We talked about water safety

Because it is hot and sunny and summery here we talked about children and water safety at playgroup today.

Unfortunately the number of people drowning in Australia has increased, for the third year in a row, making us realize that we all have a part to play in preventing drowning. Children are at greatest risk when they are toddlers and need constant supervision around water to have fun and be safe.

We talked about basic safety around water and pools and CPR and made sure everyone knew the emergency number 000. The most important thing we decided was to only allow your child near a pool if you are able to stay and supervise.

We talked about active supervision and how it means focusing all of your attention on your children all of the time, when they are in, on or around the water and how mobile phone use can distract us from active supervision.

We used the Kidsafe Swimming Pool Safety sheet.
The Royal Life Saving Society has many fact sheets on water awareness, bath time safety, home water safety, wading pools, pool toy safety and resuscitation. They also have resources on water safety in Chinese, Arabic and Vietnamese.