Keeping Kids Safe with Water Safety Tips from @AbbeysHope

Summer is upon us and pools, lakes, water parks and beaches are filled with little ones eager to show off their "swimming" tricks.  In fact, according to Abbey's Hope, a charity dedicated to preventing loss of children's lives due to unintentional drowning,  "drowning is second only to car crashes as the leading cause of unintentional death and injury among children ages 1 to 14 years old. Each year approximately 830 children die as a result of unintentional drowning." 


Abbey's Hope, a charity dedicated to preventing loss of children's lives due to unintentional drowning, offers these fab tips for water safety.

• Take a class in First Aid and CPR (for infants, children, and adults).  Check with your local American Red Cross or American Heart Association.
• Teach your children how to swim. We recommend having your child in swimming lessons by age 4. It is a life skill.
• Teach children how to tread water, float, and get out of the pool.
• For those who are not strong swimmers, coast guard-approved flotation devices should be required. Do not rely on “water wings” or other inflatable toys.
• Be aware that teaching your children to swim with a life jacket on will give them a false sense of security.
• Don’t rely on water wings or other inflatable toys. If your child can’t swim, stay within an arm’s reach.

For more tips, visit http://www.abbeyshope.org/resources-a-education/tips-for-parents

Why Abbey's Hope:

"In 2007, six-year old Abbey Taylor died as a result of injuries received because of an improperly maintained drain in a public wading pool. Abbey sat down on a drain and was eviscerated by the strong drain suction. She endured nine months of hospitalizations and surgeries including several organ transplants. Abbey’s hope was that no child would ever have to suffer as she did as the result of a foreseeable and preventable entrapment or drowning.

In her name and with her HOPE in mind, Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation was formed.  Abbey’s Hope works tirelessly and passionately to raise awareness, educate parents and children about how to safe guard children in and around pools, spas and open bodies of water and advocates for reasonable and practical laws that help make pools, spas and other swimming venues as safe as possible."

Learn More:  Visit www.abbeyshope.org

Do More:  Become a Water Watchdog!


As a Water Watchdog, you agree to: 

• To maintain constant visual contact with the children in your group.
• Not to drink alcohol, talk on the phone, socialize or read while watching children.
• To keep a phone near the water for emergency purposes.
• Remain by the water until relieved by a new Water Watchdog.

Visit Abbey's Hope and take the pledge and become a Water Watchdog





Disclosure:  I recently became a Water Watchdog and am glad to have the opportunity to share these tips and information about the work Abbey's Hope is doing to keep parents informed about water safety.  Click here for the Disclosure Policy of Three Boys and an Old Lady blog.