Staying safe this holiday

The Fourth of July weekend is a great time to get together with family and friends for a barbecue and to cool off in a pool or spend the day at the lake or beach.

While the weekend should be spent relaxing and celebrating it is not the time to be lax about water safety.

According to the United States Swim School Association, media outlets reported at least 80 drowning incidents across the U.S. during the Fourth of July weekend in 2014.

The United States Swim School Association has compiled the following tips to help everyone stay safe around water over the holiday weekend.

• Create a verbal cue for toddlers and young children that must be given by an adult before they can enter the water.

• Never use floatation devices or water wings as a substitute for adult supervision when children are swimming or near water.

• Always make sure children wear life jackets on boats, personal watercraft and in open bodies of water.

• Gather the adults of your extended family if cousins and relatives are swimming together and create an agreed upon set of pool rules before the kids are allowed into the water.

• Select a parent to be the designated "water watcher." This adult should not be drinking alcohol while children are in or near water.

• Before allowing children to wade into the ocean, explain to them that they need to constantly be watching for waves that could knock them over and other potential dangers.

Parents should constantly be on the lookout as well in case children are not aware of changing tides or rip currents.

• If a person is struggling in the water, throw and don't go. Even a young child struggling in the water can easily cause an adult attempting a rescue to drown as well.

Panic can cause a child to obstruct an adult from being able to swim or stay above the water.

It is safer to throw a lifesaving device, towel, rope or even a pool noodle to the person in the water, wait until he or she grabs hold and then tow the person safety.

If you have to go in the water only approach a drowning person from behind.

For more information on the United States Swin School Association, visit www.usswimschools.org.