Drowning is silent. My husband Ross shared a story with me illustrating just how true that statement is. It happened when he was twelve years old (pictured below with his Grandpa).

A long time ago in a land known as the San Fernando Valley Ross’ family were hosting a pool party. About a dozen people in attendance one beautiful sunny summer day.

Many children of all ages and their respective parents were having a great time. Lunch was ready, so everyone exited the pool and gathered around the table.

A stretch of time had passed since the water in the pool was as still as a mountain lake. Just then Norman’s Mother noticed that Norman was missing. drowning is silent

Everyone quickly scanned the area and immediately saw Norman (five years old) floating facedown in the pool. drowning is silent

Ross shared with me that it was like time froze and he wondered why no one was responding.

My future husband took immediate action when he realized no one could escape their panic-stricken state. He dove in and pulled Norman’s lifeless body out of the pool.

Everyone gathered around, and once they rolled Norman over, he immediately retched.

Norman completely recovered from the incident thank goodness and also thanks to the heroic efforts of young Ross.

To this day, no one knows how Norman ended up facedown in the pool. He didn’t have any visible signs. No cuts or bruises.

How does something like this happen with so many sets of eyes around a backyard pool?

Love the water but fence it in, so
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.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now it’s time to get ready for the next major holiday whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannukah or Kwanzaa either way; it’s a hectic time of year. Pool fence.

In addition to the major holidays, we also celebrate my husband’s and my son’s birthdays. My son just turned 18!! He’s officially an adult. Where did the time go?

Spend as much quality time with your children as you can, because before you know it, they’re planning for college.

And especially keep them safe around water, so that they can be around to prepare for college.

Did you know that drowning can happen silently in less than five minutes and under the supervision of both parents? pool fence

I have had discussions with many parents in the past who don’t want to install a pool fence because it’s not aesthetically pleasing.

The same parents say that they’re very diligent and would never take their eyes off of their children when in on or around water.

We probably all think that we can be 100% attentive at all times and never take our eyes off of our children, but we all get distracted.

Just the other day, during a parent and child swimming lesson with three adults and two children standing in a circle in the pool, facing each other, one of the Dad’s dropped something right when his daughter slid off the floating mat expecting to be picked up by her Dad immediately following.

He was looking down and was unaware that his child was floating vertically before him, and her whole head was submerged.

It took me a couple of seconds to realize that her Dad didn’t see her there. As soon as I noticed, I launched forward and scooped her up.

She can hold her breath for a few seconds, so she was completely unscathed by the event.

Even while she was just silently floating there as calm as can be,

she looked completely relaxed and confident that her Dad was going to lift her out of the water.

As previously mentioned; drowning is silent which makes it much harder to notice.

It’s not like the movies, where the victim is screaming, and arms are flailing.

All the more reason to take the necessary precautions to prevent drowning and install that pool fence.

So what if the fence isn’t beautiful. Make your child a priority.

Install a climb-resistant mesh pool fence and make sure it’s at least four feet high with a self-closing, self-latching gate and with pool alarms.

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.

This post contains an affiliate link. Water wings.

Don’t you just love Thanksgiving? It’s one of my favorite holidays. Last year, I made the most amazing green bean and portobello mushroom casserole thanks to Trader Joe’s. The recipe is on their portobello mushroom soup box if you’re interested or you can click here for the details. It’s so scrumptious; that I just had to share it!

You know what else is good. Turkey wings. You know what’s not good. Water wings.

67% of people think “water wings” are enough to keep kids safe in the water…

according to the American Red Cross water safety app. so

First of all water wings, AKA floaties are simply not safe. The first warning placed on the water wing itself, claims that IT IS NOT A LIFESAVING DEVICE!

Also displayed all in caps is that IT WILL NOT PREVENT DROWNING!

These warnings are just two out of a multitude of other threats. so

It’s shocking to me that such a product with so many warnings and dangers is allowed on the shelves.

Water wings are designed to keep the face out of the water if in an upright position.

Your child may end up, face down, however, and water wings make it tough to roll over.

Here are some other disadvantages of water wings:

• It gives the child a false sense of security so
• It can also deflate or slip off so
• And finally, it can easily snag on the edge of the pool so

So the best way to keep your child safe is with a US Coast Guard approved life vest and one that fits well.

Don’t pick a size where your child has room to grow. so

A great alternative to water wings is a puddle jumper, which is a US Coast Guard approved life vest and designed for kids 30 to 50 pounds.

And remember, even if your child is wearing a life vest, constant adult supervision is still essential and to always stay within arm’s reach.

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

I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with peace, love and delicious portobello mushroom casserole. Seriously, you can’t go wrong.

Love the water, so
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.

How much do you love your iRobot Roomba assuming you have one or something like it? For me on a scale of 1-10, it’s a solid 10. Just sayin. I am in no way affiliated with it; I just LOVE IT! water safety

If it ever ended up in my pool, that would be a sad day. I have an indoor pool, so I must make sure to keep the doors closed to the pool room when the Roomba is on the go. At least a Roomba can be replaced, unlike people.

My adult student, Mila told me that someone pushed her into a pool at a party some years ago.

She couldn’t swim then, and she can’t swim now, but somehow she managed to get to safety.

She’s sixty-three years old now and has finally decided to conquer her fear of water. She’s doing great by the way.

Near drowning is very common

Almost 50% of people have had a near drowning experience according to the American Red Cross water safety app.

The definition of near drowning is the term for survival after suffocation caused by submersion in water or another fluid.

Mila not only got pushed into a pool, but she also shared with me that she had to jump into a river to save her nephew from drowning. Somehow, she pulled through that one too thank goodness.

Even if you don’t think you want to learn to swim, there are so many reasons to do it.

One of the biggest reasons is that you may end up in water unintentionally like Mila.

If you’re a confident swimmer, then you probably have nothing to worry about unless you somehow got yourself into a dangerous situation that even Michael Phelps couldn’t handle.

Water safety for the whole family

I have another adult student currently enrolled in lessons along with her baby.

She understands just how important it is to be comfortable in on and around water not only for herself but also for her child’s safety.

I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard about parents having to jump into a pool or other body of water to rescue their child from an accidental submersion.

It happened to my son when he was about three years old at his Aunt’s house.

He just started running around the pool and somehow misjudged where the deck ended, and the water began.

BAM! He dropped like a rock to the bottom in the deep end. My husband went right in after him, fully clothed and all.

I haven’t seen my husband move as fast since. I know he’s not going to appreciate the dig, but I hope that he’ll appreciate the humor.

The moral of the story is that not only do your children need to be water safe but so do you.

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.