The key Water Smart message for parents is:
If you are not "within arms' reach" of your children anytime they are around water, you have gone too far.
Visit LifeguardDepot.com to order the poster.
"Unattended toddlers" are high risk because they are mobile, curious and require close and constant supervision by an adult. Children under 5 years of age are the least capable of self-rescue of any age group. Most of these children were alone and playing near water when they fell in and drowned.
Parents are the focus of this target group given their supervisory role. The message is designed to provide parents with specific and concrete parameters for their supervisory role in a meaningful, compelling manner.
To obtain the brochures, posters and materials that the Society has developed as part of the Water Smart campaign, visit lifeguarddepot.com.
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We also have a Within Arms' Reach video and DVD, directed at backyard pool owners. It features Barbara Underhill, World's Pairs Champion figure skater, who lost her eight-month-old daughter in a backyard pool tragedy.
Learn to Swim
Basic swimming ability is a fundamental requirement in any meaningful attempt to eliminate drowning in Canada. The Lifesaving Society offers training programs from learn-to-swim through advanced lifesaving, lifeguarding and leadership.
Our Swim for Life program stresses lots of in-water practice to develop solid swimming strokes and skills. We incorporate valuable Water Smart® education that will last a lifetime.
Swim to Survive is a Lifesaving Society survival training program. Swim to Survive is not a subsititute for swimming lessons; instead, it defines the minimum skills needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water. People of all ages should be able to perform the Society's Swim to Survive standard.