After a cold spring here in the Inland Northwest, you can bet there will be some enthusiasm when it finally warms up enough for swimming season. While we wait, let’s get our safety plan in place so we can be ready for a fun summer!
What can we do now to make our summer safer?
Make sure your kids know to only go near water with an adult.
Any manmade or natural body of water can be a risk if it is not fenced off or a child is unsupervised. Any time of year is a good time to make sure children do not have unsupervised access to any pools, hot tubs, streams, ponds, or waterfronts. These can be even more risky during colder months because of the lower water temperature.
Talk to your kids about pool safety… or better yet, sing to them!
Here is a great pool safety song you can add to your family’s playlist. For more information, materials, and even a fun phone app that will help your kids learn pool safety, go to the “Kid’s Corner” at poolsafely.gov.
Enroll your kids in swimming lessons.
There are many options for swimming lessons in Spokane. If you’re worried about the cost, both Spokane City Parks and Recreation and Spokane County Parks and Recreation departments have scholarships available for swimming lessons.
Get proper safety gear.
Put children who are weak swimmers in life jackets or buy a swimsuit/life jacket combination. Make sure the life jackets are U.S. Coast Guard approved. Air-filled or foam toys are not safety devices. “Water wings,” “noodles,” inner tubes, etc. should not be used instead of life jackets. These toys are not designed to keep swimmers safe. Visit here for more life jacket safety tips and a coupon for 20% off a life jacket at Big 5!
Learn CPR.
There are many locations in Spokane to learn CPR. You can even take a course on-line. This will give you some peace of mind knowing you have some tools to help you respond during an emergency.
These are all great first steps to having a safe summer. For even more information on pool safety, visit srhd.org/poolsafe.
Original source can be found here.
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