Water Safety Tips for Cherry Hill Parents

At British Swim School of South Jersey, we know how important it is to keep kids safe in and around water. That’s especially true for young children, considered the most at-risk group for accidental drowning. Through our swimming lessons, we give kids in the Cherry Hill area the skills they need to play safe in the pool or at the beach. But we also want to make sure that parents have the water safety information they need to help them keep their children safe.

Why Is Water Safety So Important?

Every parent should be familiar with the basics of water safety. Even if you don’t take your child swimming, it’s important that you know the dangers of water and what you can do to keep your child safe. Proper water safety saves lives, and hundreds of deaths could be prevented every year if more people knew how to stay safe around water.

Here are a few stats that parents in the Cherry Hill area may want to know about water safety:

• More than 800 children drown every year in America, and most of those children are under the age of 5.
• For every case of drowning, five other cases of near-drowning lead to emergency care.
• Backyard pools are the most common cause of drowning in children less than 5 years old.
• Studies have shown that children between the ages of 1 and 4 who complete swimming lessons are at an 88% lower risk of drowning than children who do not take lessons.

Water Safety Advice for Parents

As a parent, there are several things you can do to encourage and enforce water safety in young children. Some of the most important things parents can do to encourage water safety include:

• Always monitor children while they are in or near water — even if water is only a few inches deep. Children should be monitored constantly, without distractions. Drowning can take place in under two minutes.
• Teach kids water-safe behavior, like not to run or roughhouse while in or around water.
• Teach kids never to play in or near water without adult supervision.
• Purchase well-fitting life vests. U.S. Coast Guard-approved life vests are the safest type of flotation device for young children.
• Sign your child up for swimming lessons. Infant and toddler swimming lessons can teach crucial skills like back floating, a skill that allows children to breathe when floating in water.

Water Safety Classes in Cherry Hill, NJ

If you’re a parent in the Cherry Hill area who is concerned about water safety for your child, we invite you to join the British Swim School of South Jersey family. Our water safety classes are available to kids as young as three months old. Our classes are open to kids from Cherry Hill, Camden County, Mount Laurel Township, Haddonfield, and Haddon Heights. Find a class online or call us today for more information.

Call 856-302-0555 to learn more about our water safety classes for Cherry Hill-area kids.