Blacktown Mayor, DStephen Bali said so far this month there have been two incidents at our pools where children left unsupervised by their parents have needed rescuing.
"One rescue was in the nick of time and it would be tragic if a school holiday outing ended in tragedy because someone wasn’t watching over their children in the pool,” Mayor Bali said.
“Parents and carers have a responsibility to look after their children - lifeguards do a great job keeping our pools safe, but they are not babysitters,” he said.
All Blacktown Council’s Leisure & Aquatic Centres endorse the Royal Life Saving Society Keep Watch Campaign.
Keep Watch @ Public Pools aims to eliminate all drowning deaths and reduce the number of near drowning
Keep Watch @ Public Pools Policy
• Children under 10 years are not allowed entry unless they are under the active supervision of a person 16 years or older.
• Parents or guardians should actively supervise their children at all times. As such, they should be dressed ready for action, including unexpected entry to a pool.
• For 0 - 5 year olds and non-swimmers, a parent or guardian must be in the water at all times (within arm’s reach) of the child. It is best if you are engaging with your child i.e. playing with them, talking to them, touching them.
• For 6-10 year olds a parent should be close enough to make eye contact with the child and be constantly watching them.
• For 11-14 year olds a parent must regularly check on their child by physically going to the point where they are in or around the water.
The Statistics Speak for Themselves:
- 280 people drowned in Australian waterways between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2016
- 21 of these were children between the ages of 0 and 4.
- 7 were children aged between 5 – 14
- 36%of these deaths occurring in a swimming pool
- Source: Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2016PARENTS
