LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 As families head to pools, lakes and beaches for the Fourth of July weekend, water safety experts are reminding the public that preparation and awareness can save lives.<\/p>\n
Andrew Wieder, owner of British Swim School of Lehigh Valley, said learning basic water survival skills, such as a back float, can make a critical difference for someone struggling in the water.<\/p>\n
Wieder and his staff teach swim lessons to children, which he said can reduce a child’s risk of drowning by as much as 88%.<\/p>\n
The issue is personal for Wieder. “I had a near drowning experience when I was younger,” he said.<\/p>\n
One of the first steps to staying safe in or around the water is wearing a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket, Wieder said.<\/p>\n
“You want it to fit a little bit tighter than a normal jacket. You put your arms over your shoulders and once your hands are up, if you can pull your life jacket and it goes above your chin or your ears, that’s going to mean that it’s actually too big for you and you’ll want a smaller size,” he said.<\/p>\n
Wieder said it is also important to understand the dangers water can present, especially for young children.<\/p>\n
“Accidental drownings are actually the number one cause of death in kids between the age of one and four. So, it’s one of those where water safety and survival is a life skill and a safety skill. Just like putting your seatbelt on or checking both ways when you cross the street,” he said.<\/p>\n
According to Wieder, a drowning can happen in as little as 20 to 60 seconds and often occurs quietly, making it difficult for bystanders to recognize someone is in distress.<\/p>\n
“Your arms are usually, instinctually, we put our arms to the side to try to push down on the water, to push our head up. But that’s not the way water works,” he said.<\/p>\n
If someone is struggling in the water, Wieder recommends reaching them with a flotation device if possible or throwing one to them if they are farther away. He cautioned against entering the water unless you are a trained rescue professional.<\/p>\n
As people celebrate the Fourth of July weekend, Wieder encouraged swimmers and families to make water safety a priority by wearing properly fitted life jackets, learning basic water survival skills and staying alert for signs that someone may be in distress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 As families head to pools, lakes and beaches for the Fourth of July weekend,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[214,153,155,154,434],"class_list":["post-234505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-_homepage_top_stories","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-northampton-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}