Whether your weather outside is frightful or delightful, the holidays can be unsafe. With iced-over lakes, distracted parents and holiday travel to new places, danger may be lurking.
We really don’t want to be Grinchy, but awareness and avoidance of unfortunate occurrences is part of our business. Here are a few tips to make sure your family has a safe, enjoyable holiday season.
- Teach your kids about the danger of icy water. Whether frigid rivers, frozen lakes or other bodies of water, make sure they realize how incredibly dangerous it would be to fall in. Don’t assume they know how to gauge the “frozenness” where they want to ice skate with their cousins. Also don’t assume there will be posted signs or personnel anywhere around.
- If visiting family or vacationing over the holidays, explore the environment and explain the dangers of the area, especially if they are different from home. Kids who don’t live by water may not have had the same “water talk” as a beach-residing family.
- When surrounded by extended family, don’t assume that there are so many adults that “someone must be watching the kids.” This is where our Water Watcher program comes in handy – and it can be used anywhere from the pool to the sledding hill. One person is designated as the person to watch the kids for a certain amount of time as their only The responsible party shouldn’t be playing Candy Crush or reading or even cleaning up. That person should be consistently counting heads, communicating with the kids and available to “jump in” in any emergency. They are only off duty when someone else takes over.
- Ensure pool gates are closed and locked. If you have your own pool or hot tub, make sure guests and family members know your water rules and kids don’t have access to any water while visiting unless they are with an adult. One wandering toddler during a holiday fete can be extremely dangerous.
- Give the gift of swimming! Use the holidays as a way to share your love for the water with others. A voucher for lessons paired with a fun towel is a creative, thoughtful and life-saving gift!
We wish you a joyful, stress-free holiday season! Take appropriate steps to be safe so you can savor every moment.