Let’s reverse that line from Game of Thrones… Summer is coming!
It might not have look liked it earlier this week as I walked in the rain back and forth to meetings. However, summer is coming!
With summer on its way, it is important to remember water safety as we head into this season of outdoor fun. May is National Water Safety Month and we need the friendly reminders about keeping ourselves and our families safe.
This also brings me back to the early days of my career teaching water safety programs to third graders in the Seattle area. I taught swimming lessons for nearly 20 years before hanging my suit up to dry. Safety is why I got into the business and why I believe in so much of what the Y does.
Because of this background, it pains me every time I see a story of a child drowning. Especially the cases where there are adults who might be present but not vigilant. Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death for children from 1 – 4 years old. We should be better!
There are a number of reasons that adults lose our concentration around water. We have that moment when we are thinking about something else. Or that moment, when we are just thankful for the few minutes that they are quiet and don’t look to see why that is. Or those moments, when kids are kids and think that body of water is something I should play in without telling an adult what they are doing.
Some quick and helpful hints that we as adults should remember:
- Constant adult supervision around water – Sounds easy but is so quickly not.
- Phones down and eyes up while around water – I make that sound easier than it is but a life could depend on it.
- Learn to swim – It’s ok for an adult to not know how to swim or be nervous around water. We can help with that at the YMCA.
- Teach your kids to swim – the same reason above.
- Wear your lifejacket and tell your kids to wear one too – When I taught swimming, I would tell the kids that this was like their seat belt that they wore in the car. Would you drive your car without your seat belt? Would you allow your child not to wear theirs? Same idea. (Fun story – Had a parent come to me and tell me that his kids wouldn’t get into their family boat until he put his lifejacket on. The idea sunk in and he didn’t!)
- Take a CPR Class – We are partial to the American Red Cross classes and teach them at the Y. However, any of them are better than none and for one evening of busyness, you can save a life if something goes wrong.
- Finally, and most importantly, Reach and Throw and Don’t Go – Too many people drown because they were trying to save someone who was drowning. Do a reaching assist, throw a floatation device, but don’t go and get them unless you have received lifeguard training and even then, without all the specialty equipment that lifeguards use today, that is questionable.
Safety is a skill set. As with all skills set, practice makes perfect. However, we need to speed the transfer of these skills sooner to keep people safe.
Let’s make this the safest summer ever!
Steve Smith, President and CEO
Posted on: May 23, 2025