Resources help you be "water smart"
WASHINGTON, May 15, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- The American Red Cross encourages families to
prepare for the fast-approaching summer swim season by learning to
be "water smart." Research shows that participation in formal water
safety and swim lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% for
one to four-year-olds.
"With pools and parks opening in just a couple weeks, it's
important for families to take time to learn and review critical
water safety skills with their children," said Angela Beale-Tawfeeq, PhD, MPH, member of the
Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council and associate professor at
Rowan University. "These fundamental
Red Cross water safety skills will help you feel more prepared for
everyday scenarios and fun outings in, on and around the water, and
most importantly, help save lives."
Each year, more than 2.5 million people learn to swim through
Red Cross lifesaving aquatics programs. These programs
incorporate the latest science-based curriculum and industry best
practices, helping to keep individuals and families safer while
enjoying water activities. Through this work, over the last
century, the Red Cross has helped to reduce accidental drownings by
nearly 90% nationwide.
"Preventing unsupervised access to water, providing constant,
active adult supervision and knowing how to swim are critical
layers of protection to help prevent drowning," said Connie Harvey, director of Aquatics Centennial
and Survival Programs for the Red Cross.
IMPORTANT WATER SAFETY TIPS This summer, remember these
four water safety tips.
- Nobody should ever swim alone – adults and teens as well as
children. Never leave a young child unattended near water, and do
not trust a child's life to another child.
- It's best to always designate a "water watcher" who will keep a
close eye and constant attention on children and weaker swimmers
in, on and around water until the next water watcher takes
over.
- Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear properly
fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around
water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
- Reach or throw, don't go! In the event of an emergency, reach
or throw an object to the person in trouble and tell them to grab
on. Don't go in! You could be in danger of drowning yourself.
"We encourage families to educate themselves on safer
water habits, to learn to swim and know how to handle emergencies,"
said Harvey. "Our aquatic training providers offer swim education
and classes for both children and adults. We recommend that you
also learn first aid and CPR, so you'll know what to do until help
arrives."
WHALE TALES FOR CHILDREN The Red Cross recently revamped
its Longfellow's WHALE Tales Water Safety for Children program. The
no-cost program is designed to help children from all backgrounds
in kindergarten through 5th grade learn vital water
safety behaviors without having to be in or near the water.
Educators, swim instructors, parents, caregivers and others can
teach critical water safety lessons to children before the swim
season kicks off. WHALE Tales are short, engaging and
age-appropriate lessons that cover important water safety topics in
different environments such as pools, waterparks, oceans, lakes and
rivers. The free downloadable resources include lesson plans,
course presentations and engaging materials such as videos and
activity sheets and can be accessed at redcross.org/WHALEtales. If
you're a parent or caregiver teaching your own children, visit
redcross.org.watersafetyforkids.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Our Aquatics Centennial
Campaign, launched in 2014 to recognize 100 years of Red Cross
leadership in swimming and water safety, is active in nearly 100
communities across the country. The program works to reduce
drowning rates in locations where drowning rates are above the
national average alongside valued community partners.
Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Swim Seattle
Initiative recently joined the Centennial Campaign to help
remove barriers to learning to swim and eradicate disproportionate
drownings among youth of color. "This partnership will enable
us to provide more quality swim lessons, water safety education and
lifeguard training to the community than ever before," said
Mike Plympton, aquatic manager for
Seattle Parks and Recreation.
To date, the campaign has delivered more than 131,000 sets of
swim lessons and certified 5,400 junior lifeguards, lifeguards and
Water Safety Instructors®. We've also armed nearly 19,000
parents and caregivers with water safety knowledge and/or CPR
skills.
"We want to make the water a safer place for everyone and, as a
community, we all play an important role in helping to achieve that
goal," said Harvey." Learn more at redcross.org/centennialswim.
GET STARTED TODAY Go to redcross.org/watersafety for swim
program information and a variety of resources. The Red Cross Swim
app can help children and adults learn with kid-friendly video and
activities on mobile devices. Do your part. Be "water
smart."
About the American Red Cross:
The American
Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of
disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills
that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and
supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red
Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and
the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For
more information, please
visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org,
or follow us on social media.
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SOURCE American Red Cross