by Janice Jaicks

I have been in the water safety business providing swim lessons for children since 1985. Of the hundreds of children we teach to swim each year, about 85% of them are age four or under. As many of us well know, drowning is the leading cause of accidental injury-related deaths among children under the age of five. Living in Arizona for 30 years, each time I hear the announcement begin of the drowning of a small child locally, I shiver and wait for the name and location. Whether I know this child's name or not, the news pierces my heart in a personal way. I do feel that all of the children in the community are "our" children and that water safety instructors and swim instructors have a responsibility to educate the public.

Yes, our job is to teach your child to swim and to become more water-safe, however it is our responsibility also to educate the parent. Does the parent know and understand the importance of gates being locked and constant supervision? Does this intelligent adult understand that it is his responsibility as a parent to learn CPR? We must keep toys away from the pool, and we should have a fence around the pool and/or self-closing latch. We have heard these announcements over and over again from Dave Munsey and all the news stations; however, I feel that the message is not hitting home.

Our business, Waterworks On Wheels, has been going to backyard pools in the east valley for years to teach private and small group lessons. In addition, we have three indoor pools at health clubs where children can take lessons year-round. Allow me to share some of my observations while visiting the backyards of some of our clients. Although many of our parents are incredibly diligent, a number of situations have occurred that concerned me. Approaching a pool, I see a pad-lock that is not completely latched. "Why not?" I ask. "Well, I knew you were coming soon, so I wanted to make it easier for you to enter the pool," mom replies. Another visit to a parent/tot gathering of two-year-olds finds a Toys-R-Us style toy box next to the pool. "Don't you think that your two-year-old might be able to climb onto this and enter your pool?" I ask. "I never thought of that," the mom answers. I visit a seven-year-old's pool and find over a dozen pool toys, including noodles, duckies, etc. in the water. "It's really best if you keep these toys out of the pool area for safety," I say to the parents. "Oh, my daughter knows not to go into the pool area without us," says dad.

The clincher for me was the day several years ago when the news broadcast reported a two-year-old who had drown in her own pool. I listened for the location and the name. She was one of our students! I remember visiting one of her lessons earlier that summer, which was held at a friend's backyard pool. I recall three little girls in this lesson, and the fact that the instructor and I had a hard time with a very active two-year-old who wanted to climb and jump all over the place while we tried to conduct the lesson. I remember that although she could go under water and swim a few feet, she was certainly not water safe nor drown-proof. Guess what? Neither are you or I. The newscast ripped at our hearts as the trembling mother came on to speak. She mentioned the fact that "We had her in swim lessons." This was an earth-shattering moment. Did this parent assume her two year-old child was drown-proof because she had a few swim lessons? Who was watching this child and how did she get into this pool in the backyard?

It is our responsibility as swim instructors to be diligent about telling parents to lock their gates, latch their locks, keep up fences, learn CPR, keep toys away from the pool area, and to be sure any caregiver of their child is also diligent. I am sure that my colleagues will agree. Recent Mesa drownings are a sad reminder to watch our kids around water -- any body of water. Teach your child to swim at an early age, but never assume swim lessons guarantee survival or make your child drown-proof.