Its that time of year when, we are heading of to the lake for the weekend, going to pools, beaches and boating. These activities make summer fun and memorable, however there are precautions you need to take to be sure your family remains safe in the water. Accidents are the leading cause of death for children. It only takes a moment. A child or weak swimmer can drown in the time it takes to reply to a text, check fishing line, or apply sun screen.
Water competency is a way of improving water safety for yourself and those around you through avoiding common dangers, developing fundamental water safety skills to make you safer in and around the water, and knowing how to prevent and respond to drowning emergencies. Water competency has three main components; water smarts, swimming skills and helping others
It's is always good to have a little bit of added precaution when it comes to home pools such as having an alarm on the back door that sounds when it opens as well as the gate to the pool as well. You can get these at any hardware store pretty inexpensively. Having a lock on the gate that requires a key is beneficial, we always had the key in a place that the kids could not get it. As your children get older your precautions change a little, but you should always be attentive.
So the next time you are at the pool, beach or ocean, I hope that you are able to remember some of these safety tips.
Happy Swimming!
Trish Hodson
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