(KAIR)--According to statistics released by the United States, Center for Disease Control, about ten people die from unintentional drowning each day in the U.S. Of these, two are children aged fourteen or younger. In 2009 alone, among children one to four years old who died from an unintentional injury, more than thirty percent died from drowning.
However, most of these incidents can be prevented. Atchison YMCA Aquatics Director Anne Schafer says one of the most important precaution that can be taken is to make sure kids are properly supervised at all times. She says parents should be actively engaged with their kids anywhere near water. She also encourages anyone, but especially kids to never swim alone.
Schafer says that there is a proper way to assist someone who is experiencing distress in the water, one that can make sure more swimmers are not put into danger. She suggests that the distressed swimmer be thrown a life jacket or some other kind of floatation device that could be grabbed onto. If someone jumps in to attempt a rescue, it could result in more than one swimmer needing help.
Schafer adds that while there are some differences between swimming in a pool and swimming in a body of water, the dangers remain the same for both. With rivers currents can play a factor, and both lakes and rivers have water that is hard to see. It can also he hard to tell how deep the water is in a natural body of water.
Schafer does encourage kids to get into swimming lessons if possible, so the risk of experiencing a water related emergency is lessened. They can also go a long way to helping a swimmers confidence and overall ability to enjoy the water.
© Many Signals Communications
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