Catch the Wave
The Latest News on Water Safety for Kids
 STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DeANNE MUSOLF
 
Research indicates that more children participate in water recreation than any other activity.  And no wonder—swimming improves posture, flexibility, muscular endurance, strength, and balance. It stimulates circulation; creates muscle tone; uses almost all of the major muscle groups; and places big demands on your children’s hearts and lungs. The sport also helps your child maintain a healthy weight by burning 350-420 calories per hour, yet it’s low impact, greatly diminishing the impact on growing bones and joints.
 
BE YOUR OWN LIFEGUARD
Keeping your kids safe in water is of course first and foremost. Drowning is the second leading cause of death among American children ages 14 and younger, according to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Safe Kids Georgia. About 760 children die annually from accidental drowning; about 3,000 more are treated at emergency rooms after near-drowning incidents.

Active supervision is the best precaution, and that means no distractions such as talking, eating, reading, or taking care of another child. Simply being near your child is not enough. Small children tend to slip under silently without flailing or calling out.

Ninety-four percent of parents admit they do other distracting activities while “supervising” their child while swimming. Experts advise keeping a child under your supervision in sight at all times with your undivided attention focused on the child. Have adults take turns serving as the designated “water watcher” who pays undivided attention.

A lifeguard is not necessarily a safeguard. According to the United States Lifesaving Association, more than three-quarters of drownings take place at unguarded areas. That means that 25 percent happen when a lifeguard is on duty. Assess the lifeguards when you arrive at the beach or pool: are they chatting amiably with people, eating, or drinking while randomly glancing at the water now and then? Or are they diligently and continuously scanning the water?

If you have a pool or will be visiting friends or hotels with swimming pools, check for pool safety features before letting little ones loose, even indoors (drownings can occur when children slip outside unbeknownst to adults). Pools and spas should be surrounded on all four sides by a fence at least five feet high with gates that close and latch automatically. Studies conclude that this precaution could prevent 50 percent to 90 percent of child drownings in residential pools. Rescue equipment, a phone, and emergency numbers should be kept near the pool. Toys should not be left in or near a pool where they may attract unsupervised children.
 
OTHER WATER RISKS
Other water-related health risks for children include swimmer’s ear. If your child is prone to swimmer’s ear, doctors recommend putting one part rubbing alcohol and one part white vinegar in her ear before she hits the waves and two hours after to help alleviate it.
Recreational water illness (RWI) is another concern. RWI is contracted by breathing, swallowing, or having contact with water that has been contaminated with germs (Cryptosporidia), which are not killed by chlorine or many common disinfectants and can live outside the body for long periods.

The most common RWIs may cause diarrhea, skin, eye, ear, and gastrointestinal illnesses. Symptoms of waterborne diseases in the US include watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, and stomach cramps.

To reduce the incidence of RWI, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following: avoiding swimming or letting children or babies swim when they have diarrhea; showering well before swimming and washing hands well after using the loo; frequent potty breaks for kids; and not changing diapers near a pool, lake, or beach. To help reduce the risk of contracting an RWI, remind children to never swallow water while swimming.

Infant swimming lessons are another concern. Experts note that they can give parents a false sense of security around water. In addition, research at the public health department at Catholic University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium, concluded that infant swimming lessons may lead to problems with children’s lung development and possibly make asthma more likely, according to the study published in Pediatrics, in June 2007.

Other safety and health risks to children to consider include:

**An outdoor swimmer can be hit by
    lightning during a thunderstorm.
    Lightning will usually hit the highest
    point available, as for example the head
    of a swimmer on a flat water surface.
**Strong winds can cause waves and can
    blow a swimmer away from land.
**Hypothermia due to cold water can
    cause rapid exhaustion and uncon-
    sciousness depending on the water
    temperature and the body conditions.
**Currents, including those in oceans and
    rivers, can cause exhaustion and can
    move a swimmer away from safety or
    pull swimmers under water.

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