Beach Safety

Keywords: Beach, boating, safety

By Stacy DeBroff

Last April, we visited Brooks and Kyle’s Nana and Papa in Florida. We were enjoying a glorious afternoon at the beach. My children were wading knee deep in azure water, when suddenly Kyle started screaming hysterically. Her middle toe was bleeding, and my heart was in my throat. Lifeguards rushed to assist us and told us that a crab had pinched deep into Kyle’s toe. After much bandaging and a mile-long, adrenaline-pumped scramble from the beach with Kyle in my arms, I worried whether my six-year-old would venture into the waves again. We managed to conquer her fears by going out for a crab dinner that night, which Kyle viewed as justice to the particular crab that bit her, and with a resolve to wear beach shoes at all times in the water. —Stacy

If dad isn’t around, try to go to the beach with a friend who has kids, too. It’s easier to watch the kids and take them to the bathroom when there are more adult eyes to help. —Eileen Saunders, mom of Austin, 5, and Travis, 31/2

• Look for beaches where lifeguards are on duty, and ask them how far along the beach they watch. Often they will post red or white flags to mark the boundaries of their coverage.

• Pick a beach where the wave height and the pull of the surf will not overwhelm your child. Check the surf. If it looks rough or there are flags up, stay out of the water. Undertows and big waves can prove fatal, even for the strongest of swimmers.

• Don’t use inflatable rafts or toys as life jackets. Make sure that a non-swimmer does not use inflatable toys in water that is more than waist-deep.

• Don’t swim in areas where there are boats or piers.

• Warn your child not to call for help unless it’s an emergency.

SAFE BOATING

We own a boat, but we never take it out on the lake on holiday weekends as we have found that many people drink all day, and by three o’clock are sloshed and reckless. We also made it a family rule that we never go on the boat without two adults, with one driving and the other one called the “spotter,” whose job is to keep an eye on our two kids. Lastly, not only do we require our kids to wear a life vest at all times, but starting when they were little, we require them to put on their vests even before they set foot on the dock. That way we would not have to contend with complaints and whining when we get on the boat. —Susan Lussier, mom of Victoria, 8, and AJ, 5

• If your family boats, sails, or canoes, make sure your child wears a well-fitted life jacket at all times, including while on the dock. Life preservers and life jackets are required by many states and must be present on all boats traveling on bodies of water supervised by the US Coast Guard. They also make good sense as a simple safety precaution for your child.

• To make sure your child has a life jacket that fits him, have him wear it in the water first to see that his head stays out of the water. Blow-up water wings, bubbles, rafts, and air mattresses should never be used as life jackets or life preservers.

• Use Coast Guard-approved personal flotation devices (life jackets) for all boaters, regardless of swimming ability, size of the boat, or distance traveled.

• Go over safety rules with your child before stepping on the boat, such as keeping hands and legs inside the boat and not riding on the bow.

Stacy, heralded as a “parenting guru” by the Wall Street Journal, authored four best-selling parenting books (Simon & Schuster) and launched Mom Central, Inc. (www.MomCentral.com), a company devoted to providing savvy advice to simplify and enrich the lives of busy Moms and their families. Stacy appears as a regular parenting expert on national TV show, including NBC’s Today Show, CNN, The View, Tyra Banks Show, CBS’ Early Show, The Daily Buzz, Mike And Juliet, Fox & Friends, and the Rachael Ray Show. Stacy also serves as a corporate spokesperson, trendspotting for the media on behalf of over 30 national brands.

In the 1990’s, Stacy founded and ran as an attorney the Public Interest Office at Harvard Law School. Stacy lives with her husband, Ron, and happily engages in imperfect parenting of their two teens, Kyle and Brooks, in Boston, Massachusetts.