Latest news with #drowningPrevention
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Officials encourage safety on East Texas lakes after recent drownings
TYLER, Texas (KETK) – Lake Tyler Marina owner Brent Allen is ready for summer visitors but he wants people to take the steps to make sure everyone has a fun and safe day at the lake. Two children drown in Henderson County lake after boat loses power 'This has absolutely been the worst year on in recent memory for accidents on lakes in East Texas,' Allen said. In Henderson County, two young children drowned after getting trapped underneath their capsized boat and a 43-year-old man also drowned while swimming to his floatation device. 'We've answered to a number of different water-related incidents, all of them very tragic,' Smith County Emergency Services District 2 Assistant Chief Charles Clanton said. Smith county emergency service district 2 said it's important to always keep a life jacket on and have extras on hand. 'Having throwables very close by and ready to deploy in the event that someone is overboard or some type of an emergency occurs,' Clanton said. Anyone on kayaks and paddle boards, he recommends staying in safe areas and creating a plan for how to get back on their craft if they fall or flip over. Another piece of advice is to keep a whistle and light on these vessels. 'Everything from light to sound devices, whether it be a whistle or horn or whatever, something to get attention and to get assistance,' Clanton said. Another issue the summer season presents is pop-up showers where, in just minutes, the lake can go from sunny and clear to rainy and choppy after rain starts pouring. 'Put a little wind on the water and create some waves, very dangerous situation,' Clanton said. 'You have to think about that and be prepared for it.' For families swimming on the shoreline, he recommended having someone watching the water so everyone at the lake can enjoy the cool waters safely. 'A profound sense of awareness is so important and really keeping an eye on those that are a high probability to have issues, small kids, maybe those that are elderly and disabled,' Clanton said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Goldfish Swim School encourages early swim lessons to prevent drownings
AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — Goldfish Swim School in Amherst is joining a global effort to raise awareness about swim safety as part of The World's Largest Swim Lesson, an annual drowning prevention event. The school offers free lessons to local families while sharing water safety tips. General Manager Nick Patterson said starting children in swimming lessons as early as four months old is critical. 'That's why we open our doors at four months old and continue up to 12 years,' Patterson said. 'Getting kids involved in the water early means that by age one to four, they're able to swim on their own, without floaties of course, with parent supervision.' According to Patterson, drowning is the leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 4. He said lessons can reduce the risk by 88 percent. Instructors teach practical life-saving skills, including the 'sea otter back float,' which helps children float and breathe if they find themselves struggling in the water. 'All they need to do is roll over to their back so they can get that rescue breath and continue swimming to safety,' Patterson said. Children are also taught how to safely exit the pool using a technique called the 'fin-fin belly flipper.' 'It's grabbing the wall with both arms, putting their belly against the wall, and guiding their leg out of the water to push them up to safety,' he said. Beyond physical safety, Patterson said early swimming education helps build confidence in the water, especially for families where parents never learned to swim themselves. 'A lot of parents bring their kids here because they grew up scared of the water and don't want that for their children,' Patterson said. The school also recommends parents dress their children in bright-colored swimsuits for visibility and ensure they wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket near open water. Whether heading to the pool, lake, or any body of water this summer, experts say ensuring your child can swim is one of the best ways to keep them safe. For more information on swim classes, click here. Gwyn Napier is a reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of her work by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The colour of your child's swimsuit could help keep them safe in the pool or at the lake — and prevent drownings. Here's what experts say
