Homeowners urged to check their pool and spa barriers to help reduce/prevent toddler drowning rates.
Kidsafe’s annual ‘Safe Barriers Save Lives’ campaign calls on all homeowners to ‘help save a life’ by checking their pool and spa barriers in the lead up to the warm summer months.
According to Royal Life Saving Society of Australia, swimming pools are one of the most common locations where these incidents account for 32% of all toddler drownings.
Campaign ambassador and Australian Olympic swimming champion, Matt Welsh OAM, knows the benefits that learning to swim and growing up around water can provide for children. As a father of six, he also acknowledges the risks that swimming pools and spas can pose if strategies aren’t put in place to help keep children safe.
“It’s important to check that barriers and gates are in good working order as we head into the warmer months – particularly as many of us will be spending more time in and around the backyard pool this summer. By doing so, you could save a child’s life.”
“Toddlers are attracted to water, yet don’t understand the dangers it can pose. They can drown quickly and silently – a split second is all it takes for them to gain unsupervised access to the water area and find themselves in trouble”, said Mr Welsh.
Bath Time Swim Lessons
Bath time swimming lessons for 2, 3, and 4 year old children. Similar lessons suitable for babies will be released soon. The bath sessions reinforce the importance of supervision but also include swimming skills to support children’s learn to swim journey. Bath time sessions can also run alongside formal learn to swim lessons to enhance children’s confidence and skill level.
Learn To Swim in The Spring
For those families who are able to access learn to swim lessons ‘Kids Alive’ want to showcase the National Swimming and Water Safety Benchmarks. They’ve have put together a range of videos to showcase some of the skills every Australian at the age of 6 years should be able to achieve.
Click here to access the video links.
