Wading the Waters: Strategies to teach kids water safety

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - Water safety goes beyond the lakes and rivers across Southwest Virginia. There are also unexpected dangers in everyone’s homes.

Dayna Harvey is a swim instructor and owner of Swim with Miss Dayna. She said nationally there were 18 fatal drownings just in April. Ten of those deaths happened in home pools, but three of them happened in bathtubs.

It takes less than a minute for a drowning to happen and Harvey tells caregivers to put the phone down when kids are near water whether that’s outside or in the bathroom.

She also encourages families to teach their children water safety strategies, because they are naturally attracted to the water.

“It’s something that each individual adult needs to take into their own home. And I mean, we have fire strategies, right? How to get out of our house in case of a fire? How do we keep our kids safe around water? The same things need to apply. Because more children die from drowning than from anything else,” Harvey said.

Those deaths apply to accidental deaths.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends adults be at an arm’s length from a child in the water at all times.

Harvey also stresses everyone should learn CPR in case an emergency happens.

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