Every day, an average of ten people die from unintentional drowning in the United States. The Long Island Drowning Prevention Task Force was created to curb this sobering statistic by educating both children and caregivers about staying safe near and in bodies of waters, from the oceans to pools, ponds and even the bathtub.
“Every year there are drownings and every single one of them is 100 percent preventable,” said Bobby Hazen, founder of the task force and prevention education coordinator for Saf-T-Swim Swim since 1997.
Hazen got the idea for the task force after fielding numerous calls at Saf-T-Swim from concerned parents asking about water safety, especially when news would break about a local drowning.
“Our phones would be flooded and I would think: ‘we aren’t doing something right as a community,’” he said.
Hazen began researching prevention and quickly found that there wasn’t a local central place that parents could go to find important water safety information. He founded his organization, created a website and begin offering prevention seminars not only to parents, but also in local school districts.
Now, three years later, if you were to walk into local school districts or camps and ask students who Sammy Starfish, Timmy Tadpole and Gilbert Guppy are, they will likely know exactly who you are talking about. These characters, created by the Safer 3 Water Safety Foundation and brought to life by Hazen, are each used to teach an important aspect of water safety to the children, including safer water, safer kids and safer response.
New to the program this year is a water safety puppet show, which Hazen has partnered with the Long Island Pool and Spa Kids Swim Program to put on.
“The main message is to be safe around the water and safe behavior,” said Hazen. “We want the kids to know the rules and the risks of their actions and how they can be safer in and around the water.”
But teaching the children water safety can only go so far — parents and caregivers need to be equally educated, Hazen said, especially when statistics point out that nine out of ten drowning deaths occur when a caregiver is supervising, but not paying attention.
“Drowning is a silent event,” said Hazen. “It doesn’t happen like it does on TV. If someone falls in the water, their lungs will fill up with water and they won’t be able to scream. They will sink and you won’t even know it.”
That is why Hazen urges parents and caregivers to always ensure that the person watching children near a body of water is never more than an arm length away and is fully focused on watching the kids without distraction. That means no texting, no cooking dinner while watching the kids from a window, and no drinking cocktails and chatting with friends, he said.
The designated lifeguard should also know how to swim, he said, recalling the story of a nanny who couldn’t save a three-year old who fell into the deep end of a pool because she was unable to swim.
Parents should also ensure that their children can swim and put them in swimming lessons, even as early as 6 months old.
“It used to be start your kids swimming at three or four years old, but now that is changed. We urge parents to look into the best age to send their kids for swimming lessons at any facility, including Saf-T-Swim.”
In addition, Hazen said that pool owners need to ensure that they have safety equipment readily available at the poolside, including a life ring, life jacket, shepherds hook, safety alarm, and proper fencing.
Quick Water Safety Tips for Parents:
- Teach children to never go near any water without an adult.
- Adult supervision without distraction anytime near water. Never leave a child unattended, not even for a minute.
- All children must learn how to swim and float on their back. Caregivers or anyone watching the water should know how to swim as well. Never swim along.
- If a child is missing, check bodies of water first.
- When at the beach, swim near or in lifeguard designated areas only. Always keep your child right in front of you, never more than an arm’s length away.
- Know what a rip current is and how to survive and get out of one. Never turn your back to the ocean.
- Take a boating safety course. When on a boat children must wear a coast guard-approved lifejacket, but all adults on board should wear a lifejacket, as well (lead by example).
- Have an emergency action plan. Are you prepared just in case?
- Do you or caregiver or whoever is watching the pool, at the beach or boating know CPR/First Aid?
- If you own a pool or know someone who does, check for proper safety equipment: Isolation fencing, self-closing/self-latching gates, Shepherds hook, life ring, pool alarms and interior door locks.
For more information, visit the Long Island Drowning Prevention task force at lidptf.org.
