Summer typically means fun in the sun and for most people, beating the heat by visiting a nearby pool or river. Keeping cool in the water is meant to be enjoyable, but it also comes with some risks.

When family time involves being around the water, Athens-Limestone Hospital Wellness Center instructor Stephanie Harruff said the number one thing parents need to remember is keep their eyes on their children.

“We teach that anyone with a child in or near the water who does not have their eyes on their child is not supervising,” she said, adding even if a child is wearing a flotation device, parents shouldn’t turn away from the water. “If you’re on your tablet or cell phone or turning your back, that’s not supervision — anything could happen and you may not see it.”

Harruff suggests swim lessons for both parents and children, but advises parents that if they don’t know how to swim, they should only take their children to pools with lifeguards. 

“Parents can better work with their child if they take one set of lessons on their own,” she said. 

One of the first things Harruff said she teaches is breath control, meaning blowing bubbles in the water. 

“Once a child learns they have breath control in the water, a lot of their fears go away,” she said. “Once they accomplish that, they have confidence.”

Children start out on the steps of a pool blowing bubbles before slowly moving into the larger part of the pool, Harruff said.   

Silent danger

As a teacher, a common myth Harruff said she hears is that if a person gets water in his or her face, or swallows water, he or she thinks they are drowning.

“If they can say ‘I’m drowning,’ they’re not drowning,” she said, adding that it’s still possible they may be in danger. “That is choking on water or swallowing water.”

When children are drowning, it may just look like they are playing or swimming, Harruff said, adding drowning victims typically don’t yell, scream or flail as is commonly thought. 

“Ask the child from the side of the pool if they need help and if the child doesn’t answer, it’s because they can’t,” she said. “They’re in panic mode. Their mind is worried about breathing.”

Since a struggling position may appear similar to a swimming position — the body moving in a horizontal direction with the head near the top of the water — Harruff again advises parents to always keep an eye on their child. 

“Drowning is silent,” she said. “There is a point where the voice isn’t what the brain is focused on. Your mind is in a different place and you’re in a panic mode. Kids don’t scream out and they can’t respond when you talk to them.”

Rescue

A main principle Harruff said she teaches both adults and children is “Reach and throw, don’t go,” meaning throw a pool noodle or float into the water toward a distressed person, but do not go into the water to try to rescue them.

“It’s crucial to teach water safety to children because they’re not equipped or capable of rescuing an adult,” she said.  

Harruff said a lot of times when a person is in distress and someone goes into the water to help them, the person in panic mode will push their rescuer underwater in an attempt to keep themselves above water.

Safety first

Whether families are at a pool or fishing near a river or lake, Harruff advises children to always wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket or similar flotation device. 

“Even on a fishing bank, we always take pool noodles because we may need to throw them out,” she said, adding the safest device for a child is a bright orange life jacket. “If a child were to slip in the water and the river takes them, (the lifejacket) will roll them on their back and make them flow with the river.”

Another lesson Harruff advises parents to teach their children is how a life jacket works. 

“The first time you use it, take them to a pool or calm place in the swimming area to make sure the child knows what the life jacket will do,” she said. “The life jacket will automatically try to place them on their backs in a breathing position, and children need to know what it feels like when the life jacket takes over.”

Secondary drowning

In the last couple of years, different reports of secondary drowning circulated online and social media. The claim is that a child inhales water and once the water is in the lungs, it causes aspiration and may become fatal hours after the child is out of the water. 

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, secondary drowning or near drowning occurs when the lung function deteriorates due to loss of oxygen. 

Harruff said aspiration can happen when any foreign thing enters the lungs.

“We can have a drink at a store and swallow and it goes down the wrong hole and it can be aspiration,” she said. “But we don’t need to walk around in fear of it because it’s very rare. It’s something good to know about. If my child chokes on the water and 10 minutes later she’s still coughing, I’m going to call her pediatrician.”

Harruff said parents should pay attention to their child’s expression if he or she inhales water.

“Did the child spit it out or did they swallow the majority of it? If we’re choking on water, our lungs are going to try to get that out by coughing,” she said.

Harruff said she understands how easy it is to accidentally inhale water — she does it about once a week.

“I’ll have an event where I get splashed and inhale water unexpectedly but usually it clears out and I’m OK,” she said. “I did have an incident where I went home and could feel water in where it shouldn’t be. I laid down and told my daughter to watch me and I called my doctor and asked if I needed an X-ray. It was kind of scary.”

If children complain of pressure in their lungs or in the back or front (of the chest) near the lower ribs, parents may want to call a pediatrician, Harruff said. 

About Harruff

Harruff has been teaching swim lessons for 16 years and has been certified through the YMCA and American Red Cross for nine years. She said she began teaching neighborhood children for free at her home because she wanted them to know how to swim when they came over. Now she teaches classes at the Wellness Center and works with the Department of Human Resources to teach water safety to foster families.