As temperatures rise, it’s important to get to know water safety for kids now
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer, and now is the time families are thinking of how to beat the Valley’s unrelenting heat.
Brittany Mesa-Bailey has been a water lover since she can remember, and her parents knew they had to keep her safe.
“I did take lessons with the city [of Bakersfield] when I was younger. I was probably 6 or 7,” said Brittany Mesa-Bailey, Recreation Specialist with the City of Bakersfield.
Through teaching safe swimming and drowning prevention, Mesa-Bailey has now been sharing her love of the water, and a message of safety for the past 20 years.
“[Drownings are] not just in the pool. Most of them can occur in the pool, but they can be in the bathtub,” Mesa-Bailey said. “As long as there’s a little bit of water, it is considered something that can be dangerous pretty fast.”
A growing trend in Bakersfield: Water Babies. It’s where parents and the youngest soon-to-be swimmers learn the basics.
“It’s the guardian in the water with the baby,” Brittany Mesa-Bailey said. “So that starts as young as 6 months and goes to 2-and-a-half years.”
The younger a child learns how to swim, the better, as tragedies can happen anytime, anywhere. Especially with the biggest distraction nowadays: scrolling on smartphones.
“You have to be aware of where your child is at all times, preferably at arms reach, and try not to get distracted, because it is less than 30 seconds that someone can drown” Mesa-Bailey said.
The use of floaties does not ensure safety.
“I would say only use life jackets. Everything else will say on it: This is not a life-saving device,” she said. “And I feel that we’re getting better at acknowledging that, but floaties should not be relied on as a form of safety.”
Public swimming is back June 4 at city pools and swimming lessons are open now for children 6 months and older at the McMurtrey Aquatic Center.
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