There is a strong misconception in Australia that drowning deaths only occur in Summer. While the warmer months are the time we are most likely to enjoy water activities, across Australia last financial year more than 40% of drowning deaths happened in Autumn and Winter.
So how can you ensure your child doesn’t become a winter drowning statistic?
Here’s our top 3 tips to keep your child water safe in winter:
- Make sure you understand that children still drown in winter, and that most drownings occur when children find their way to water unnoticed. Supervision is essential year round to prevent drowning.
- Store buckets and paddle pools away during winter so they don’t fill with water after rain. It’s takes as little as 3cm of water for a child to drown!
- Make a habit of checking around the house for puddles and water that may have pooled in buckets, holes and containers after rain.
What about swimming lessons in winter?
It’s crucial to understand that keeping up your child’s swimming education during winter is very important. When the cold weather hits swimming is probably not an activity that is high on the agenda, but swimming is in fact one of the best activities children and young people can undertake in winter for a couple of different reasons!
- Those who continue swimming lessons over winter are more likely to improve skills and endurance by building on skills already learnt - they may progress quickly to the next stage, while having breaks over winter often results in children’s skills experiencing a plateau or even going backwards.
- Swimming as regular exercise strengthens the immune system - children and young people who swim may be less likely to fall ill with the common colds and flus that go around in schools and daycare centres over the colder months.