Yesterday I was saddened by some tragic news at the daycare where I teach yoga.  They were grieving three recent deaths in the community. These occurred in two separate incidents outside of the daycare – but all involved drowning.

A three year old boy drowned at home when he wandered off and fell in the pool.  He was a student at the daycare. The shock and sadness still lingers in his classroom.

The other involved the uncle and cousin of a school age student.  They drowned in a lake while playing in the water.  The uncle tried to save his son who started drowning when the lake dropped off and suddenly got deep.

In the last week there have been ten drowning deaths in Ontario, of these seven were children or teens.  Regardless of where you are – education is the key to safety.  Today, to honor our dear friends at the daycare we are going to take time out for some safety reminders.

5 Potential Life Saving Summer Safety Tips That Should Not be Ignored

1. Water Safety: It only takes seconds to minutes to drown in water.  If children can’t swim they should wear life jackets in any water that can get deep. Kids who are going to around water regularly should take swimming lessons so they practice how to breath and move in the water.
2. Life Jackets: Everyone in a boat should wear a life jacket.  Especially if you are boating with kids.  Three of the deaths in Ontario occurred when a father, who wasn’t wearing a life jacket, drowned.  Eventually his two kids, who were wearing life jackets, drowned as well.
3. Child-proof Doors and Windows: Homes with infants and toddlers must be child-proofed.  This includes always locking doors and windows to dangerous areas like pools or balconies.
4. Back in when you park your car: The police here recommend this simple tip to help prevent accidentally hitting small children when backing out of a driveway.  You’ll have a good view of what is going on to safely back in and park.   When you are leaving – you drive forward with a good view. Back in to park then forward out when you leave.  Think about doing this when you park at a school or daycare or any homes with kids around.
5. First Aid: Take first aid and CPR training and have a first aid kit.  When accidents can’t be prevented, you may know something that could save a life!

Pause Now for Safety
Please pause for a minute right now and think of any situations recently when you have wondered if your kids and you are safe.

Now think of what you can do to still have fun but also play it safe. Can you change a routine or habit that would make more sense in terms of safety?

We will miss our dear friends and relatives at the daycare.  We can also learn from the mistakes and stories of others so that we don’t make the same mistakes.  Let’s all take a moment to reflect on our own intuition and feelings about improving our safety.

I’d love to hear any other safety tips you can offer that may help us all be more safe.