Winter Water Safety Tips

The holiday season represents the highest probability of distractions and breakdown of normal supervision routines. The following winter water safety tips are a reminder to help families protect their young children as they travel this holiday season.

Winter Water Safety Tips

1.Constant Eyes On (CEO) Supervision - Never turn your back on your child around water. It takes just seconds for him/her to be in serious trouble. Segment the supervision responsibilities so there are never questions about which adult is responsible for watching the child and be aware of the distractions unique to the winter months: holiday parties, house guests, etc.
2.Educate Others - When traveling to relatives' and friends' homes, they may not understand the importance of keeping gates closed, doors locked, closing toilet seats, emptying buckets, etc. Visiting family, holiday parties and celebrations can lead to breakdowns in routine supervision and effective barriers to the water. If a child is missing, look for him or her in the pool or spa first.
3. Decoration Hazards - Decorations and lights can pose problems with young children around the house and water. Watch for lights and electrical cords around water, make sure no outside decorations provide a means for a child to climb over a fence or open a locked gate.
4. Maintain Pools in the Winter - Keep pools well-maintained with clear water even if it is too cold to swim. If someone falls in, they can be seen and be helped faster. Pool covers need to be drained of accumulated rain water and free of debris. Ensure any pool and spa you use has compliant drain covers, and ask your pool service provider if you do not know.
5. Hot Tubs - Install and use a lockable safety cover on your spa. Supervision must be one adult per child due to the high temperatures and turbulence of the water in a hot tub. When young children are in the hot tub, keep the temperature below 90 degrees Fahrenheit and limit exposure to less than ten minutes.
6. Fencing - Install a four-foot or taller fence around the pool and spa, use self-closing and self-latching gates; ask your neighbors to do the same at their pools.
7. Survival Swimming Lessons – The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states, “lessons may actually reduce the risk in drowning for children ages 1-4 years old.” Infant Swimming Resource goes beyond traditional swimming instruction, by teaching children aquatic survival skills designed to help them survive should they reach the water alone.

Read more: Swimming Resources

What's New With Kidtastics

Summer Is Coming To An End But Kidtastics Is Offering Tons Of Fun...Click Here
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FREE CPR CLASS- August 27, 2011

FREE CPR CLASS- August 27, 2011 from 10:30am-1:30pm at Windgate Ranch Community Center- 10095 E. Windgate Ranch Rd Scottsdale 85255.

Kidtastics is trying to help prevent drownings so we are offering a FREE CPR class.

Infant & child CPR class is free. This free class is for participation only, however a $10 fee will apply if you would like a CPR certification card. Please RSVP to 480-994-5437, must register in advance and space is limited to 12 adults.

Future CPR certification classes are scheduled for ($25 fee applies for these classes):
September 24th @ 9am-12pm- Windgate Ranch Community Center
November 5th @ 9am-12pm- Fireside Community Center

Independents Week- Local Business Discounts

Local First Arizona (which supports locally owned businesses throughout AZ) is having Independents Week from June 17th-July 4th and is offering a "Golden Coupon" worth 20% off at certain businesses. Show your support for locally owned businesses by participating in Independents Week. Participating businesses can be found here.

Or find our listing for 20% off by clicking here.

Water Safety- what parents & caregivers need to know

I read a great article today about reminding parents and caregivers how to make sure their children are water safe. It's a MUST read.
Review it for your child's safety and then make a list of pool rules for your home and ALWAYS enforce them; even for the children who are 1.5 yrs old. You can start teaching your child water safety at an early age by asking them yes or no questions about the rules. For example, "Are you suppose to go in the pool without an adult?" They answer "no" or shake their head no. Educating kids early about water safety is a successful way to prevent water accidents.

Kidtastics has a list of common pool rules that will aid you when creating your home pool rules.

