Summer is coming!

Summer is coming and so are swimming lessons! But unfortunately, so are drowning's.

Each and every year, we spend our weekends at the lake, around the pool, in the water park. It is so much fun, not to mention refreshing from the heat! But also each year, we forget about what the value of swimming or learn to swim really is.

I ran across an article on the All Ears Blog that I thought I would share with you. It is a great article on the benefits of swimming. Benefits from family time to fitness and the life saving. Yes, unfortunately, lifesaving is the final benefit listed. Just like swimming lessons is sometimes the final "summer activity" that is added to a family schedule. Or worst yet, they only squeeze in a few lessons and think that is "good enough" because it is "better than nothing".

Parents should use caution in only using "introductory lessons" because is give the parents and the child a false sense that the child is able to take on any situation concerning swimming. This can cause a child to lose their life. Only a well laid out plan of swimming lessons and safety lessons can help to avoid a terrible tragedy. Only a well trained instructor and well managed program can deliver the right kind of lessons that can save your child's life.

So when reading any article on all the wonderful benefits of swimming, always look in the article where they list that it can be a life saving tool for your family. Health benefits are great, but if you do not survive, that information does not serve you at all. Life saving should be your very first benefit and your very first plan to be around water this summer.

Oh! And here is the link to the article I mentioned above. It really is a good article, but read from the bottom up. Have a splashing good day!

  http://www.jackrabbitblog.com/what-are-eight-key-benefits-of-swimming/

BOY DROWNS AS LIFEGUARDS WATCH OVER POOL

The caption of this post is not new. It happens more often than we would like for it to and it is very unfortunate and hard to explain to grieving families.

Parents believe that when they send their children to a pool, they are safe because there are lifeguards on site to watch over everyone. And it should be that way, but it does not always happen.

When a guard is certified by an instructor of a certifying agency, it means that they have met the minimal standards of that agency for certification on that day. There is no guarantee that a guard will be able to respond to an incident such as a drowning. After all, most of these guards are under 21 years of age and are in fact a child as well.

Sometimes young people see the sun bathing, the girls, the boys and the  glory of being a guard, and want it so much that they will purchase a certification card on the black market because they want the job and cannot pass the certification or do  not want to put the work into the certification.

Management, a lot of times, may not even be aquatic trained. Our local pool when I was growing up, was ran by a woman that could not even swim. And this happens a lot as well, especially in small towns and rural areas like ours.

But it is the managements place to be sure that they have fully investigated the training of the guards they hire and that they understand the skills that are actually needed to prevent an incident and if need be to make a rescue according to their Emergency Action Plan that they have outlined and posted.

The management is also responsible for holding daily in-service training for guards to stay up on their skills needed for rescue and that includes a high level of swimming ability. In-service training should include timed swim checks with equipment, back boarding for head, back and neck injuries, CPR, rescue breathing and AED skills. Those that work at the facility, including management and concession, should be a part of the in-service training and understand their role in the Emergency Action Plan.

Parents have the right to ask management about the facilities Emergency Action Plan as well as the abilities of the guards. If a guard looks tired or hung over, parents need to feel that they can report this to management with confidence that the manager does know what to do.

Two things parents should give high consideration to are:
1. Be sure your child is an accomplished swimmer that knows self survival techniques in the water and can swim at least the five basic strokes of swimming (front crawl, back crawl, backstroke, breast stroke and sidestroke) no less than 150 yards. Sorry "doggie paddling" and "finning" on your back are do not count here (although finning can be used for survival). Parents do not leave their children in swimming classes long enough, most of the time, for the child to truly develop into a good swimmer.
2. Get to know the pool, management and guards where your child swims. Be sure the standards of the pool meet your standards for the safety of your child. If you have concerns, address the management. If that does not work, go to the managers supervisor right away and do not be afraid to report what you experienced or saw. You just might be saving a life. And it could be your child's.

Now watch this video of a 14 year old boy's drowning at a pool with eight guards. It should of never happened. No guard came to his rescue. Only a friend and a stranger tried to save him.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Boy_-14_-Drowns-in-McKinley-Park-Pool_Chicago-219076031.html