Limbs flailing in the water. Frantic waving, splashing. Panic-stricken cries of “help, help, help.”
It is a common image of drowning, something reinforced by TV. Yet the reality is often very different: no drama, no yells, just a deceptive quiet.
With children the dangers are multiplied and death can take as little as seven to ten seconds.
There have been many cases of parents watching while a child drowns, clueless as to what is happening. No wonder drowning is sometimes termed “the silent killer.”
Recognizing signs of distress and being alert to potential dangers are essential elements in the training of lifeguards like Laura Munroe, aquatic supervisor for the Town of Barrhead.
Experience has taught her the value of supervision and that is why she is so supportive of new rules at Barrhead Swimming Pool. As of Sept. 3 all children aged seven and under must remain within arms’ reach of a caregiver of 16 or over.
To promote the rule, families with a child aged seven and under will get $1 off admission throughout September.
Previously, the rule applied to children aged five and under and caregivers 14 or over.
“From personal experience, I have jumped in to rescue kids aged six to seven more than for any other age group,” said Munroe last Thursday.
“Most of these children were in the shallow end unsupervised and either swam out or drifted too far and did not have the strength or stamina to get back to shallower water. Children at this age still need the direct supervision from a caregiver.”
Munroe said children aged five and under often did not realize the dangers of water; they could walk, but not necessarily swim.
As children get older they start to recognize the risks, but often overestimate their strength.
“As well, this age group has a wide variety of swimming abilities,” said Munroe. “Strong swimmers often influence weaker swimmers to swim into deeper waters.”
Swimming dangers for the young have come under focus following the recent death of a seven-year-old at north Edmonton’s O’ Leary pool.
A lifeguard at the fitness and leisure centre found the boy lying facedown in the water. About two weeks earlier a 28-year-old man was found submerged at the bottom of another pool in the city.
Figures show drowning is the second leading cause of preventative death in children under ten. In Canada in 2010, all drowning victims under 12 were swimming unsupervised.
Barrhead’s tighter safety rules fall into line with recommendations by Lifesaving Society, part of an international federation that certifies Canadian lifeguards and sets safety standards for aquatic centres.
There are 16 lifeguards in Barrhead who have undergone many hours of training to reach required skill levels – bronze medallion (20 hours), bronze cross (20 hours), standard first aid (16 hours) and national lifeguard service (40 hours).
Munroe said aquatic staff had been talking about a rule change for some time.
“After a few years of discussing our concerns with the current guidelines, staff members began to research the supervisory age of aquatic facilities both rural and urban around Alberta,” she said.
“Results showed that 16 out of 23 rural aquatic facilities had a requirement that all children seven and under must be with a caregiver, eight of those communities having an even higher age limit.
“Both the City of Edmonton and the City of Calgary also follow the seven and under supervisory rule.
“Other factors have also contributed to our change of rules.”
Munroe said caregivers had to be in the water with the child, ready to lend immediate help. Standing on the side, or wading with clothes on, was insufficient.
“Lifejackets are not substitutes for supervision either,” she said. “Lifejackets can be a false sense of security and may support a child at the surface of the water, but can often make it difficult for a child to stand back up when they fall forward in shallow water.
“At the Barrhead swimming pool we have often found inexperienced children in lifejackets to be more at risk in shallow water than the ones who do not have a lifejacket on.”
Munroe said staff were excited by the new rule, believing it would help make the facility even safer and promote family swimming.
“We look forward to the fall season and hope to see many regular patrons as well as new faces,” she said
A new schedule is available at the swimming pool or online at the Town of Barrhead website: www.barrhead.ca.
