You don’t have to look far for a drowning story. In June alone, several stories hit the headlines: a British five-year-old drowned in a hotel pool in Cyprus; a Russian boy died on holiday in Antalya, Turkey; and Cally Simpson, a Scottish four-year-old, is on life support in Spain after being found at the bottom of a hotel pool. Her painful story is being told via the Facebook site ‘Saving Cally Simpson’.
Looking at the picture of Cally, wired to machines as her desperate mother bends over her, wraps a cold hand around our hearts because most parents know it could be their child. Almost everyone has had one of those freefall moments when you realise a child in your group is under the water, often within arm’s reach.
Mostly, they are spotted and there’s a happy ending. But if a child is under water for more than two minutes, it’s a very different story. Even if the child does not die, oxygen starvation can result in severe neurological damage.
Drowning is the third highest cause of accidental death worldwide and the number one in the US for children under 12. In the Netherlands, for every drowning 140 children are hospitalised for near-drowning and many more go to accident and emergency, meaning that the deaths are only the tip of the iceberg.
Malta is currently ranked ninth place in the EU for drownings among children under 19. Those most at risk are boys aged between 10 and 19. The World Health Organisation suggests that this is because they tend to take risks such as: “Swimming at night, boating without life-jackets, swimming alone, and drinking alcohol before swimming or boating. About every third young drowning victim is under the influence of alcohol.”
The truth is, we already know how dangerous water can be, yet drownings keep happening. So we need to teach our kids how to swim as soon as they are able. But that’s not enough. More than half of British children who drowned on holiday could actually swim. There are also some concrete safety steps we can take that would reduce this swift and silent killer lurking in our pools and seas. Here’s how to keep water activities fun and safe this summer.
When to start swimming lessons
• There is some debate about when children should learn to swim. The American Association of Paediatrics (AAP) used to say that children are only developmentally ready for formal swimming at the age of four and that until then, parents should just teach water safety and get them accustomed to being in the water through songs and games. It was thought that learning to swim earlier gave children (and parents) a false sense of security around water.
However, a US study in 2009 found an 88 per cent decrease in drowning when children under four took lessons (although strict supervision around water is still essential for all children).
The sample size was relatively small for the study but even so, the AAP amended its advice to say that children can safely take lessons from the age of one (they still don’t recommend it before that, and some studies have shown that regardless of when you start, most children learn to swim well at around the age of five to six). Not everyone agrees, and the debate will no doubt continue to rage.
The bottom line is that the right time to start learning to swim will depend on you and your child. Younger children can have a lot of fun in the water preparing to swim through games and songs, but by age four they should start learning how to tread water, float, jump in and get themselves to the side, and basic freestyle stroke. It’s an ongoing process that will take time. Lessons should be short, no longer than 30 minutes, and regular lessons (once or twice a week) are better than intensive courses with long gaps in-between.
Floaters
• Floatation devices are also surprisingly divisive. The online swimming lesson forum Uswim.com says: “Anything that encourages an upright (vertical) body position only slows down the learning process. Children need to learn the habit of placing their eyes into the water, creating a horizontal body position when swimming from where they can paddle to safety. We caution against using them every time your child swims to the point where they depend on them.”
There’s also a danger that your child gets used to floating with arm bands when they are in the water. If they jump or fall in without them, they’ll instantly sink. They may also cause parents to be less vigilant.
However, if you are watching multiple children, they could be a lifesaver if you get distracted for a second. Newer versions don’t have to be inflated and the discs give the child better posture in the water.
When it comes to boating, kayaking and so on, proper life jackets are an absolute must.
Where to learn to swim in Malta
• The Tal-Qroqq National Swimming Pool near the university holds summer swimming courses for beginners, intermediate and advanced swimmers. Membership and individual admission are reasonably priced. See www.sportmalta.org.mt for details. There are also a number of private classes including www.gigglensplash.com, www.swimkidz.eu, www.swimmingworkshop.com and www.edenleisure.com/mumsclub.
The right time to start learning to swim will depend on you and your child
Keep your eye on the water
• Simply put, it’s essential to have an adult responsible for children at all times. That means having one person give the kids their full attention (no texting, no surfing the web, no magazines) while they are in the water. You also need to keep infants and toddlers within arm’s reach.
Designate a water watcher
• When there are multiple adults around, it’s easy to think that someone else is watching the kids. Give someone a card that identifies them as the watcher and then rotate regularly so that people don’t lose concentration.
Teach respect for the sea
• Kids need to know that swimming in the sea is not the same as a pool. Make them aware of currents, undertow, waves and weather conditions and teach them to go in only when an adult is present.
Fence home and holiday villa swimming pools
• It’s been proven that drownings are higher in neighbourhoods with a lot of residential pools, but fencing reduces the likelihood by 95 per cent. Fencing should be 1.2m high with self-closing and latching gates. It’s simple, cheap and effective, especially if you train everyone to close the gates. Don’t let fencing languish at the bottom of the to-do list. www.poolsafetymalta.com and www.facebook.com/Protect-AChildPoolFenceMalta offer fencing services.
Learn CPR
• No matter how many safety layers you put in place, accidents can still happen. So learn what to do, just in case. www.stjohnambulancemalta.com offers courses for €40 per person.