Daddy Duty: Drowning happens quickly; is your child prepared?

Isabella is healthy and back to being her active little self after a bout with strep throat last week.

I’ll have to research this, but it seems like every time Isabella gets sick, by the time she’s better she’s taller and more communicative.

I wonder if there’s a link between illness and growth spurts? I know it sounds strange, but, you never know.

Anyhow, onto this week’s topic.

This past weekend gave us beautiful weather, and with that, that meant lots of people taking to pools, ponds, rivers, the ocean and any other kind of body of water you can think of.

This weekend will be even hotter, with temperatures expected to hit 90.

Summer may have arrived early.

May is National Water Safety Month, a good time for parents to teach their children how to swim or to reinforce swimming skills for those who aren’t as sure in the water yet.

It’s also a good time to remind parents to watch their kids while in the water, even if they know how to swim.

With 1,350 miles of coastline, Florida is second in the nation behind Alaska, which has 6,640 miles. We’re also second behind Arizona in the number of pools per resident.

The Sunshine State ranks fourth in drowning rate behind Louisiana, Hawaii and Alaska. Florida is tops in the nation for drowning rate among children 4 and younger.

If you’re going to book swimming lessons, especially for after the school year ends, now is the time to do it. Those classes for June and July will fill up quickly.

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We had Isabella in the pool this weekend, and the progress in her swimming from last year is amazing.

She’s had swim lessons each of the past three summers, and it looks like this will be the summer she swims by herself. Hopefully by her fourth birthday, in July.

As I tried to help her in the pool this past weekend, she fought me off. She used a pool noodle to bravely leap off the pool step and into the depths. Of course, I was right next to her ready to latch on if she sank, but she didn’t.

She was kicking with her legs and paddling with her little arms as quickly as she could. And she was floating. She even leapt off the step one time without the noodle. She treaded momentarily, but as I saw her struggle, I gave her a helpful boost.

The most heartening thing was she knew how to work her way toward the side of the pool and grab on. She could then work her way back to the step.

I’ve learned in the past there are three key points for water safety: Water competency, the circle of drowning prevention and the chain of drowning survival.

With water competency, you want the child to be able to handle themselves in an emergency. They should have the ability to step in water over their head, come back to the surface, get their bearings, tread water or float on their back for a minute, be able to turn in a circle, swim to an exit point — at least 25 yards at a minimum — then get out without using a ladder.

Until they are able to do that, they need to stay in swimming lessons. It’s important to note that these lessons don’t necessarily transfer from one environment to the next. What a child can do in a pool is different from what happens in the ocean.

For the circle of drowning prevention there are five points:

* Have constant adult supervision.

* Have “reach supervision,” meaning an adult is always within an arm’s reach of a new swimmer.

* Swim in areas protected by lifeguards, and even in those areas, have constant adult supervision over who you brought to the water.

* If you have a backyard pool or spa, make sure it’s protected on all four sides with a fence and self-latching gate.

* Wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket, especially for newer swimmers on a boat. Inflatable water wings and noodles are toys, not safety devices.

The third and final water safety point is the chain of drowning survival: What to do if something goes wrong.

It’s the knowledge to identify if someone is having trouble in the water and how to get them out without putting yourself in danger, and knowing CPR, especially in a drowning emergency. Start CPR immediately and call 911.

And remember, our kids are in so many more drowning situations than just pools or the ocean. Bath tub drownings can happen quickly. We have a major river lagoon system that runs through our county, and we have several large lakes and retention ponds. Even overland drains can be dangerous.

We intend to do everything we can to get Isabella skilled and informed on how to handle water safety.

Make sure the kids in your life have the same knowledge. Their lives may depend on it.

Contact Walters at twalters@floridatoday.com.