The goal is to let kids have fun but avoid some of the injuries that claim the lives of 1 million children each year world-wide.
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Spearheaded by Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Safe Kids Pierce County has partnered with nearly a dozen community organizations, from law enforcement and fire departments to parks and recreation agencies, to offer free or low-cost safety gear. Safe Kids Worldwide, an international non-profit organization dedicated to preventing childhood injuries, has developed a chapter in Pierce County and has developed life jacket loan stations at Spanaway Lake Park and at other locations in PierceCounty. Life Jacket Loan Program at Spanaway Lake įor more information: or, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.ĭOH Contact: Julie Graham Communications Office: 36 Set limits with your children ─ when they can go in the water, where they can go, who has to be there to watch them, and what safety gear they must use.Īn online list provides information of Washington State Life Jacket Loaner Program locations: Drowning prevention information is available on the Department of Health website. Water and weather conditions can change quickly. Check weather forecasts and be prepared for bad weather. Know your limits and your ability stop before you are too tired. Cold water makes it harder to swim, especially when someone is tired. Many rivers and lakes stay cold all summer even if they get warm on the surface, they’re cold below. Supervise children when in or near the water. Here are some other tips for water safety: If you are caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current, then swim into shore. If you want to play in the surf, wear a life jacket know the tide table, and follow warning signs. These are powerful, unseen flows in salt water undertows and tidal changes that can sweep people off their feet and out to sea. – When swimming in the ocean orPuget Sound, beware of tidal changes and currents. Parents are strong role models –children and teens are more likely to wear a life jacket when parents wear them, too. Coast Guard-approved life jacket that fits properly. – In our state, children under 13 years of age, while on boats less than 19 feet long, are required to wear a U.S. There are some simple things you can do to reduce the drowning risk for you and your family: Most drowning deaths in Washington State happen in open water ─ lakes, rivers, salt water, and ponds. Local Safe Kids Coalitions, Fire and EMS agencies, hospitals, parks departments, and private marinas sponsor the loan programs.ĭrowning is the second leading cause of injury death for children and teens.
At the end of the day, people return them to the station. In Washington there are more than 120 life jacket loaner stations where water-users can borrow a life jacket for the day. “Preventing a drowning tragedy starts by making sure that everyone playing, swimming, or boating in or near the water is wearing a life jacket – period, no exceptions.” “Just last month 20 people in our state lost their lives to drowning,” says Secretary of Health Mary Selecky. This creates dangerous conditions when the long-awaited sun brings people to the water. OLYMPIA: High winter snow pack and a cold, wet spring have left many of Washington’s waters very cold and rivers flowing fast even though it’s mid-summer. More than 120 life jacket loan stations in Washington help avoid tragedy and keep summer fun
Although the piece was written in 2008, its analysis of the hazards created by a cold, wet spring is even more true this summer than it was a few years ago.
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For those youth that don’t know how to swim, this is a good way to get in the action.Īlong those lines, I’ve included a piece I wrote for the Eatonville Dispatch several summers ago about the life jacket loaning program at Spanaway Lake Park, and it gives more detail about this innovative program. Secondly, there are 120 stations statewide at public swimming facilities that loan life jackets to kids and families. The Mountain News received this press release about summer safety from the Washington State Department of Health today, and two facts jumped out that make this compelling information.įirst, twenty kids drowned in our state last month.
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