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Life Jacket Training Series: Part 3 - Teach Supervision

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Life Jacket Series: Part 3 - Teach Supervision

Throughout the world, one million children die of unintentional injuries each year. Millions of other children are injured in ways that can affect them for a lifetime. The good news is that these injuries are preventable. There are solutions that are proven to work especially when it comes to keeping children safe around water.



Research shows survivors of boating accidents were two times more likely to survive when wearing a life jacket. In addition, there is evidence to show that simple act of wearing a life jacket for the first time improves one's performance on donning a second life jacket - which means using an object to reduce drowning is teachable.  The Dangerous Waters Report by Safe Kids Worldwide confirms what most professionals know to be true that the group with the highest risk of drowning are children aged one through four years.

Safe Kids Maricopa County and Phoenix Children's Hospital have embarked on a research study with a new approach focusing on teaching parents of 1-4 year olds how to properly select and fit a life jacket to increase use in swimming pools. This prospective study is an attempt to answer the question, "Can we encourage the use of life jackets in a swimming pool without the loss of supervision by parents?"

Follow this three-part series to learn more!

Life Jacket Series: Part 3 - Teach Supervision

The ABC's of water safety tell us that Adult Supervision is one of the most important layers of protection when it comes to keeping your kids safe around water. Now that you know how to choose the right flotation device and fit it properly it's important to remember a child still requires supervision while in the water. Here's how:

1. Choose an adult to supervise that is sober, can swim and is able to perform CPR if needed.
2. Limit distractions. The adult supervisor should not be looking at their phone, reading a book or chatting with other adults while poolside. 
3. Take turns, add more help if necessary. There is a reason lifeguards rotate so often! Maintaining vigilance for more than 20 minutes at a time is very difficult for everyone. Taking a break will help you to re-focus when you resume your role as the adult supervisor of the pool area.


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