Tiffany Merlo Phelps
mail@floridanewsline.com
All it takes is one moment of distraction.
“A child or a weak swimmer can drown in the time it takes to reply to a text, check a fishing line or apply sunscreen. Death and injury from drownings happen every day in home pools, and hot tubs, at the beach or in oceans, lakes, rivers and streams, bathtubs and even buckets,” said Amber Bierfreund, American Red Cross Regional Communications Director.
This, she said, is what makes water competency so crucial, especially during the summer season.
“The Red Cross believes that by working together to improve water competency — which includes swimming skills, water smarts and helping others — water activities can be safer and just as much fun,” said Bierfreund. “Ensure every member of your family learns to swim so they at least achieve skills of water competency: able to enter the water, get a breath, stay afloat, change position, swim a distance then get out of the water safely.”
Megan Hansson, who is the St. Johns County Aquatics Director for the St. Augustine Family YMCA, agreed. She oversees the YMCA, the Solomon Calhoun Community Center and the Willie Galimore Recreation Center pools. She leads water safety classes throughout the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast, and she is also an ocean rescue lifeguard and certified EMT.
Drowning, she said, is the leading cause of death in children aged one through four, and the second leading cause of death in children aged five through 14. Yet, it is the one thing that parents think will never happen to them.
“There are so many distractions now. Who is watching? It is very scary how quickly it can happen. Parents think that it can never happen to them,” she said. “It can.”
At the Y, swim lessons begin at six months old and continue up to age 99. Safety skills are taught for all bodies of water, including pools, oceans, lakes and rivers. “Reach, throw and don’t go” is one safety rule that Hansson teaches, meaning that it is okay to reach for someone or to throw a flotation device, but do not jump in to save a friend. On a boat, always wear a flotation device, she said.
Hansson said swim lessons are divided by age group beginning with a parent/child class for ages six months to 36 months, an opportunity to get acclimated to the water and to learn what to do if in trouble. Next up is the preschool age classes from three to five years old where the basic strokes are taught. Finally, classes are offered for five to 12-year-olds with multiple strokes being introduced.
According to Hansson, the number one rule is to never swim alone; always swim with a buddy. The second is to assign a “water watcher” and, when in the ocean, always swim near a lifeguard and be aware of the flags and their corresponding meanings.
Charles Bond, Volunteer Life Savings Corps Member in Jacksonville Beach, said when it comes to having a safe day at the beach, he has two main rules. The first is to swim in front of a lifeguard and the second is to stay waist deep or less in the water to maintain stability.
“Many people do not understand the ocean very well. It is not a pool,” said Bond, who has been a lifeguard for 25 years. “It may look like you are in a safe spot, but it can be a false sense of security especially when it comes to rip currents.”
Also, when it comes to trying to rescue someone who is in distress in the ocean, a person should be aware of their own abilities and limitations and always initiate a 911 response before doing anything else, he said.
“If you are not trained, you will risk losing your own life to save someone else,” he said.
Finally, always watch children in the water closely, he said. “If your kid’s foot touches water, you have to have eyes on your child.”
[Author’s Note: For more information on swim classes at the Brown Family YMCA, call (904) 543-9622. For more information about free online water safety classes, go to redcross.org. Also, there are several free American Red Cross apps, “Red Cross Swim” and “Red Cross First Aid” available.]
Photo courtesy Tiffany Merlo Phelps
Brown Family Y Aquatics Coordinator Morgan Taylor showing swimming techniques to children in a group swim lesson at Brown Family YMCA.
