With the growth in the number of people who enjoy the aquatic environment, whether for bathing, playing sports, transport, or even for work, it has become essential to talk about what water safety is.
Therefore, in this content you will see the main safety tips for swimming lessons and for the daily life of children, adolescents and adults in the aquatic environment. Continue reading and check it out!
What is water safety?
We can define water safety as preventing drowning. Since it is not considered an accident, but an incident, it is totally predictable and, above all, possible to be avoided.
This is the relevance of what institutions. Investing in prevention, showing the main precautions that must be taken, is the best way to make the population aware of this serious problem.
Within this idea, swimming schools become essential for this work to gain even greater reach.
This is because, with the social distancing of recent years, there has been an increase in the length of stay in homes, increasing the risk of drowning. With that, mortality for this reason:
- It became the first cause in the range of 1 to 4 years (until now, it was the second).
- It was the second cause for 5 to 9 years (it was always the third).
- It remained stable from 10 to 14 years.
- It increased in the ranges from 15 to 29 years old.
Furthermore, the same research by Sobrasa shows that children under 9 years old drown more in swimming pools and homes, while from 10 years old onwards, the occurrence is higher in natural waters (such as rivers, dams and beaches).
So, although the precautions are different, it is necessary to know what water safety is, how to prevent it and, above all, pay extreme attention to the aquatic environment, even for those who already know how to swim.
Water safety tips
The purpose of swimming comes from one: to educate. In addition to educating children about fundamentals and swimming, social, motor and cognitive development, swimming also aims to make them aware of simple steps to prevent drowning, how to recognize risks and what care is needed.
Children who practice sports and are educated in the pool about safety in swimming lessons can also teach their parents and guardians at home, because they learn that preventing is saving .
100% ATTENTION TO CHILDREN
It is essential that children always enter the pool or sea accompanied by an adult, even if they know how to swim.
It is recommended that the distance between them does not exceed the length of your arms, especially in natural waters, where the current can make access difficult. In addition, whenever the person in charge leaves the water, the child must leave with him.
LOOK FOR LIFEGUARD
The main guarantee you will have when it comes to water safety is the presence of a lifeguard. Especially in larger environments, such as public pools or beaches, paying attention to the professional’s instructions is essential to prevent incidents from happening.
These are the most important tips when talking about care in the aquatic environment. However, in addition to these, other precautions with water safety that must be taken into account:
- Know the emergency number: 193.
- Never play for help.
- Respect the safety signs.
- Check the water depth.
- Remove toys from the pool and surroundings after use.
- Instruct children not to run around the pool and not to push others.
- Limit children’s access to pool areas with guardrails and covers when not in use.
- Beware of containers that can accumulate water (such as buckets, water tanks and aquariums).
- Use anti-suction bottom drains and means of stopping the pump (such as the lock on the motor).
- In the case of adults, avoid drinking alcohol and then entering aquatic environments (especially rivers, seas and waterfalls).
Care in swimming lessons
One of the top tips for water safety, regardless of age, is learning to swim . In addition to practice being essential for children to know how to behave within the environment, it also allows them to be more aware of what they can and cannot do in pools, seas and rivers.
Even so, it is vital to point out that, especially in the case of children, even if they know how to swim, they must be accompanied by guardians.
Related Article: