If You Never Read Another Post of Mine, Read This One

I have a few things to say about things you shouldn't do in the summer...

10. Don't wear shorts in the car during a trip and forget to put sunscreen on them.
9. Don't wear a bathing suit that is too small.
8. Don't sit in the sand at the beach in your wet bathing suit.
7. Don't scream "SHARK!!" on a busy day at a packed beach. No matter how much fun it is.
6. Don't forget to bring enough towels for everyone including the little boy who isn't yours.
5. Don't eat before swimming. No one likes crumbs in the pool.
4. Don't watch Jaws, Deep Blue Sea, or Open Water just before your beach trip.
3. Don't walk through a field of wildflowers without applying bug spray first.
2. Do not fall asleep with a book over your face and let your kids play in the water unattended.

 (image source)

And on a more serious note:

1. DO NOT EVER leave your kids unattended in the water.

In fact, you should watch them like a hawk. Do you know what drowning looks like? I do. From first hand experience. Last summer, at my cousin's daughter's 1st birthday party, I watched as my then 2 year old son almost drowned. He had taken swimming lessons and he was using a ring float.

The thing is, that ring float?

Did you know that if your child leaps out of the water while wearing the ring float, it could tip, causing your child to fall into the water unsupported?

Did you know that even if they've had swim lessons, they could still drown?

Did you know that drowning is the second highest leading cause of death in children under the age of 15?

Read this article: Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning. When you are finished reading it, pass it on. It's that important.

I don't know about you, but I always thought drowning involved the helpless splashing and cries for help between large gulps of water. Now, I understand why its said that drowning is one of the worst ways to die.

The memory of the sight of my son in the pool last summer, drowning, is one that will haunt me for the rest of my life. And we were watching, from the comfort of the edge of the pool.  It is because we were watching that my son is alive today.

Please, please, please watch your kids in the water. Be that helicopter parent at the pool everyone talks about. It could save your child's life.