Why do we run water safety week regularly for all ages?
Narelle Simpson explains what water safety lessons involve and the importance of water ability and swimming as a life sill forever.
Water Safety week not only helps develop safety skills but improves children’s knowledge of how to survive in the water if they fall into a pool, off a boat, into a river, dam, lake or any body of water.
The simple skills of floating with clothes and shes on are very important.
The skills learned in these classes include:
- Not panicking if their face gets wet or they submerge.
- Rolling from their front to a back float, so they can rest and yell and wave for help AND breathe.
- Submerging without goggles and pushing and kicking to the surface.
- Reaching for an edge or ledge and climbing out independently.
- Survival strokes (swimming, sculling, treading water ) to survive in the water.
- Reach rescues – the importance of the rescuer being SAFE all the time.
- Calling and ringing for help.
It doesn’t matter if your child has already attended a water safety week because it’s important to refresh their memory and learn how to swim and float with clothes on and keeping upper body clothes on for protection.
There is always something new to learn especially when it comes to understanding the many diverse and important skills of survival.
