The South Carolina House of Representatives declared May as “Water Safety Awareness Month” in an effort to educate the public about the dangers of drowning as another hot South Carolina summer heads our way.

Rep. Wendell Gilliard of Charleston has a friend who lost a daughter to drowning. Now, Gilliard is challenging public schools to raise awareness for water safety.

Gilliard held a press conference on the steps of the State House last Wednesday to bring awareness to child drowning, announcing the resolution to make May “Water Safety Awareness Month.” He called for water safety in public schools’ curriculum.

The ultimate goal of the initiative is to save lives by educating children and their parents on how to be safer in and around the water.

“I felt we had to do something as to offset the increase of drownings in the state of South Carolina,” Gilliard said as reported by WIS.

People all over the state will soon be heading to pools, lakes, and rivers to escape the summer heat. This resolution may help educate families and prevent future drowning accidents.

Ideally, Gilliard said he wants public school districts to provide an hour of water safety training this month.

Michelle Zieg, who works in Charleston to promote water safety awareness, lost her 17-month-old son in a drowning accident in 2008. Even though Zieg’s son would not have been old enough to understand water safety, Zieg told reporters she believes his death can be a lesson on how important it is for parents to educate themselves.

Even swimming at your local neighborhood pool or club can bring disaster.  Before you take a plunge, you should:

• Determine whether there is a lifeguard at the pool to watch children and adults.
• Review water safety rules posted by the pool; If you are supervising young children, make sure that you discuss pool safety with them and ensure that they are utilizing an approved floatation device if they are unable to swim.  
• Verify the pool has been  inspected to comply with federal, state and local laws.
• Consider taking a CPR class.

Remember, even with a life guard present, you should also personally supervise your children or any children that you are caring for. If you are relaxing with other adults, don’t operate under the false sense of security that another parent may be watching your child.   Drowning can be a silent killer and can occur before you even realize what happened.

Young children, often the victims of their own curiosity, decide to wander over to a neighbor’s pool and end up accidentally drowning. Since it takes no more than two and a half minutes without oxygen to sustain irreversible brain damage, it only takes a moment for you to turn your back before its too late.   

Even if you are closely supervising your children in a pool remember that many times a drowning victim can resemble a child who is simply playing.

A swimming pool accident is something most people never expect to happen to them. It is important to practice pool safety and to teach your children the importance of being careful around the water.

In order to prevent a drowning accident in a swimming pool, sign your children up for swim lessons at your local YMCA,  and take a CPR class offered at your local American Red Cross to learn other first aid tips that could help save someone’s life. 

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