Water safety on the minds of adults after recent tragedies

Water safety is at the forefront of a lot of parents’ minds this week, especially because of recent events in our area. This week a toddler drowned and a six-year-old child was pulled out of the water in two separate incidents in Santa Cruz County.

Seven-year-old Cayden feels comfortable in the water thanks to swimming classes. He knows the do’s and don’ts of water safety.

“When you have safety rules,” Cayden said. “It’s very important to follow all of them, or else you wouldn’t know what to do in the water or know how to be safe… You could get hurt, you could get in trouble.”

But sometimes, it’s not enough.

“Obviously swim lessons never replace supervision around the water, and that’s any body of water,” Kristen Rianda with the Salinas Aquatics Center said. “Lakes, swimming pools, the bathtub, buckets of water, always making sure you’re watching your children 100% of the time.”

Which is what Elizabeth Amezcua is doing with her young nephews.

“I’m looking out for them,” she said. “Ready at all times in case anything goes off.”

But if the unthinkable happens, you have to be prepared. Lifeguard experts say if a child goes under for a few minutes, as soon as you pull them out, call 911. Then, the American Red Cross suggests 30 compressions for every two breaths.

One lesson taught to kids at the Salinas Aquatics Center is if you get into trouble, lay on your back with your face pointing up and yell for help. It’s a simple lesson like this that could save anyone, even an experienced swimmer like Cayden.

“I love him,” mother Delena Aguirre said. “He’s a sweetheart.”

The experts at the Aquatics Center recommend do not go in after an active drowning victim. They could pull you down and put your life at risk. Instead, use a long pole or lifebuoy to throw it out to them and pull them in.