Water safety

Summer is here! Time for beaches, barbeques and swimming.

There is so much fun to be had for both kids and parents when it warms up outside. But water always poses the potential for drowning and injury.

One of the hardest, and most preventable injuries I see as a Trauma Nurse Pracitioner are drownings.

As parents we all want the best for our children. We don’t think that anything bad will happen to us. But drowning happens in seconds. And it is silent. There is no flapping around and splashing like you see in the movies. When kids drown, they drown quietly.

How many times have I heard – they were playing in the yard with their siblings and when their siblings came inside the house, they weren’t there. Or she was sitting on the edge of the pool putting her feet in with her brother, and a few minutes later I turned around and she floating in the pool.

It breaks my heart too much to write any more about it. So I will leave it there.

I don’t tell these stories to make you upset or fearful, but to warn you from what I’ve seen. Accidents do happen. Accidents do happen to very mindful, cautious parents.

Parents, watch your kids for every second they in or around water. Put away phones, books and magazines. Keep them within arm’s reach at all times when they are in or near the water.

Some accidents are not preventable, but this one is. How many times have you been at a pool party and thought your spouse was watching the kids in the pool? Or run inside to go to the bathroom when there were other adults nearby?

I see it all the time, and in the past, I have been guilty of this too. Now that summer is here, the number of drownings and near drownings at hospitals around the US have gone up. Some of these survive. Many of them don’t.

Have you heard of a water watcher tags??

This tag is visual tool and physical reminder that the adult in charge holds on to or wears whenever they are the responsible adult in charge of supervising kids in the pool. This means no distractions, no drinking, no running inside to use the bathroom. This adult is watching at all times. When their “shift” is up, it is passed on to the next parent or adult when it is their turn.

If you have a pool or plan to spend time at a local pool this summer, do yourself a favor and print it and carry it with you in your swim bag.

Click here to print your FREE Water Watcher tag from Mama Nurse

And how cute these would be to laminate it and attach to this adorable luggage tag or to a cute little wristlet or lanyard and keep it handy for all water activities.