| SOCIALISING where there is a backyard pool is synonymous with the Australian summer. Sausages on the Barbie, drinks in hand, cathcin up with old mates. It is an all too familiar sight. But who is watching the children? Drowning is silent and can take place in minutes. The backyard party is full of distractions. Children are unaware of the dangers of the water and there is is a risk of drowning when a child is a not supervised. Active supervision is not the occasional glance during a conversation or while preparing food, older children watching younger ones or the reliance of “floaties”. It is uninterrupted eye contact within an arm’s reach of the child. The same applies at public pools. It is also necessary to ensure that the pool fence and gate are in good working order, gates are locked and the keys stored out of children’s reach (not in the lock) and loose items are removed to prevent children elevating themselves to either open the gate or climb the fence. Remove all attractive objects from the pool and its surrounds. Watch with your eyes not with your ears!  |  Remember to always actively monitor the kids while they are swimming. "Drowning is silent and can take place in minutes. The backyard party is full of distractions. Children are unaware of the dangers of the water and there is is a risk of drowning when a child is a not supervised." Sue has been teaching kids to swim for almost 2O years and holds degrees in Human Movement Studies and Teaching Physical Education and Primary Classroom. Contact her at (07) 3300 0444. More Stories |
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