Local Swim School Swaps Swimmers for Pyjamas in the Name of Safety

A local swim school is ensuring children are prepared for accidents around water by getting kids to jump into the pool fully clothed as part of ‘Water Safety Week’.  

 Kids will don their pyjamas at BK’s Learn to Swim O’Connor from June 20 – 25 to help them prepare for real life water accidents.  

 Ally Stephens from BK’s Learn to Swim O’Connor, said simply learning to swim was not enough to prepare children for unexpected incidents around water.   

“Effective water safety requires the ability to cope being fully clothed in the water in case of a fall and to swim in varying conditions and circumstances, including without goggles and in rough water,” said Ally.  

“It’s critical to have core skills that allow children to swim, stay afloat and get themselves into a safe position if required, however, falling into the water and having the confidence to handle the situation is much different to a controlled and predictable swimming lesson environment.  

“Water accidents don’t always happen when children are actively swimming and dressed in their swimmers, nor do they always happen in summer. We’ve heard of situations where prams have rolled into water and another where a young boy slipped through a fence next to a park, rolled down an embankment and into a river – incidents can happen when you least expect it as there is water everywhere.”  

Royal Lifesaving statistics show that swimming only accounts for around a quarter of drowning deaths while the majority of drownings are the result of accidentally falling into pools and waterways, being washed off rocks and falling from boats; scenarios where the individual would likely be fully clothed.  

“We want to ensure kids have swimming skills but also the coping mechanisms, familiarity, confidence and key responses needed should they ever find themselves in a dangerous water-based situation.  

“Once children know what it feels like to be in water with the weight of wet clothing, for example, it’s more familiar and manageable should they ever find themselves in that situation in the future.”  

The water safety classes occur periodically throughout the year and cover key water safety skills including treading water, swimming without goggles, waving/alerting for help and assisting other children in a water emergency.  

For more information, please visit https://www.bkgymswim.com.au/bks-learn-to-swim-oconnor/