DNR offers water safety tips for summer

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DNR offers water safety tips for summer
(Released July 22, 2010)


Hot summer weather continues in Minnesota, and families are enjoying summer vacations that include long weekends at the beach or pool. Unfortunately, as cool and refreshing as it may look, water can be dangerous.

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“Everyone wants to have a little fun in the water, so they head to the lake,” said Tim Smalley, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) boat and water safety specialist. “But people need to remember that even though water is fun, it can be deadly to the careless, the uninformed, or the just plain unlucky individual.”
Adults should always be within arms length of young children who are near water. Photo credit: Explore Minnesota.
A person can drown in as few as ten seconds and drowning can occur in just inches of water — including wading pools, hot tubs and even buckets.

The DNR offers these tips to help make it a safer summer in Minnesota:

Swim in a designated swimming area with lifeguards whenever possible. Parents need to watch their own children because lifeguards aren’t babysitters and can’t watch every person at once.
Take swimming lessons and make sure children do too. Many local parks and recreation departments, community schools and the American Red Cross offer swimming lessons, even for adults.  
Swim with a buddy. Even adults can get into trouble in the water and if no one is there to help, they may drown.
Watch children carefully at the beach, pool or anytime they are near the water. Children can slip away without you noticing and they are unable to cry out for help while they are drowning. People who are reading a book, chatting with friends or on the cell phone, may not be watching children closely enough.
Don’t rely on plastic arm “floaties,” or water toys to save a child’s life. Those items may slip off or deflate. The only flotation device a child should be using is a U.S. Coast Guard- approved life vest. Recently approved children’s models include bathing suits with life vests built in.
Learn to recognize what drowning looks like. Drowning often occurs within minutes, and often in areas where others are nearby to help but are unaware of the signs of distress. A drowning person usually is silent, has their head tipped back, and bobs up and down in a playful-looking manner.
So far this year (as of July 22), Minnesota has had 12 non-boat-related drownings. That compares to an average of 21 such drownings per year over the last 10 years.


Caption: Adults should always be within arms length of young children who are near water. Photo credit: Explore Minnesota.




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