The holidays are here and as we head to the beaches and pools to celebrate in the traditional Aussie way, Parenting Australia with the support of Royal Lifesaving would like to bring you the following messages to assist in keeping your children water safe over the festive season.

From all at Parenting Australia we would like to wish you happy holidays and a healthy, prosperous and peaceful 2009.

Jane King
Mother of Cristian, 13 and Emily, 7
Founder of Parenting Australia

Supervise your child

Supervision is the first “Keep Watch” action in preventing children under 5 years of age from drowning. Many drowning deaths happen in those few seconds while you answer the phone or a knock on the door.

What is Good Supervision?

There are three key elements of active supervision:

Proximity

Always be within arms reach of your child particularly when they are under 5 years of age.

Attention

Always keep your attention on your child particularly if they are under 10 years of age. This is not an occasional glance while reading the newspaper.

Continuity

No matter how old your child is, you should check on them on a regular basis. The younger the child the more often you should check and if they are under 5 years of age you should never leave their presence.

What action can I as a parent or carer take?

• Assign an adult "Keep Watch Supervisor" to monitor the pool/spa area, especially during social gatherings.
• Assign a second adult to maintain constant visual contact with children in the pool/spa area. Don't assume someone else is watching a child.
• Never leave a child alone near a pool, spa, bathtub, water-filled bucket, pond or any standing water in which a child's nose and mouth may be submerged (it only takes a few centimeters of water).
• Keep long hair tied up
• Don't rely on swimming lessons, flotation devices or other equipment to make a child "water safe". 
• Do NOT rely on older siblings or other children to supervise toddlers.
• Do NOT allow children to play in the pool/spa area without adult supervision.
• Instruct babysitters about potential hazards to young children in and around swimming pools and the need for constant active supervision.
• Communicate pool safety measures with the babysitter and train them in infant/child CPR

Rob Bradley CEO Royal Lifesaving said, "We're concerned that some people are becoming complacent. You can never be complacent with this kind of issue. At the end of the day it's the parent's responsibility to ensure there's a safe aquatic environment - not the child."

Call for zero backyard drowning this summer holidays

Don’t rely on your pool gate. Early swim lessons can save lives

Recent tragic statistics show that backyard swimming pools remain the number one location for drowning deaths of young children.  Despite legislation around pool fencing and gates, intrepid toddlers can’t resist the water. 

“If you want your children to be safe in your pool, teach them to swim there,” advises Karen Tearney, Director of ActiveUnlimited (www.activeunlimited.com), a national swim school with over 150 qualified swim teachers working at home pools across the country.  

Home based swimming lessons mean safety and flexibility. Lessons fit around your schedule and children learn at their own pace instead of having to fit with the swim school lesson program. Instructors work closely with the family to build tailored lessons ensuring an ongoing focus on the safety rules of your pool.

Prevention is key

ActiveUnlimited has launched the ‘PoolSafe’ swim lesson in a bid to reduce backyard pool drownings this summer. With a focus on fun and education, it is endorsed by the Royal Lifesaving Society and involves the whole family (including grandma).  Designed to help families put the RLSS ‘KeepWatch’ messaging into action, it includes:

To book call ActiveUnlimited on 02 9130 5282 / 0410 743 151 or email karen@activeunlimited.com.

A wandering child is every parent's worst nightmare when visiting shopping centres and events and can cause distress to both parents and children alike.
Most parents can tell you of the anguish that is caused when a child wanders off. Whilst most children don't wander far, they usually wander out of the line of sight of their parents. Not being able to see Mum or Dad causes the child to become distressed and disoriented and often they then wander further.
Unfortunately, in today's world, we can no longer pin a name tag to a child's clothing in case they wander off, doing so presents the problem that someone may refer to a child by name and mislead them into believing they are a person that can be trusted.  Sadly this is not always the case.

Australian online business, www.kidskontact.com.au specialises in child ID and medical ID products to ensure your loved ones remain safe and easily identifiable in an emergency.

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