Intro: This is Weekly Dose of Wellness, brought to you by Memorial Care Health System. Here's Deborah Howell.

Deborah Howell (Host): Oh, it's summertime, and to be a kid and get in the water, is there anything they love better? But as parents and caregivers, we understand only too well that water safety has to come first. In this podcast, Jennifer Rodriguez, a Certified Passenger Seat Technician with Safe Kids USA, as well as a Basic Life Support Instructor with Memorial Care, is here to talk about the importance of swimming safety for children and families, as well as the common risks associated with swimming and how to mitigate them. Welcome, Jennifer, or do you prefer Jen?

Jennifer Rodriguez: Hi, Deborah. I prefer Jen.

Host: Jen it is. All right. So, your primary goal is to educate as many families as possible, to keep their little ones safe and healthy. So, why is swimming safety particularly important for young children?

Jennifer Rodriguez: So, when it comes to swimming safety, particularly very important for young children, when it comes to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, children between the ages of one and four are most vulnerable when it comes to drowning injury or death. So when it comes to those little ones, we also want to make sure that they're always safe and having a good eye on them because they can drown in the most smallest amount of water.

Host: Yeah. How small?

Jennifer Rodriguez: When it comes to a puddle, a small amount in a dog dish, anything like that.

Host: Wow. So, at what age can children begin swim lessons?

Jennifer Rodriguez: So when it comes to our little ones beginning swim lessons, they can start swim lessons around the age of one. I know there are Mommy and Me classes where they start getting the little ones used to water and learning basic lessons such as treading water, floating, when to like change positions so that way they're safe and facing up. But recommended according to the Pediatric Association is that they learn to swim around the age of four, but we can start doing basic lessons at one year old.

Host: Sure. Okay. Almost never too early. What are the most important water safety tips for caregivers to know?

Jennifer Rodriguez: So when it comes to the water safety tips for caregivers, most importantly, whenever your children want to go into the water, they always should ask permission. Because you always want to have an adult present, an adult that can swim, that has access to calling 911, and that person is not distracted. So, those people are called our water watchers. A water watcher, their sole job is to supervise the children or anybody inside the pool. No distractions, no drinking, no eating, no texting, because it just takes literally seconds for someone to start drowning.

We want to make sure that there's always attention and supervision around the pool. And if they're not the greatest swimmers, or they're learning, or if they don't know how to swim, having a certified Coast Guard life-saving jacket. Flotation devices are what most people rely on when it comes to safety, but unfortunately, those devices are not life-saving devices.

And also lastly, knowing CPR, you know, CPR is such an essential tool that you never know if there is an instance that you have to use CPR, you know exactly what to do, and you can save a life.

Host: Got it. And children love to roughhouse and push each other. You know, a kid can just easily get pushed or fall into the pool, so like you said, those flotation devices are really important.

Jennifer Rodriguez: Yes. Definitely important, especially like you mentioned when it comes to the roughhousing of little ones playing around the pool, running. Also when it comes to playing games, avoiding any games that you have to hold your breath underwater for too long. I know when we think about it, you're like, "Oh, it's fun." But you never know when someone might become unconscious or might need help and they're already underwater.

Host: Right. Right. So, stick with Marco Polo and, you know, close your eyes, but keep it above water.

Jennifer Rodriguez: Definitely keep it above water.

Host: So, this may seem a strange question to some people listening, but are there any colored swimsuits children should avoid wearing?

Jennifer Rodriguez: Yes, of course! So, when it comes to choosing your swimsuits, wearing bright neon colors such as orange, pink, and green, and yellow, help you stand out the most among water. Even though darker colors do show up on light bottom pools, when it comes to shadows and things like that, you blend in with the water. So, neon, nice and bright is the best colors you can use.

Host: Okay. That's a really useful tip, because that's something a lot of people just wouldn't think about. They'd go for the cutest suit no matter what color.

Jennifer Rodriguez: Yes, definitely.

Host: All right. What should caregivers do if they lose sight of their child in the water?