The Canada Day long weekend is almost here, and with school officially over, many families are getting ready to kick off summer break with some outdoor fun. Lots of us might look forward to spending time by the pool, taking a dip in the lake or cooling off by the beach, meaning water safety is always a top-of-mind concern. Tragic accidents can take seconds to happen — and, oftentimes, can be silent. According to the World Health Organization, around 300,000 people worldwide die each year by drowning, and the majority of those impacted are children. A 2024 report by Ontario's Lifesaving Society indicated 97 per cent of drowning cases for kids under five years old were caused by a lack of supervision or supervisors becoming distracted. Although fencing off pool areas, wearing life jackets and having supervision are key, the colour of your child's swimsuit can play a role in keeping them safe in the water. A 2021 study by ALIVE Solutions Inc., an organization which focuses on aquatic safety, noted certain colours lose visibility when submerged in different bodies of water. That can make detecting activity and potential drownings harder for parents and lifeguards. The company put different colours of swimsuits to the test to see how each appears when submerged in dark- and light-bottomed pools. Each suit was photographed first when submerged in water and again to show how the colour appears underwater with surface agitation. "Our bottom two colours are white and light blue (check out how they disappear) and our top choices would be neon pink and neon orange," ALIVE Solutions wrote in a 2021 Facebook post. "Although the darker colours show up on a light pool bottom, they can often be dismissed for a pile of leaves, dirt or a shadow, so I tend to stay away from those colours when possible." Results became even more troubling when the same test was conducted in lake water. ALIVE submerged the same colour swimsuits in 18 inches (0.5 metres) of lake water and found that even some of their high-visibility colours in pools, like neon pink, all but disappeared. Neon green, orange and yellow performed well, but blues, greens and black had the lowest visibility. "Also remember, the bright and contrasting colours help visibility, but it doesn't matter what colours your kids are wearing if you aren't supervising effectively and actively watching," the company added. In 2023, ALIVE Solution furthered its testing by looking at the impact of both small- and large-print patterns on visibility. The group found neon colours were still ideal, even with large or small patterns, but large, dark patterns impacted visibility. "Having a background as an aquatic operator and lifeguard, I know that certain colours are easier to see than others and also how challenging water can be to see through," Natalie Livingston, ALIVE Solutions' co-founder, said in a 2020 interview with TODAY. "I started to notice this personally with what my kids wore in different water environments and wanted to test the colours in different conditions so we could increase visibility as much as possible." While there's no recent national data available, data reveals drowning cases are on the rise in Ontario, with 48 per cent of drowning incidents occurring in lakes or open water. Separate research indicated equally troubling information for children in Quebec. According to a study by Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons, an average of nearly one child a day goes to the emergency room in Quebec for a drowning or near-drowning related incident in the summer months. Dr. Hussein Wissanji, a pediatric surgeon at Montreal Children's Hospital, presented his findings last year ahead of summer in an effort to prevent injuries and fatalities that could occur later that season. His research noted a majority of drowning incidents for children under age four occurred in pools that were not properly fenced. "Having seen some of these families in the emergency department, it is probably one of the worst days of their life when they're coming in the ambulance for their child who just had a near-drowning," Wissanji told the Canadian Press. Parents should maintain constant, uninterrupted supervision of their children while they're in the water. Moreover, consider having your child wear a suitable personal floatation device and have four-sided enclosures on their pool areas to prevent drowning incidents.
CBS News
26-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
With kids flocking to pools amid heat wave, this Pennsylvania swim club is offering free swim lessons
Kids are flocking to the pools as the Philadelphia area continues to experience a heat wave, making water safety even more important. At Nile Swim Club in Yeadon, a free swim program is underway to teach kids the skills to conquer their fears of water and stay safe in the pool. Haalah Cunningham, 11, was at the swim club, learning how to swim for the first time. "It's definitely important to me because most of my friends have pools and I love going over their houses like being in their pools and if I can't swim, I really can't do much," she said. Haalah joined several other kids taking lessons as part of the swim club's No Child Will Drown in Our Town swim program. It's a free 10-day class that teaches kids how to swim. Haalah's mom says making sure her daughter knew how to swim was a priority for her this summer. "Making sure [my kids] are safe and able to help themselves if they ever get in trouble in the water is very important to me," said Sanayy Miller, the mother of Haalah Cunningham. With more kids flocking to the pools during this heat wave, water safety is even more important. According to the CDC, drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 through 4. It's also an issue that disproportionately affects kids of color "Everyone is drawn to the pool, everyone wants to swim but when you don't know how to swim it can become a very dangerous place," said Lisa Marie Ivory, president of Nile Swim Club. Ivory is fighting to change those numbers, and it's been a part of the club's mission for decades. The club opened in 1959 after its founders were denied access to a local pool during segregation. Ivory and the club's work continues to be focused on making sure all kids know how to swim. "We want our kids to have all the same opportunities that all the other children have had. And it's really important to us that kids in Pennsylvania, not just here in the area of the swim club, learn how to swim," she said. Nile Swim Club's No Child Will Drown in Our Town swim program continues into July. If you're interested and want to sign up, you can find more information on the club's website.