Water safety tips for kids and adults

Fans of Springbok rugby player Jannie du Plessis have been left saddened and confused after hearing that his one-year-old son passed on after a drowning incident at the rugby player’s birthday party. The events have also put water safety firmly in the spotlight once again. 

Krugersdorp News reported that the incident was confirmed by Toks van der Linde, who expressed his condolences on Twitter.

“Please pray for Jannie du Plessis and his family. His son of one-year-old drowned last night. My heart is broken broken broken,” he tweeted.

Considering how moved fans and social media users are by du Plessis’ tragedy, The Citizen has compiled some water safety tips for anyone looking to spend their downtime near water this festive season. 

For parents of newborns, the Healthy Children organisation advises always staying within reaching distance and never leaving your infant alone or under the supervision of other children. 

The website also advises installing latches to ensure small children can’t get into things such as toilets or pool areas by themselves.

This is in addition to emptying anything that may contain large amounts of water after use. 

The Redcross website also has some online video resources for parents looking to get themselves and their children water-smart. 

The Kid’s Health organisation also has some advice regarding what to do in a water safety emergency.

These tips include checking the pool or another body of water first in the event that a child goes missing. 

“Survival depends on a quick rescue and restarting breathing as soon as possible,” explained the organisation. 

ALSO READ: Condolences stream in for Jannie du Plessis after one-year-old son’s death

“If you find a child in the water, get the child out while calling loudly for help. If someone else is nearby, have them call [emergency services],” or a quick response team advised the website. 

They further advise checking to make sure the child’s air passages are clear and starting CPR if you are trained to do so in the event that the child is not breathing. 

It is also best to follow the instructions that the emergency operator gives you if you can get through. 

“If you think the child has a neck injury, such as from diving, keep the child on his or her back.”

Additionally, you can brace the neck and shoulders with your hands and forearms to help keep the neck from moving until emergency help arrives as this can help prevent further injury to the spine.

If the child is lucid, keep them still and speak in calm tones to keep them calm as well. 

Other notes to give your children include; no running near water, wearing the necessary water safety gear (life jackets, floating devices etc), not swimming in moving water going in the water feet first (to avoid head injuries), getting out of the water when you feel tired and always making sure they have a “buddy” around when swimming in addition to adult supervision. 

Taking swimming lessons is also advisable for people of all ages. 

When it comes to water safety, adults should also remember not to swim after drinking alcohol, not to swim alone or allow others to do so if they are not strong or competent swimmers and to stay out of the water during thunderstorms and other severe weather. 

Compiled by Kaunda Selisho