Grandpa Richards Kids

I was at my grand daughter’s home yesterday and had fun taking photos of her and 2 other children playing on a water slide. It got me thinking about how much more the children are outside during the summer, and how safety issues change focus.

With the water slide, the danger is obvious - make sure there are no objects sticking out of the ground in the area where the slide is put. Also, there should always be an adult within sight, as young children could drown even in the very shallow water found on one of these slides.

ALWAYS remember: Drowning accidents can occur any time, anywhere there is enough water for a person’s face to be immersed. Even a bucket of water has claimed victims. The most common ages for drowning? Under 5 and 15-24.

Here are some obvious swimming safety rules.

• Always swim with a buddy. Never swim alone.
• Read and obey all rules and posted signs.
• Swim in areas that are supervised by a lifeguard.
• Children or inexperienced swimmers should take extra precautions, such as wearing an approved life jacket when around the water.
• Do not swim when you are — too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun.
• Set water safety rules for your family based on swimming abilities. For example, inexperienced swimmers should stay in water less than waist deep. Better yet, shallow enough that even down on their hands and knees, they can still breathe air.
• Use a feet-first entry when entering the water.
• Enter headfirst only when the area is clearly marked for diving and has no obstructions.
• Do not mix alcohol with swimming, diving or boating.
• Maintain constant supervision. Watch children around any water such as pools, rivers, lakes, bathtubs, toilets and even buckets of water, no matter how well the child can swim and no matter how shallow the water.
• Stay within an arm’s reach of an inexperienced swimmer while he or she is in the water.
• Do not rely on substitutes. The use of flotation devices and inflatable toys cannot replace parental supervision. Such devices could suddenly shift position, lose air or slip out from underneath, leaving the child in a dangerous situation.
• Prevent access to water features, such as small ponds and waterfalls.
• Empty kiddie pools immediately after use. Do not leave water in an unattended pool of any kind.
• Use safety locks on toilets and keep bathroom doors closed and toilet bowl covers down if there are small children in the home.
• Empty cleaning buckets immediately after use.
• When visiting another home, check the site for potential water hazards and always supervise your children.
• Teach children to swim by enrolling them in a Learn-To-Swim course.
• Family members should participate in an approved Water Safety Course.
• Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid. Parents and other caregivers, such as grandparents, older siblings and baby-sitters, should take a CPR and first aid course.
• Never leave a child unattended who may gain access to any water.
• Enclose home swimming pools completely with a fence with vertical bars and a self-closing, self-latching gate. Openings in the fence should be no more than four inches wide.
• Pool covers should always be completely removed prior to pool use and completely secured when in place.