The age old saying “The days are long but the years are short” has rung so true for us this year. It’s passed so quickly and I can’t believe I have a two year old! Ziya is busy, full of life and so energetic! All it takes is a split second and he’s off, so to say there’s no relaxing at the moment is an understatement.
Last summer we partnered with Royal Life Saving Australia to encourage parents to remain vigilant around water with little ones. At the time, Ziya’s confidence was building every day, and we were relatively new to this whole chasing a toddler business – fast forward a year and we’ve been on our toes ever since. Children under five remain the age group at highest risk of unintentional fatal drowning so it’s such an important issue.
It’s been such a pleasure watching Ziya learn to swim over the past year. Although we’ve seen gradual improvements with swimming lessons every week, his confidence still far exceeds his ability. This was especially evident earlier in the year when we took the kids to Fiji. Ziya watched the older kids swimming in the pool all week and aimed to keep up. I watched him eye off the ‘big’ kids’ actions and then try things for himself. He really believed he could do what they could, and of course Kyal and I were always there to help/catch him, but it’s such an eye opener as to how little ones think around water.
1,2,3…jump!
965 children aged 0-4 years drowned in Australia between 1 July 1993 and 30 June 2018, with swimming pools the leading location for drowning deaths. We know first hand how quickly a toddler can move, so it’s no surprise to us that a lapse in adult supervision was the major risk factor in 100% of these toddler drowning deaths.
“Drowning is often quick and silent. Distractions like browsing social media on your phone, attending to other children, or ducking inside to grab something can have tragic consequences if a toddler is left unattended by water. It ‘s important for parents and carers to take extra safety precautions. Aways Keep Watch of children around water”
-Justin Scarr, CEO at Royal Life Saving Society – Australia
Whether you have a backyard swimming pool or not, we urge all parents and carers to familiarise themselves with the Royal Life Saving’s Keep Watch program, which provides a range of resources and educational programs.
They recommend four key actions to prevent your child from drowning:
- Restrict access to water
- Teach children water safety
- Learn How to resuscitate, and above all:
- Active adult supervision – ALWAYS KEEP WATCH
Here are some great tips to ensure active supervision is always maintained around the household pool:
- Be Prepared: Always make sure you have everything ready BEFORE going swimming – e.g. towels, goggles, dry clothes, drinking water
- Be Close: Always be within arm’s reach of your child/children
- All of your Attention: Focus all of your attention on your child/children and watch, talk and play with them when they are in the water
- All of the Time: Never leave your child along in the water or in the care of an older child
Visit Keepwatch and join the conversation online via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #KeepWatch
