Summer holidays are almost upon us, which is a major milestone at the best of times, but more than ever this year as it brings the last few months of homeschooling to an end.
And with the onset of (hopefully) warm summer weather, there is no better time to teach your little ones how to keep safe around water. June 17th to 23rd is Water Safety Awareness Week so here are a few safety points to keep in mind.
- Learn To Swim: This goes for parents and children! Learning to swim is a skill that can set your child up to keep themselves safe throughout their lives so if you can, get them learning to swim as soon as possible. If you don’t know how to swim yet or if you are a bit rusty and need a refresher it is worth learning so that you are confident in the water yourself when supervising your children.
- Supervision: Children should never swim alone and should be closely supervised by an adult at all times when in or near water. The supervising adult should be as close as possible to the child and never more than an arm’s length away so that they can grab the child immediately if needed.
- Anticipate Hazards: Water doesn’t have to be deep to be a danger especially to young children, so awareness of possible dangers is key to preventing accidents. Close supervision is a must, even with very small amounts of water and keeping buckets, water tables and paddling pools empty and out of reach when not in use can increase safety and stop you stressing!
- Education: Teaching your children about water safety in an age appropriate way can empower them to stay safe around water. Water Safety Ireland’s Primary Aquatics Water Safety Programme is usually taught in primary schools but it is also available online so you could integrate it into your homeschooling. Makes a nice change of topic just before the summer holidays and the kids get a certificate at the end!
Here is the link to the PAWS online lessons. How do you teach your children to stay safe around water?
Keep Abreast 