Learning to Keep Watch over little ones in Yandeyarra
Local parents and grandparents in the remote Aboriginal community of Yandeyarra, in WA’s Pilbara region, have been attending sessions on child safety at the Yandeyarra Community Swimming Pool recently.
The sessions, supported by Principal Community Partner BHP, have been delivered by Yandeyarra Community Pool Manager Sandra McKenzie. Sandy has been sharing the Royal Life Saving Keep Watch message with parents and carers to encourage greater water safety for their children.
The Keep Watch program aims to prevent drowning deaths of children under five. Drowning is the leading cause of preventable death in this age group in Australia, and any amount of water poses a risk to young children.
Along with pools, parents are reminded that bathtubs, paddle pools, buckets, fish ponds and even pet water bowls are all potential drowning hazards. The Keep Watch program promotes four key drowning prevention actions:
- Supervise – always keep watch of your child around water
- Restrict – restrict your child’s access to water at all times
- Teach – teach your child to be water confident
- Respond – learn CPR and call 000 in an emergency
“Yesterday I had Emma and Grace and the little kids in Community come and join in for a Keep Watch chat,” said Sandy. “Emma has Marquade, who is four and one of our preschool swimmers. Grace is a grandmother and carer for three kids under five. We had a nice time going through the Keep Watch content, and both of these ladies are keen to participate in a Heart Beat Club session in coming weeks.”
Emma’s young child, Marquade, also attends Infant Aquatics lessons at the pool and is doing very well at swimming. Infant Aquatics encourages the development of aquatic skills in babies and toddlers using songs, games and activities suitable to the child’s developmental stage.
Read more about the Keep Watch program, and the steps you can take to improve your child’s safety, at the link below.
