Memorial Day weekend.
It was a bus for most swimmers
ready to start the pool season.
It was rainy.
It was chilly weather,
kept most folks out of the wate.
But this weekend's forecast this weekend
looks fantastic for all who want to swim.
So before you head out to the p,
we're talking to Chris Chun
and Matt Mitchell Lawrence.
Both of these guys work for the
YMCA of Northwest North Carolin,
and they're experts when it coms
to swimming and water safety.
We want you to be able to ask
them whatever swimming and water
safety question that you may ha.
You can text us those questions.
That's.
336-379-5775,
All questions are asked anonymo,
but they are answered in real t.
So we invite you to ask the exp.
All right. So Mitch,
first and foremost,
let's just kind of talk about big picture,
why safety in and around
water is so important.
Yeah, absolutely.
So drowning is actually the
leading cause of accidental deah
in children ages 1:00 to 4:00,
and it's the second leading
cause of accidental death in.
All children under 15 years of
age according to the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention.
And on average, these lives,
or excuse me,
the lives of three children per
day end as a result of drowning,
with many more ending up in the
hospital due to near drownings.
Learning basic water safety
skills definitely saves lives
and it is a great introduction
to the world of swimming,
so we would encourage folks to
really consider that because we
don't want to see any children.
Lose their life due to drowning,
and I think so often it happened
so fast people don't realize
just how fast it can happen.
Yes, it can happen so fast and
silently too, so they can slip
below the surface of the water
with without even making a soun.
And it's very dangerous.
All right, we're going to talk
about that a little later on, c,
he said slip below the surface.
He didn't say they were splashig
around yelling for help.
He said they slip below the sur.
That's a different kind of drowg
than what most of us kind of thk
about when we think about like what's
in the movies and that kind of stuff.
So Chris, kind of let's talk abt
what are some basic water safety tips.
Sure. So when whether you're an adult or kid,
just always remember there's soe
basic rules that need to be followed.
Making sure children know to always ask
permission before going in or near the water.
So teaching your children to be water
smart is the first step in water safety.
And be sure they understand the
importance of asking permission
before going in or near the wat.
Never swim alone or without a water watcher.
So when children are swimming,
make sure they're actively
supervised at all times.
Teach your children that they should only
swim in locations where a lifeguard is on
duty or where a where a responsible adult.
Agrees to watch the children in
the water without distractions.
Supervise children whenever
they're in or near water,
whether it's bath time or takina
dip into the pool or waterfront.
Make sure your children are witn
arm's reach at all times and then don't
engage in breath holding activi.
Adults and children should not d
their breath for prolonged amout
of times while swimming as this
can be dangerous and then the lt
thing is to wear a life jacket.
Inexperienced or non swimmers
should wear a U.S.
Coast Guard approved life jacket
and it should be appropriately,
appropriately sized for the swi.
And actually Tanya,
I brought a life jacket because
a lot of times we get a question
or question what is Coast Guard
approved or non Coast Guard approved.
So on your your life jacket,
most of our life jacket stuff like this
right here there is A tag on the back of the.
The life jacket,
and I know that's a little difft
for you guys to see,
but it will indicate that it's .
Coast Guard approved and that
is what we as YMCA recommend for
all swimmers when swimming.
And it just,
it's another precaution to keep
kids safe in and around water.
I know a lot of times people th,
well, you know, they're just
going to be in the shallow end.
It's not that big of a deal.
They don't really need that life jacket,
correct. I mean that.
That is real, like a realistic
thought that a lot of parents h.
But it's always important to
take that extra safety precautin
because like Mitchell said,
a child could slip under the wa,
even an adult, and slip under te
water in in less than a minute.
And so it could happen in the
blink of an awe, honestly.
So yeah, I I would agree that keeping,
keeping a lifejacking on is
very important and it's just
a precaution for drowning.
Right. So when you said slip underneath
the water, let's talk about tha,
because I think a lot of us
think about what's in the movie.
People drowning, they're flailing around,
they're calling for help,
that kind of thing.
They're gasping for air.
What does drowning actually look like?
So I can speak to that and basiy
what happens when somebody is.
Drowning a lot of times is they
actually are struggling to keep
themselves above the water.
Their arms aren't able to get all the
way out of the surface of the w.
So they're in a vertical positin
with their head tilted back and their
chin and their nose and their mh
are really the only things thate
protruding and they're really jt
struggling to to stay afloat at that point.
So most of the time when an actl
drowning is occurring and someby
is struggling in the water,
they don't flail about like they
do in the movies.
It's a underwater situation whee
only their face is out and.
When the water starts to slide in past
the muscle that closes off the airway,
once it starts,
that muscle is actually incapabe
of closing and the water just
continues to pour in.
So it's very unfortunate,
but usually when that happens te
the individual is also not going
to make a conscious decision to
use a noise to try to get help
because they're trying to keep y
bit of air that they have their
bodies telling themselves, hey,
this is not a good situation fo,
we're going to keep all the air that we have.
And we're not going to make any noise.
So most of the time they don't ,
they don't holler for help and
they don't splash above the wat.
If they're they're truly drowni,
then what happens is most of the
time it's all underwater stuff
and then they slip below the
surface without making a noise.
And that's the unfortunate parts
most of the time it's things the
could recognize if we're watchi,
which is why we use lifeguards t
the YMC of Northwest North Caro.
But outside of that, you know,
if somebody's not supervising
those children and they start to
struggle in that way.
It's it's not really going to be
easy to notice and they can slie
below the surface of the water
before anything is heard or see.
OK. So it is quiet. All right.
So we're going to be talking about what to
do if you're seeing somebody struggling.
We're going to be talking aboutt
when we come back from the break. Again,
336-379-5775, we'll be right ba.