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The colour of your child's swimsuit could help keep them safe in the pool or at the lake — and prevent drownings. Here's what experts say
The Canada Day long weekend is almost here, and with school officially over, many families are getting ready to kick off summer break with some outdoor fun. Lots of us might look forward to spending time by the pool, taking a dip in the lake or cooling off by the beach, meaning water safety is always a top-of-mind concern. Tragic accidents can take seconds to happen — and, oftentimes, can be silent. According to the World Health Organization, around 300,000 people worldwide die each year by drowning, and the majority of those impacted are children. A 2024 report by Ontario's Lifesaving Society indicated 97 per cent of drowning cases for kids under five years old were caused by a lack of supervision or supervisors becoming distracted. Although fencing off pool areas, wearing life jackets and having supervision are key, the colour of your child's swimsuit can play a role in keeping them safe in the water. A 2021 study by ALIVE Solutions Inc., an organization which focuses on aquatic safety, noted certain colours lose visibility when submerged in different bodies of water. That can make detecting activity and potential drownings harder for parents and lifeguards. The company put different colours of swimsuits to the test to see how each appears when submerged in dark- and light-bottomed pools. Each suit was photographed first when submerged in water and again to show how the colour appears underwater with surface agitation. "Our bottom two colours are white and light blue (check out how they disappear) and our top choices would be neon pink and neon orange," ALIVE Solutions wrote in a 2021 Facebook post. "Although the darker colours show up on a light pool bottom, they can often be dismissed for a pile of leaves, dirt or a shadow, so I tend to stay away from those colours when possible." Results became even more troubling when the same test was conducted in lake water. ALIVE submerged the same colour swimsuits in 18 inches (0.5 metres) of lake water and found that even some of their high-visibility colours in pools, like neon pink, all but disappeared. Neon green, orange and yellow performed well, but blues, greens and black had the lowest visibility. "Also remember, the bright and contrasting colours help visibility, but it doesn't matter what colours your kids are wearing if you aren't supervising effectively and actively watching," the company added. In 2023, ALIVE Solution furthered its testing by looking at the impact of both small- and large-print patterns on visibility. The group found neon colours were still ideal, even with large or small patterns, but large, dark patterns impacted visibility. "Having a background as an aquatic operator and lifeguard, I know that certain colours are easier to see than others and also how challenging water can be to see through," Natalie Livingston, ALIVE Solutions' co-founder, said in a 2020 interview with TODAY. "I started to notice this personally with what my kids wore in different water environments and wanted to test the colours in different conditions so we could increase visibility as much as possible." While there's no recent national data available, data reveals drowning cases are on the rise in Ontario, with 48 per cent of drowning incidents occurring in lakes or open water. Separate research indicated equally troubling information for children in Quebec. According to a study by Canadian Association of Paediatric Surgeons, an average of nearly one child a day goes to the emergency room in Quebec for a drowning or near-drowning related incident in the summer months. Dr. Hussein Wissanji, a pediatric surgeon at Montreal Children's Hospital, presented his findings last year ahead of summer in an effort to prevent injuries and fatalities that could occur later that season. His research noted a majority of drowning incidents for children under age four occurred in pools that were not properly fenced. "Having seen some of these families in the emergency department, it is probably one of the worst days of their life when they're coming in the ambulance for their child who just had a near-drowning," Wissanji told the Canadian Press. Parents should maintain constant, uninterrupted supervision of their children while they're in the water. Moreover, consider having your child wear a suitable personal floatation device and have four-sided enclosures on their pool areas to prevent drowning incidents.
