Children need constant and active supervision when they’re in, on or around the water and with the summer months approaching, vigilance is the key to keeping young children safe around water. Drowning is the greatest cause of accidental death in children under five in Australia. Each week, on average, one child drowns.
In 1988 to combat drowning, Laurie Lawrence created the Kids Alive – Do the Five water safety program. The Kids Alive program educates the public on five important steps to reduce the risk of preschool drowning. Now with the support of the Turnbull Government Kids Alive – Do The Five have just launched a FREE app to help teachAussie kids to stay safe in and around the water.
The Kids Alive app is FREE in the Apple and Google Play stores and is aimed at parents and young children. It includes music, cartoons, eBooks with a focus on home, pool, beach and farm water safety. Kids Alive – Do the Five features five very important messages; 1. Fence The Pool 2. Shut the Gate 3. Teach your Kids to Swim – It’s Great, 4. Supervise – Watch Your Mate 5. And learn how to Resuscitate.
Kids Alive is a great program and the new App provides more useful and practical tips to help keep kids safe around any body of water — whether it’s the bathtub or the ocean.
“The delivery of the app couldn’t be timelier, with the devastating release today (Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report 2017) saying that the drowning statistics in under 5’s are up to 29, a 38 percent increase on last year, which is a real kick in the guts to everyone involved in water safety,” explained Laurie Lawrence.
“Last year’s result of 21 was our lowest on record but still the biggest cause of accidental deaths is backyard swimming pools where parents or those supervising left the gate open and let kids through.”
“It’s so important for families to hear the Kids Alive – Do the Five message and to understand water safety, I urge everyone to download the FREE app now and start learning.” Laurie said.
“I’m delighted to join Laurie Lawrence, champion swim coach and water safety expert, to launch the new phone App as part of the very successful ‘Kids Alive – Do the Five’ water safety initiative,” said, The Hon. Greg Hunt, Minster for Health.
The Turnbull Government funds a range of measures to support water safety – including $1 million for the ‘Kid’s Alive – Do the Five’ program.
The Turnbull Government, through the Australian Water Safety Strategy 2016-2020, is committed to reducing the overall number of drowning deaths by 50 per cent by 2020.
For more information about the new App or the Kids Alive – Do the Five program visit kidsalive.com.au or visit the app stores to download.