Water Safety and Lifesaving Lessons

Do your children know how to cope if they fall into water fully clothed? Most people drown because they've never learned how to cope. About 80% of drownings could be avoided with proper education.

Simple Solution:
Find out where lifesaving or personal survival swimming classes are being held near you. Since we wear clothes almost all the time it is important to get familiar with swimming in clothes. This could save their lives one day and is great fun in a swimming pool.

Pack some sports clothes and head for the local pool (or out to the back yard if you have one). Ask the lifeguard or front desk if you can help your child learn about swimming safety in clothes. If you promise to shower in these clothes before you enter the pool, they just might let you do it.

Sun Safety: Avoid Dangerous Sunburn

Are you fed up with re-applying sun lotion every time your kids jump into the water? Even on cloudy days there is an 80% chance of skin damage.

We seem to be labouring this point, but still this is probably the main area of neglect. We see children running around the beach unprotected and their skins turn red. How can parents allow this? Are comfortable lightweight trousers and a long sleeve T-shirt too much bother to risk the children's skin?

Simple Solution:
Comfy old clothes worn in the water reduce the problem a lot. A thin nylon anorak with hood and matching pants maybe all you need. Jeans, T-shirt and a hoodie also protect against cuts and bruises when they play on rocky shores.

Dress your children in light clothing or a sun suit to protect them from head to toe. This should be a comfortable outfit so your kids enjoy swimming in it. Jeans and long-sleeve hooded T-shirt or sweatshirt would be a good start. Get your kids involved in choosing the right gear, try it in the bathtub. It'll be fun.

In outdoor swimming pools provide your children with at least a long sleeve dark T-Shirt to protect their backs from the sun. You can also get them some stylish sun safe swim wear for use in pools where normal clothes are not allowed.

Beach Exploration

Kids love to explore a rocky shore or shallow reef. When they eventually slip they may get some cuts and bruises which could get infected. Hidden in the sand or below shallow water can be hazards that could injure bare feet. Most parents find that more acceptable than coping with a set of wet clothes and shoes.

Simple Solution:
Let your kids wear robust jeans, a T-shirt and a hooded sweatshirt. On windy days add an unlined anorak to keep them warm. Find some quick drying sports shoes or all-terrain sandals. Add socks to avoid chafing. Teach your children how to swim in this outfit.

Save Laundry Work

Allow them to wear and wash their clothes in the bath or shower. Explain how they get their clothes clean and how to dry them afterwards. Set some simple rules:
1. Hang up the wet clothes to dry
2. Clean up any puddles in the bathroom
3. Don't use the best "Sunday clothes"

Shop Wisely for your Kids Clothes

First piece of advice, shop for clothes that kids can wear on a daily basis, but also can get wet or muddy in. Canvas shoes, dark socks, jeans, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and anoraks are "swimwear" that can also be used as daily play clothes.

Kids should be able to see a pool or water hole and decide to jump in without hesitation or worry that they will be in trouble for doing so. Provide a spare outfit to change into if their clothes get wet.

Removing the inhibition to getting wet in clothes is a very freeing thing for many kids, and it helps them to appreciate "good" clothes even more. Yes, there are some who find great pleasure in getting in a pool in formal attire, but that doesn't change the concept I'm referring to here which simply stated is, LET THE KIDS PLAY!

Save Money

Regular swimwear or neoprene wetsuits can be expensive and may require good care to last. You can make a complete swimming wardrobe from old clothes they'll soon outgrow. Most clothes widen a bit when wet. Just decide which clothes are for swimming and which are not. Each season you'll save a lot of money on swimshorts and sun tan lotions.

Fitness Training and Games

Here are some examples of ways you and your kids can have some harmless wet clothed fun:

1. Gather up your kids and a few of their friends and take them to the beach to look for shells, but let them swim in their clothes anyway. If you have your own pool, what are you waiting for? Who needs swimsuits anyway?

2. This one is often the subject of commercials, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise. Invite your fully-clothed kid to help you wash the car, and let him/her be the one with the hose. 'nuff said.

3. When your kids are not looking, fill up several water balloons and douse them when they least expect it - be ready for retaliation.

4. Set up a picnic in the garden with your kids and some friends, schedule the sprinklers to come on unexpectedly and watch their faces turn to pure joy!

5. During a shopping trip, find a nearby fountain and play follow the leader, right through the fountain.

6. In the middle of the night, when the rain starts pounding, wake your kid up, have them get their old clothes on and go splash in puddles in the dark!

7. Go to a nearby creek to look for bugs, fishies, and other life, and end up wading in fully dressed to find your adventure.

Be Prepared (Scout Motto)

Keep at least one complete change of clothes handy, at school, in the car, or in the kids backpack. That way, if it starts raining during the school day, and puddles beckon, they won't be forcing you to get off work to bring a change for your wet kid. I love to be caught unexpectedly with my boy when we're out and rain begins. We run through puddles and soak ourselves, then squish our way down the aisles of the store - and rarely does anyone notice! I've done this with many other kids too, and their folks are usually good natured about it.

Please forward any questions about parenting your wet kid to BigWetKid@cox.net, a wet fun parent in his forties.