Water safety top of mind for Memorial Day weekend

(FOX 9) - Every year as soon as the forecast allows for it, Jaime Alvarez rushes to get his son and daughter out of the house and into the water in Minneapolis. But like many careful parents, that journey includes a stop along the way for swimming lessons and a life jacket.

"They have to be the right size [of life jacket], according to their weight," Alvarez explained to FOX 9 on Sunday.

At a water safety camp in Shoreview on Sunday, representatives from the DNR, Coast Guard, and Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office joined forces to get the word out on water safety.

"It’s extremely important, one life lost is one life to many," Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Jeremy Bolen said. "Our [drowning] numbers increased in the last two years throughout our county, and throughout the state of Minnesota."

Water safety organization Abbey’s Hope is alongside in the effort to bring numbers back down; reminding parents to pay attention to their children, wear life jackets, and enroll in swimming lessons early.

"Our summer season is our highest drowning rate in Minnesota," Abbey’s Hope program manager Alison Petri said. "But it’s also a great time to enjoy our lakes. We have a short season, and we really want families to get out to the lake, and swim, and play together as a family, and be safe."

Next Saturday, June 3, Abbey’s Hope plans to hand out free life jackets at Lake Phalen from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This Memorial Day weekend, the YMCA is also offering tips for safe swimming:

• Never swim alone.
• Constantly and actively watch children by a responsible an adult.
• Always keep young children or non-swimmers within arm’s reach of parent or guardian.
• Remember inexperienced or non-swimmers should wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
• Be wary of inflatables because a poke or blown valve can turn into a dangerous situation quickly for a child relying on it to float.
• Don’t engage in breath-holding activities.
• Don’t jump in the water to save a friend who is struggling in any water rather use a long object to reach for them and pull them to safety.
• Enroll children and non-swimmers in water safety or swim lessons.
• Be mindful of the hazards of backyard pools with standing water around because kids can fall down or can’t get out and infants or preschoolers can climb or crawl in. To be safe:
• Install barriers around the pool like a fence.
• Know CPR.
• Guarantee that every child in the backyard pool who cannot swim wears a U.S. Coastguard-approved life jacket.
• Provide constant supervision.
• Make sure there is a way to climb out of the pool if it’s too tall to step out of.
• Keep kids safe when adults are also engaged in fun is incredibly important. A simple tip for parents near any kind of water this summer is to take the Water Watcher pledge. As a Water Watcher, an adult agrees to: Maintain constant visual contact with the children in the group. Not drink alcohol, talk on the phone, socialize, or read while watching children. Keep a phone near the water for emergency purposes only. Remain by the water until relieved by a new water watcher.
• Maintain constant visual contact with the children in the group.
• Not drink alcohol, talk on the phone, socialize, or read while watching children.
• Keep a phone near the water for emergency purposes only.
• Remain by the water until relieved by a new water watcher.