Sammy Starfish: A Star of Safer Water!

Allow me to introduce myself! I am Sammy the Starfish and I am stuck on Safer Water!

For water dwelling folks like me, it’s wonderful that we live in a world so abundant with water, but for you land living fellows, water can be dangerous! Just like the my danger out of water cannot be totally eliminated, for you, the dangers in the water can never be totally eliminated, but we can make the water safer.

I am sure some of you are thinking, how can I make water safer? Well, just consider and follow the steps below and you too can be a star of Safer Water!

Step one is to identify a safety issue. Take a moment, find some nice wall to stick to and think about all the places water can be found around you. Oceans and pools to be sure, but also bath tubs, sinks, even buckets can provide a danger to some of you little humans. Once you can identify the risk, you can also take steps to minimize the danger.

Be sure to provide barriers, fences, and restricted access to the larger bodies of water. It is very important to stick to these rules. It is difficult to remain vigilant all the time. As someone can drown in as little as 5 minutes, limiting access to the water can mean the difference between life and death.

There is more to identifying dangers than simply recognizing areas of water that could pose a risk. You must also determine what risks are specific to that body of water.

As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time in the ocean, so I am well aware of rip tides, strong surf, and currents. Being familiar with how water can behave in the ocean is something every SwimKid should know. Did you know: The best way to deal with a rip tide is not to swim directly back to shore, but to swim parallel to the shore, gradually swimming diagonally back towards the beach?

Last but not least, let me bring up another star you should know; your water watcher or life guard! Always make sure to swim in a supervised area. As I said, not all of us are lucky enough to be a fish let alone also a star. Even the best swimmers are not free of the dangers of the water. Having someone educated in water safety on hand, watching the water and ready to help is an absolute must. But Safer Response is not really my area of expertise. For that, I will turn you over the the capable fins of Gilbert Guppy!

As always, I am Sammy Starfish reminding you that for Safer Water, look to the Star!

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