This video will give you a whole new appreciation for lifeguards and how tough their job can be.
Image Credit: Screenshot/YouTube
As Good magazine points out, it’s pretty tough to spot the drowning victim before the lifeguard does in this video. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there were approximately 364 fatal pool drownings among children under age 15 in 2012, the majority of which were in residential pools.
The Daily Mail reports that almost half of children who die from drownings do so within 25 yards of a parent or another adult.
With summer in full swing, it’s important to remember the fundamentals of pool safety.
The CPSC’s Pool Safely website offers a few simple guidelines for staying safe in pools and spas. They include:
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“Stay Close, Be Alert, And Watch”— As the video demonstrates, a swimmer can end up in danger in the blink of an eye. Nothing can replace constant supervision, so don’t take your eyes off your children around water.
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“Learn and Practice Water Safety Skills”— Not only is it critical to learn to swim, but it’s also important to learn how to perform CPR on both children and adults as well as other life saving procedures.
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“Have the Appropriate Equipment”— This includes fences and self-closing, self-latching gates, alarms, and drain covers as well as life-saving equipment like poles and life rings.
Since you can’t always count on a lifeguard as alert as the one in the video, it’s even more important to be prepared.