KIDTASTICS POOL RULES
1. Don’t open the door to go outside
2. Don’t swim alone- must be with an adult
3. Don’t open the gate/ net – only adults are allowed to open them
4. Don’t leave pool toys in the pool
5. Always count 1-2-3 before jumping in or going underwater
6. Don’t push anyone in the pool
7. No running around the pool
8. Don’t jump or dive in shallow end
9. If you cannot swim to the side of the pool then float on your back
10. Don’t jump on the steps
11. Jump out to the middle of the pool when jumping in
12. Tell an adult before trying a flip turn
13. Make sure no one is under the diving board or slide before jumping in
14. Only 1 person on diving board at a time
15. Only go down the water slide if water is on the slide and an adult is watching
16. If you fall off the step you must swim back to the step
17. No climbing on the fountains or jumping off the rocks
18. No pushing anyone underwater
19. Always have adult supervision
20. Never jump into save someone even if they’re smaller then you – use a life saver. In case of emergency call 9-1-1.

Call Kidtastics today for swim lessons to get your child water safe in and around water. 480-994-5437.

Pool Safety Rules

Pool Safety is ALWAYS important. At Kidtastics, we try to make sure our swim kids know all their pool rules. Rules very from home to home, due to physical attributes of the home and the pool. Things like if the pool has a barrier or not, a fence or a net, water fall, diving board, etc... are reasons that each pool requires custom rules and parents need to review the pool rules every time their child enters the water or pool area. Listen to a view of our favorite kids telling Kidtastics the pool rules. So cute!!!

Call us for some addition pool rules your child needs to know. 480-994-KIDS.

CPSC Announces Pool and Spa Kids Safety Education Effort

This video outlines the steps that help save lives at the pool or spa. Remember you never know which step will save a life until it does so add as many as possible to your safe pool practices.

This is a great educational video for all adults with or without kids. It's important to be part of your community and help spread the safe pool practices.

If you're family members need swim lesson Kidtastics can help. Contact us 480-994-KIDS

Seventh Annual “Drowning Impact Awareness Month” - August

Arizona ranks second in the nation for child drownings, and summer months bring increased incidents. So far this year, there have been 12 fatalities in Maricopa County. It's a tragedy that knows no bounds and it is completely preventable.

For the sixth year, the Water Watchers program, led by Phoenix Children's Hospital along with Arizona fire departments and local businesses are recognizing August as Drowning Impact Awareness Month.

Since Drowning Impact Awareness Month first began in August of 2004, more than 125,000 purple ribbons have been distributed. Purple ribbons remind us of the impact of every drowning and near-drowning upon the victim, as well as family members, friends, emergency personnel, and the entire community. Purple ribbons also remind us to take steps to be water-safe in our own neighborhoods.

Purple ribbons are free to the community.
To request purple ribbons, you can e-mail ldieu@phoenixchildrens.com, or pick up purple ribbons at one of these locations:
Phoenix Children's Hospital locations(ribbons on the main campus can be found at the main entrance, emergency department, Emily Center, gift shop, NICU, Community Outreach, Foundation, and cafeteria).

This year, the campaign will include:
*More than 40,000 purple ribbons already distributed to supporters statewide.
*Formal proclamations signed by Governor Brewer and Mayors across the state, many presented at local Council meetings.
*More than 1,153 purple ribbons tied in the trees in front of Phoenix Children’s Hospital, to represent the number of children involved in water related incidents in Maricopa County since January of 2000.
*Banners and signs, donated and produced by SRP Safety Connection, hanging in public safety buildings, libraries, La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores, and YMCA’s throughout Maricopa County.
*Involvement, support and educational events from businesses, schools, and the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona.

Why do it?
*To recognize the impact of each drowning and near-drowning on family, friends, emergency personnel, and our community.
*To increase discussion about drowning and share prevention information that can avert future water-related incidents for Valley kids.

What you can do:
*Wear purple awareness ribbons.
*Include water safety information in existing newsletters and marketing information.
*Educate yourself on water safety.
*Incorporate Drowning Impact Awareness into activities throughout August.
*Encourage water safety discussions.
*Spread the word about existing efforts for maximum attention and support.

