Paso Robles Recreation Services offers various water safety courses. This Thursday, April 23rd from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., children aged 9-11 can take an Aqua Safe class at the Municipal Pool – located at 524 28th St – to learn how to respond during a water emergency.
Parents can register their children here.
Vanessa Orr is a parent to two young swimmers and said she enrolled her son in Thursday’s Aqua Safe class to build on his previous years of swim lessons.
I think as a parent, you’re always worried when your kids are in the water. You’re just wanting to be mindful of their safety. But overall, my kids have learned some really great skills through the Centennial and Municipal Pool programs. So I think that I feel fairly safe with them being confident that they can swim on their own,” Orr said.
Orr hopes her son Manny will leave the class with the ability to help someone else.
“If he sees a friend having a problem in the water, [knowing] how he can help that friend or, you know, how he can find an adult to help that friend in a quick manner and being safe with all of that,” Orr said.
Aquatics Coordinator Victoria Teeter said PRRS offered Aqua Safe this year to prevent young swimmers from drowning.
“Children drowning is the leading cause of death for children between 1 to 14. And so we just really want to cut [the] numbers here in Paso and all over,” Teeter said.
Teeter said their Aqua Safe course is based on material from the American Red Cross, like the “Reach or Throw, Don’t Go” method. It teaches the swimmers how they can use tools like a shepherd’s hook to help respond during a drowning.
“We’re stressing – Hey, you’re not a lifeguard yet, but you know, here are some tips that – if you have a friend that is in trouble, this is how you can help them. And then, you know, go get an adult for help or a lifeguard for help,” Teeter said.
She said Thursday’s class will focus on understanding which life jackets are life-saving, as not all brands are.
When you’re shopping at the store, if you look at it, it’ll tell you…U.S. Coast Guard approved or it has U.S. C.G. approved and it has a serial number. And so it’ll tell you right on the life jacket,” Teeter said.
For more children’s water safety resources from the American Red Cross, click here.