Summer Water Safety

Vickie Kourtelis, Rye Y Aquatics Director


Now that we have officially entered the summer here are a few tips to promote safety in the water whether it’s at the Y, an outdoor pool, or even the beach!

•Never let a child swim in the water completely unattended. If you aren’t in the pool with them please stay near them and actively supervise on land while they are swimming. Always try to have an adult accompany them in the water as at any given moment something can happen and they might need assistance.

•Communication between adults supervising the pool area is key! If you are going to be walking away from the water for a quick second communicate that with other adults so that somebody is supervising the children in the water

•Be cautious of surrounding swimmers! If in a panic, a distressed swimmer can latch on to surrounding swimmers for safety. Be careful of situations like these as children are sometimes not strong enough to help themselves under those circumstances.

 •Go over emergency procedures with the children (while in the car driving to the water, eating a snack, applying sunscreen, right before entering the water, etc.)

-If they are tired when swimming they can roll on their back and float OR swim to the closest wall to grab on.

-Treading water is a survival skill that they can use in case of an emergency.

-In case of an emergency don’t hesitate to scream for help loud enough to get the lifeguards attention. I suggest practicing this at home with the kids a few times. Go to a different room in the house and have them scream for help as loud as they can. Let them know if they are loud enough or whether they should be louder.

 •Practice makes perfect!!! Set aside 10 minutes every other day to do a mini lesson or just a couple of times during the week. Children like to PLAY in outdoor pools, not practice their freestyle, backstroke, etc. If you stay committed to the learning process through out the summer then they will improve a great deal.

•ALWAYS wear sunscreen and keep hydrated through out the summer.

•If you are at a private pool party make sure that there is a lifeguard on deck or that you are supervising right next to the pool.

•If at a pool with a diving board make sure to stress to the kids that they can’t jump until the person that jumped before them is at the wall and that there is nobody in their way.

•Practice swimming without goggles for a little bit each day so that they are comfortable swimming without them if there should be an incident when they fall in the water.


Please note that these are only a few tips to promote water safety in the next few months. For more tips or any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at Vickie@ryeyymca.org! Enjoy the summer!