This information is brought to you by http://www.phoenixchildrens.com/about/spotlight-stories/diam/

Facts About Accidental Drownings – Hot Tubs

We’ve just learned of some very sad news: on June 30, the 2½ year old son of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunnungham died after drowning in the hot tub of the family’s backyard. There are many reports of accidental drownings especially during the summer months; in Phoenix, there have already been 5 fatalities. What you may not hear as often as pool safety is hot tub safety, so we’d like to share some information and drowning prevention tips specific to owners of hot tubs:

•An average of about 17 kids under age 5 drown in spas each year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Approximately 70% of child drownings occur even though one or both parents are nearby, according to the commission.
•Hot tubs pose a number of safety dangers for kids, experts say. To prevent drowning, people should install a fence, gate or barrier around the hot tub area, and keep tubs covered and locked when not in use, according to Nationwide Children's Hospital's Center for Injury Research and Policy in Columbus, Ohio.
•Children should not be allowed in hot tubs at all, the center's experts suggest. That's because children have thinner skins than adults, so they burn more quickly and at lower temperatures. Kids' bodies also heat up three to five times faster than adults', according to Safe Kids USA.
•To prevent falls -- the most common cause of hot tub-related injury, people should place slip-resistant mats around it. People also should cover suction drains with covers that meet new federal standards that took effect in 2008.

(From USA Today)

Kidtastics urges you to read our other posts regarding water safety and ensure that your child develops the skills necessary to stay safe in and around water. If you have yet to sign up for one of our upcoming semesters of swimming lessons, there are still spots available. Please call us at 480-994-KIDS(5437) to enroll.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Cunningham family.

Safety FIRST

Our swimming lessons are meant to be fun, but our deepest commitment is to ensure that children are learning how to stay safe and swim on their own.
Similarly, we want our parents to know the importance of water safety. Drownings often occur because of errors in judgment, such as leaving the pool gates open and leaving a child unattended in the water. There has already been 7 drownings reported in the Phoenix area. We agree with local fire departments in urging parents to keep diligent practices in pool safety (see article http://www.kold.com/global/story.asp?s=12606677).

In addition to basic safety measures, we also recommend that at least one specific adult be designated to monitor children in the pool and REMAIN focused on that specific task ONLY. This is especially important when there are many children present and the adults want to socialize with each other or are being distracted by other tasks.

That’s why in our Swim Fins Fun Pack (given to each child at semester end) you will find a safety whistle for parents. This whistle lets everyone know that you are in charge of the supervision, and if for any reason you need to attend to something else, you will pass off the whistle to another adult. Our hope is that this will help to keep safety in the forefront of parents’ minds while their children are enjoying swimming this summer.

Swim but be safe!

Water safety and drowning prevention

I was reading an article today that was released last month and I think it a great article for all parents to read. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released a statement about DROWNING PREVENTION. The article explains that swimming lessons are helpful to prevent drownings, but no matter what age you are you have to be careful around pools and water. Safety should always be considered number one, especially for parents with toddlers. The Doctor in the article summarizes the importance of water safety by saying the following: "Children need to learn to swim," Dr. Weiss said. "But even advanced swimming skills cannot 'drown-proof' a child of any age. Parents must also closely supervise their children around water and know how to perform CPR. A four-sided fence around the pool is essential."

KIDTASTICS believes in the same philosophy as the Doctor. We love teaching children to swim it's rewarding for kids to accomplish new skills, get exercise while having fun, and is an important & valuable skill to have for a lifetime. But this activity, more than others, needs constant supervision. We ask parents, family members, friends, and neighbors to listen and watch for any person in need of assistant in a pool. Help protect our community from future water accidents by listening and watching out for dangerous water situation. If you possibly see or hear someone in water danger (despite if you know them or not) please intervene quickly and politely to find out if your assumption is correct or not. As an Arizona community we need to help protect others from water accidents since our state has always led in the number of water accidents. I hope by sharing this article everyone who reads it will learn something new.

At KIDTASTICS, we are here to help the community prevent water accidents by offering LIFEGUARD SERVICES. We’ll come to your home to help watching children in and around the water so everyone can have a safe and fun time. Contact us at 480-994-KIDS for lifeguards. You can take a look at the article yourself by following the link below: AAP GIVES UPDATED ADVICE ON DROWNING PREVENTION