The weather is warming up and school is almost out for the summer. That means it’s time for families to flock to the water.
But before heading to the pool or beach, the Virginia Department of Health is asking families to take the Safe Swimming Pledge, designed to promote water safety and prevent drownings.
“This is a pledge that essentially will help keep your family and your community safe,” said Briana Bill with VDH. “An individual can take the pledge, or they might want to consider taking it as a family, or as a neighborhood or a community.”
The pledge, which can be found on the VDH website, includes ive promises: never leave children unattended near water; designate a water watcher; ensure children know how to swim; learn CPR and ensure pools have proper barriers.
Drowning is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for children ages 1to 4, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Virginia had 12 pool drownings among children 5 and younger last year, a six-year high, according to VDH. Three of those were in the state’s Eastern region.
Bill, an environmental health coordinator with VDH, said active supervision is one of the most important things that can prevent a drowning. If children are in the water, an adult should be the designated water watcher, someone who is distraction-free, making eye contact with the swimmers and scanning to ensure no one is in distress or underwater.
That even extends to areas where they are lifeguards, Bill said.
“Lifeguards are most certainly there to help protect people and help people follow the rules and provide rescue in the event that one is needed,” she said. “A family member or a parent is going to know their child better than anyone and might recognize when their child is in distress sooner than someone else might.”
Families, especially the water watcher, should know the signs of drowning, Bill said.
“A lot of folks think that it's dramatic, right, splashing, (saying) ‘help, help, I'm drowning,’” she said. “That's not how it goes. It's very quiet and very fast.”
There are also different dangers depending on whether someone is swimming in a pool or open water, Bill said. Swimmers should take water clarity into account. If they can’t see the bottom of a lake or ocean means they might not be able to tell how deep the water is or if there are other hazards, such as fallen trees. Swimmers should also keep in mind that oceans and rivers have natural currents that can be hazardous.
Other pool and water safety measures families can take are:
- Talking with children about water safety, educating them on what to do when they’re in the pool, including reminding them not to play with jets and drains
- Ensuring children are wearing U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets, which are designed to keep a person’s head above the water
- Using effective barriers around at-home pools, including door alarms for the house, power safety covers and fences with gates that are self-closing, self-latching and out of the reach of most small children
- Removing ladders from above-ground pools when not in use
- Teaching children how to swim
- Swimming with a buddy
- Learning CPR and first aid and taking someone to the hospital if any kind of drowning occurs
- Knowing how to use life-saving floatation devices
For more information on safe swimming, visit VDH. For information about swimming lessons, visit the YMCA. For information about learning CPR, visit the American Red Cross.
