry.

I had hiked to a beautiful watering hole while vacationing in Hawaii.

You couldn’t see through the dark and murky water to the bottom. So there was no way of knowing how deep it was. Why was it so dark and murky you ask? I couldn’t tell you.

Many people were swimming a little further beyond my vantage point. It looked very deep where they were, so I thought it would be okay to dive in.

I love diving, so I went for it. I did a shallow angle dive, probably because a part of me thought that I shouldn’t be diving in when I am unaware of the depth of the water.

At least the decision to make it a shallow dive saved me from hitting the rocky bottom head-on.

Accidents and bad decision-making can cripple or drown even the strongest most confident swimmers.

Educate and protect yourself and your family from accidents, and poor choices by:

1. Being familiar with water safety rules.
2. Following the rules.
3. Making sure you and everyone in your family can swim well enough to self-rescue, in other words, to be water safe.

Would you be able to get back to safety without panicking if someone pushed you into the deep-end of a pool?

If so, then consider yourself water safe at least in a pool.

Would you also be able to tread and back float long enough for a rescue team to arrive, because you were swimming in the ocean and the current swept you out so far that you needed help?

If so, then consider yourself a strong, confident swimmer that wasn’t able to self-rescue in this scenario. It would’ve been best to choose to stay close to the shore.

So the answer to the question remains the same. No one is entirely and completely water safe in every situation. So make sure you do everything you can to prevent accidents and keep your family safe.

In addition to enclosing your pool and/or spa with a barrier to prevent children from entering, teach your children the water safety rules: water safe

• Look before you leap – hopefully, they’ll learn this before they graduate college.
• Swim as a pair near a lifeguard’s chair – always always swim with a buddy and with close adult supervision. Stay within arms reach of young and inexperienced swimmers.
• Be cool, follow the rules – obey those pool rules. They’re in place to keep you safe.
• Don’t just pack it, wear your jacket – especially when boating. And don’t rely on water wings or other inflatables. None of them prevent drowning.
• In your house and in your yard, watch for water, be on guard – this includes toilets, bathtubs, buckets of water, kiddie pools, swimming pools, spas, ponds and nearby lakes and rivers just to name a few.
• Think before you sink – float on your back when you get tired from swimming or treading.

And last but not least make sure that you and everyone in your family can swim well enough to be able to self-rescue in the case of an accidental submersion.

For more kid-friendly rhyming rules and information on preventing accidents to keep you and your family safe, get the free water safety app. For the iTunes app store click here and for Google Play click here.

If you have any thoughts on the subject or experiences that you would like to share, I would love to hear from you.

Love the water,
Tessa

P.S. Get the FREE water safety app to help ensure your family stays safe in, on and around the water. It includes kid-friendly videos and quizzes. Search the iTunes app store for Swim by American Red Cross or click here. For Google Play you can use the same search parameters or click here. It provides the latest in water safety guidance to help ensure your family stays safe in, on and around the water.

P.P.S. To start your child on the path to becoming water safe, click here.