Jennifer Rodriguez: If you lose sight of your child, let adults know, especially the lifeguard, let them know nearby swimmers, like, 'Oh, have you seen my child? You know, knowing what color swimsuit they wore that day or any, like, right gear they might have. And as quickly as possible, looking around, using anybody that's around, like if anybody saw them last, things like that, just so that you can know and spot them. The more eyes, the better. And if there was an emergency, always calling 911. Taking everybody out of the pool, clearing it away just in case you never know if the person may be under the water or they just stepped away.

Host: And at what point do you know where CPR is necessary?

Jennifer Rodriguez: So when a person becomes unresponsive, this is where we would perform CPR. First and foremost, if they are in the water, take them out of the water if it is to do so safely. Lay them on a flat surface, face up with their back against the flat surface of the ground. Check for response, tapping their hand, shaking them lightly, calling their name. If you get no response back, that's when you would start CPR. Of course, calling 911, having someone call 911 and let them know what's going on and what's happening. That's when you would first start with the CPR instructions.

Host: So, a lot of people confuse the Heimlich maneuver with CPR in this instance. Can you tell us the difference?

Jennifer Rodriguez: Yes, of course. So, when it comes to the Heimlich Maneuver, that is a maneuver that we're using to push oxygen out towards the mouth when you are choking. When it comes to CPR, you want to push air inside of the lungs. So, that's what you want to have them lay on a flat surface and you're pushing with compressions. You're making sure the heart is pumping oxygen around the body and giving those rescue breaths to push oxygen in through their lungs.

Host: And what's your opinion on the Bee Gee's Stayin' Alive rhythm?

Jennifer Rodriguez: Surprisingly, the Bee Gees is exactly the rhythm that you have to do when doing compressions, just that people get too excited and forget that it's only 30 compressions. And after those 30, you move on to the rescue breaths.

Host: No matter whether you're done with the verse or not, 30 is it. So, on your way to the beach, learn Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees, just in case, and the whole family will love it, right?

Jennifer Rodriguez: Yes.

Host: So, Jen, you've had all the answers that I can come up with today to my questions. Is there anything else you'd like to add to our conversation?

Jennifer Rodriguez: First and foremost, having that communication with your children and with your family members. Like if you're all going out on a pool day, any type of water, lake, pool, oceans especially, going over safety rules, going over what areas are okay to swim in, which ones are not. Again, having that signified water watcher, having that responsible adult in charge of the little swimmers and having turns, because you know the water watcher sometimes needs to take a break and you're like, "You know what? I can take a shift, you can take a shift," and having that communication, how many kids are in the pool, if someone is stepping out to go to the restroom or grab a snack, "Okay, we had five kids in the pool, now there's four, now there's six kids." Just having that communication all around with your kids and with the adults.

Host: Right. And hopefully, they're all in their bright colored swimsuits and just having a great time in summer.

Jennifer Rodriguez: Yes, exactly. And then also, having a conversation about life jackets and learning how to swim no matter what age. If you're an adult, if you're a little one, swimming is such an important life skill and it's never too late to learn.

Host: That's right. So true. And of course, don't forget the sunscreen.

Jennifer Rodriguez: Don't forget the sunscreen. Very important.

Host: Well, Jen, thank you so much for all this great information. We really enjoyed having you on the podcast.

Jennifer Rodriguez: Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure being here.

Host: Last thing for you, where can our listeners learn more about swimming safety and other injury prevention tips?

Jennifer Rodriguez: Yes, of course. So when it comes to our Injury Prevention Program, you can go to our website at millerchildrens.org/prevention where we have different articles about different safety tips and different blogs. And also, we even have like a safety video for our car seat education. Also, just calling our Injury Prevention number which is 562-933-9151.

Host: Thank you so much, Jen. And for more information or to listen to a podcast of this show, please visit memorialcare.org. That's memorialcare.org. That's all for this time. I'm Deborah Howell. Have yourself a terrific day.