Swimming is an important hobby, as well as a great skill for your children to learn. While kids need to learn to swim early, you should also ensure they understand the crucial habits of water safety. Why is it important to learn about water safety? Well, one of the reasons is that drowning is one of the leading causes of death in the whole world. Drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death for children and sixth for people of all ages.
1. Water Safety Tips
Ensure you follow the following tips to ensure the safety of your children.
Enroll in Swimming Lessons
To ensure your children will not drown when swimming, you should ensure that they get top-notch swimming lessons. Learning to swim impacts children with survival skills and great techniques to prevent exhaustion, hence conserve energy. The good thing is that you can start teaching your child to swim as early as one year old. Infant swimming lessons reduce the risk of drowning for your child as they grow.
Why Kids Need to Learn Swimming
Without a doubt, swimming is full of fun. It also provides a host of health benefits. This means that your kid will stay healthy and feeling happy. Remember swimming is an exercise, hence it ensures your kid is fit all the time. It keeps your heart pumping, thus enhancing lungs and heart health.
Physical activities help in preventing health issues such as obesity. It also enhances stamina, posture, and balance. Another benefit is that it makes swimmers more strong and flexible. Swimming also improves mental health. Many people go for swimming to relax and enjoy, which enhances your overall mood. Lastly, it offers a great opportunity for kids to meet new friends and socialize.
Before enrolling your kid in a swimming program, ensure the instructors are well trained. They should also hold certifications from a recognized curriculum. The instructors and lifeguards should have current first aid and CPR certifications.
Swimming classes for infants usually include children and parents. Although infants can show swimming movement, they are not old enough to swim properly on their own. Therefore, it is prudent to enroll in a parent-child class. These water play classes help your kid to get used to staying in the water. It is also a fun activity for you and your kid. It is a great way to introduce your kid to build readiness skills and introduce water safety skills.
2. Focused Supervision
Swimming lessons should guarantee your kid’s safety in the water. Focused supervision is a very important water safety habit. Most of the kids who drown are not expected to be swimming at the time of the accident. Therefore, it is imperative to block access to a swimming pool during a non-swimming time.
Whether your kid is swimming in the ocean or pool, you should always be alert when they are in the water. Keep an eye and stay close to them all the time. Remember, kids, love to try dives, flips and all kinds of tricks in water. This makes it more dangerous to allow them to swim on their own.
3. Never Let You Kid Swim Alone
Many people have made the mistake of leaving a child to swim alone because there is a lifeguard on duty. Note that lifeguards have a big job of watching the water, responding to emergencies, and advising swimmers on safety concerns. Therefore, you should advise your kid to always swim in the company of a sibling or friend.
4. Swim Within Designated Areas
It is important to stay only in designated areas, whether it’s in the ocean, pool, or lake. Children should never swim in areas where water is deeper than their abilities, especially in the ocean or lakes.
5. Learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
While most people observe water safety guidelines, accidents are prone to happen. Therefore, it is important to arm yourself and kids with lifesaving techniques such as CPR. It can mean the difference between life and death.
Conclusion
While swimming is fun for kids, it comes with potential risks. To guarantee their safety, you should ensure they know the basic water safety guidelines and learning how to swim well. Adhering to water safety habits ensures you have fun swimming, kayaking, or enjoying other sports in the water.