This summer, Donnybrook Recreation Centre joins public swimming pools throughout Western Australia in encouraging community members visiting their centres with young children, to put down their phones and focus on safety.
Watch Around Water is a new campaign which highlights the dangers of being distracted when supervising children around the water.
Lauren Nimmo, Royal Life Saving Society WA senior manager health promotion and research, said the campaign promoted safe supervision at public swimming pools and over the past couple of years had resulted in there has been a significant shift in patron behaviour.
Children remain at the highest risk of drowning and injury. Last year, almost half of the injuries recorded at public swimming pool facilities in WA involved children under the age of 14.
“We’re delighted to welcome Donnybrook Recreation Centre on board as a supporter of Watch Around Water,” Nimmo said.
“More education is needed to ensure that parents are aware of their supervision responsibilities while visiting facilities like Donnybrook Recreation Centre with young children. Even though lifeguards are on duty, parents still have a crucial role to play in keeping children safe.”
Leisure Institute of WA Aquatics president Jeff Fondacaro said the Watch Around Water program had been critical to ensuring that their public swimming pools remain safe for the community.
“While we have seen a steady improvement in the level of parental supervision at our facilities, we are also seeing a disturbing trend in the number of parents distracted by their mobile phones.
“We need to change this behaviour quickly to ensure that our pools remain safe for the community,” Fondacaro said.
The most common factor contributing to childhood drowning is a lapse in adult supervision.
Nimmo said: “It doesn’t take long for tragedy to occur. It only takes seconds for a child to drown, and any distraction, even if only for a moment to check your mobile phone places them at risk”.
“Parents need to be mindful of the potential for unnecessary distraction while supervising children, especially around the water,” she added.
“Smart phones with streaming technology, pose a real and growing danger as a source of distraction. It is our hope that this new campaign will alert caregivers to the possible distractions, the risks for injury and the potential consequences of a monetary lapse in supervision.”
The Watch Around Water campaign will run at public swimming pools throughout WA this summer.
