Community Health, Keep Watch Program

Information for Parents

Supervise your child

The most important action a parent can do to prevent their child from drowning is to supervise their child at all times. There is no substitute for supervision.

Absence or lack of supervision is a key factor in almost all toddler drownings. Tragically many drownings occur in the few seconds a parent is distracted when answering the phone or the door bell.

This is why the supervision of young children in and around water needs to be constant by an adult who is within arms reach of the child.

The occasional glance whilst reading a magazine or doing the gardening does not constitute an adequate level of supervision. Watching a child through the window from inside the house when they are outside does not constitute adequate levels of supervision.

Supervision needs to be constant and the adult needs to be within in arms reach of the child at all times.

The home swimming pool is the most common site in which drowning occurs for children under the age of five. However, parents need to remember to supervise children around all water locations including nappy buckets, bath tubs, fish ponds, dams, creeks, rivers and water features.

Provide barriers to water locations

Creating a barrier between your child and the body of water is one of the most effective ways of drowning prevention.

Barriers can be either erected around a body of water, for example a fence around the home swimming pool or surrounding the child through the creation of a ‘safe play area’.

A safe play area is important because it is not always possible to fence or restrict access to certain bodies of water, for example dams and rivers. By creating safe play areas you are providing somewhere for your child to play that is absent from potentially dangerous water locations.

Home swimming pool owners should ensure that their pool barriers are compliant with pool fencing regulations regardless of whether they have young children in their residence.

The fence should be maintained and checked on a regular basis making sure it is self closing and self latching. Under no circumstances should the gate be propped open.

For more information on pool fencing check out the following sites:
www.poolsafety.com.au

This site provides details regarding industry standards, best practice guidelines and State legislation regarding safety in aquatic environments. Produced by Royal Life Saving's Safety Services department.

www.dhw.wa.gov.au

This site contains Rules for Pools - Guidelines for the interpretation of swimming pool fencing requirements. Produced by the Department of Housing and Works with assistance from Royal Life Saving.

Children under the age of one most frequently drown in bath tubs or buckets, therefore parents should ensure that bathroom and laundry doors should be closed and water should always be emptied out of the bathtub when not in use.

Although creating a barrier between the water and your child is an effective way to prevent a drowning, there is no substitute for supervision.

Familiarise your child with water

Learning water familiarisation skills can
be fun for both the parent and child.
Enrolling your child in an infant aquatics
class is a great way for your child to develop water confidence and instilling safe water practices.

For more information on infant aquatics check out the Swim and Survive section on our website.

Parents need to be aware that water familiarisation classes are exactly that. These programs do not aim to teach children how to swim.

Basic water familiarisation can also be taught in the home, whether it be in the pool or during bath time. To help your child become familiar with water Royal Life Saving's Aquastart program can be followed in your home swimming pool or spa.

Remember water familiarisation skills are no substitute for adult supervision.

Learn Resuscitation

Royal Life Saving believes that every parent should know how to resuscitate. In the event of an emergency, the proper knowledge and skills held by a parent could save a life.

We encourage all parents, family members and carers to enrol in a Heart Beat Club today.

A Heart Beat Club is a 3 hour resuscitation workshop that provides instruction in a friendly atmosphere. All you need to do is get 10 people together at $15 each ($150 per group) and we provide the rest. Heart Beat Clubs can be held at a venue of your choice for your convenience.

For further information on Heart Beat Clubs and other first aid and resuscitation courses check out the RISE (Recreation Industry Skills Education) website www.rise.com.au or call Royal Life Saving.

Like any other skills, resuscitation skills need to be practiced and should be updated annually.

Baby Bath Aids

Tragically babies have drowned in bath aids in Australia. These drownings happen when a child is left alone in a bath aid while their parent or carer attends tasks such as answering the phone or preparing the child's clothes.

Baby bath aids provide support to the child leaving the parent's hands free to wash the child. However, baby bath aids are not substitutes for adult supervision and children should never be left alone or in the care of an older sibling whilst in the bath.

All new baby bath aids are required to carry the following warning:

WARNING – Children have DROWNED while using bath aids.
This is NOT a safety device.
ALWAYS keep baby within arm's reach.
NEVER leave baby in care of children.

For further information on water safety for young children visit www.keepwatch.com.au