NSRI appeals to parents and children to be water safe

By Celeste Ganga
28 March 2008

The National Sea Rescue Institute is appealing to parents to make certain that their children have adult supervision when going swimming in any of South Africa’s waters. This includes the ocean, dams, rivers, lakes and swimming pools.

“We are also appealing to the children themselves, who go swimming, to make sure that they have responsible adult supervision – especially when going swimming while their parents are at work, and that their own safety should always be on top of their mind,” says NSRI Chief Executive, Ian Wienburg.

He adds that accidental drowning of children under the age of 14 remains one of the highest causes of death in South Africa according to a statistics survey conducted by the Medical Research Council.

“Many of these drowning accidents could have been prevented with a simple safety mindset and the NSRI’s Water Wise project (teaching children about water safety) is a step towards increasing water safety amongst the youth in South Africa but the issue of child safety starts at home and in our schools with parents and teachers alike assuring that responsible adult supervision is a must for children making use of water for recreation and that safety around water is always top of mind,” says Wienburg.