Staying safe in rough waters

When kids from Harmony Health Family Resource Center in Linda head for Yosemite National Park in a couple of weeks, they'll be armed with life vests and safety information.

"Don't run," is among several rules when approaching a body of water, according to Carlos Negrete, 13, a student at Riverside Meadows Intermediate School in Plumas Lake.

"Stay in designated areas," said Triston Miller, 10, of Cedar Lane Elementary School in Linda.

"... Or you could drown," reasoned Rafael Felicie, 8, who attends Johnson Park School in Olivehurst.

Ten members of the youth group were schooled for safety Tuesday by Tausala Coleman, a resident doctor from the UC Davis Department of Pediatrics. Coleman visited the Harmony Health offices as part of a program at Davis called Communities and Physicians Together.

"A huge part of pediatrics is trauma prevention," said Coleman. "Our goal is to do something with kids that is both health-and-safety related, and fun."

The program will help fund swimming lessons for the youth group's members next summer and has donated life vests for the trip to Yosemite.

Two recent drowning deaths at Camp Far West and one at Lake Francis, "kind of hit close to home," Coleman said.

"There's drownings (in the Mid-Valley area) every year," said Gloria Garcia, Harmony Health's youth advisor.

Water safety counseling, she said, is particularly important for a trip like the one she will supervise in early August. The group will include 15 children and young teens who will hike, camp and swim over a period of up to five days. Almost none of the children going on the trip has had swimming lessons before.

Coleman stressed Thursday that foam water toys such as noodles, and plastic inflatable "floaties" do not qualify as effective safety devices.

Only U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets will do.

"Do we have to wear them every time we go swimming?" asked Triston, a freckled boy with his hair cut and molded to resemble a wave.

The answer prompted groans of disappointment.

"Awwww," Triston said. "That's not cool."

Garcia said that an ounce of prevention was weightier than any need for social coolness.

"Youth are rambunctious," she said with an air of experience. "They don't always think before they do something."

WATER SAFETY TIPS

• Swim in supervised, designated areas

• Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone

• Never leave a child unattended near water and do not trust a child's life to another child.

• Don't dive into unfamiliar waters; go in feet first.

• Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.

• Maintain constant supervision

• Make sure everyone in your family learns to swim well.

Source: American Red Cross

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Nancy Pasternack at 749-4712 or at npasternack@appealdemocrat.com.