NEWS SERVICE 5/11/88
YOUTH SAFETY--DROWNING

With warmer weather and school out, children and their families are around water more, increasing the chances for drowning and water associated injuries. One of the best ways of preventing drowning in children is to teach them to swim.

Children can be taught to swim before they are five. The major reason many do not learn is that the opportunity is not thereno pool, no beach and no available instruction. While many children do learn on their own, instruction makes the process quicker.

Learning to swim in pools is probably best, but many pool- swimming children have trouble at ocean beaches and in rivers and lakes. Few pools are so wide that you can swim far enough from the side to be too tired to get somewhere else where you can rest. In the ocean, lakes and rivers this distance problem is compounded by waves, currents and tides making swimming harder. There is also a chance of taking an ill-timed breath and struggling for air as well as to stay afloat.

Add to the beach and river safety the problem of murky water preventing parents from seeing children who go under and these conditions make for one of the most dangerous recreational situations that families can engage in. Parents should take turns watching children at ocean, lake, or river beaches and never turn the safety of their children over completely to a life guard who may have hundreds of other people to watch. Safety of a child in the water is the parents' responsibility and nobody else's.--Jerry Reyburn

Source: Jerry Reyburn

Keywords: 4-H, ACCIDENT, AG-INFORMATION-NEWS-PUBS, CHILD, NEWS, SAFETY,

SWIMMING, WATER, YOUTH

תתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתThe National Dairy Database (1992)תתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתת תתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתת\NDB\OCCSAFE\TEXT2\958תתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתתת

%f TITLE;YOUTH SAFETY DROWNING WITH WARMER WEATHER %f COLLECTION;FARM AND OPERATOR SAFETY
%f ORIGIN;Pennsylvania
%f DATE_INCLUDED;June 1992