As summer is just around the corner and kids are off school, it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy different indoor and outdoor activities. Going to the beach and spending time at the pool are the preferred ones with kids.

All is great BUT parents, please make sure

When you children are in the water, get your head off your smartphone and watch them!

See them splashing around, swim, and have fun. You can even join the excitement and swim with them. Cherish those moment; it’s a great opportunity for some family time.

Another reason is their safety. Drowning is a big deal, even with children that know how to swim. It is one of the top 5 causes of death for people aged 1–14 years. In the United States alone, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in children aged 1–14 years.

It is children ages 1 to 4 that have the highest drowning rates, plus most of them occur in home swimming pools.

There are several actions we can take to prevent drowning:

• Teaching children how to swim. Many communities offer private and group swimming lessons. You should look at your local listings for them.
• Talking to children about water safety. For example, never to go in the water before informing an adult.
• Train in safe rescue skills (CPR).
• Get off your phone — supervise children when they are in the water. Never assume they can spend time there by themselves, even if they know how to swim.

I want to emphasize my last point. When supervising our children by the water, it means being present next to the water and looking at them while they are inside. We need to give them our undivided attention while they are in the water. And guess what, you will enjoy your time with them even more.

Undivided attention to them and NOT to our phone. This is not the time to check Facebook or share online that “we are having fun in the sun”.

Because when we are focused on our phones we are not aware of our surrounding and it’s like we are not even there. Look at the poor lady fallinginto open sidewalk door because she was on her phone. Now imagine missing on a drowning child.

Emphasizing my summer safety tips again:

1. Make sure your kids learn the important skill of swimming.
2. Talk to your kids about water safety.
3. Always, I mean always, supervise a child in the water.
4. When you supervise, make sure your focus is your child and not your phone.
5. Last but not least, make sure to take a CPR class so at the worst case scenario you can help!

Have a happy & safe summer!