ALERT to families with children

I just wanted to launch a message before the school holiday season starts, to keep your children safe when they are at swimming pools this summer.

Schools are getting to the end of term and the long waited holiday season is upon us and our children can finally enjoy the long awaited summer. Many of you might be taking holidays abroad or somewhere in the UK, or maybe already have your place booked on a cruise. All these places may have more than one thing in common, but most commonly a swimming pool. Many sad accidents happen every year we don’t even hear about but where there is an unattended pool there is danger. In most places and holiday resorts you will see a life guard by the pool but if there isn’t one make sure there is an adult to supervise children playing by the pool in the vicinity.  Kids can drown in even a few inches of water. A similar experience happened to myself as a child. I was playing with the ball in knee length water when I tripped over and somehow i completely lost orientation and I couldn’t get up, luckily my uncle was there playing with us and i still remember him pulling me out by my arm and of course a telling off. I realize now how lucky i was that day! But it’s not the case for the several misfortunes I hear across the globe and particularly on cruise ships. Unfortunately, there is no regulation for cruise ships to have Life guards guarding their swimming pools and i think this is a long due needed regulation and I really hope cruise companies wake up and start doing something about it. After all it’s not the regulations that should make them realize how much needed is the surveillance by swimming pools. With ships getting bigger, activities are becoming more thrilling. You can even find aqua parks on board some of the bigger liners, here’s what they look like.

So, make water safety your priority:

• Never let anyone swim alone
• Maintain constant supervision
• Only let you children in pools if you can swim yourself and don’t trust other children for supervision
• If you go boating, wear a life jacket! Most boating fatalities occur from drowning.
• Be cautious of currents and cold temperatures as they can become hazards.
• Avoid alcohol use. Alcohol impairs judgment, balance and coordination affects swimming and diving skills and reduces the body’s ability to stay warm
• Prevent unsupervised access to water, also keep toys that are not in use away from the pool and out of sight. Toys can attract young children to the pool.
• Think ahead and know what to do in case of an emergency