May is National Water Safety Month: keeping your family safe in the water

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - May is National Water Safety Month, and experts are urging parents to be cautious when it comes to children being in or around water this summer.

Brittany Kaiser, an aquatic experience director at the Reynoldsburg YMCA, recommends kids can start swim lessons as early as 6 months old, as long as they have good neck control. Kaiser said the YMCA also offers parent-child classes where an adult is in the water with the child, as well as adult swim classes.

Other tips when it comes to keeping your child safe is supervision. Kaiser urges you or someone you trust is actively watching your children swim at all times.

"Making sure they are swimming in a group, they are swimming together and that they know the pool rules," Kaiser said. "Definitely keeping them supervised, setting those phones aside... we all know that pictures are great with our kiddos but making sure we're actively engaged as they are around water."

Kaiser also recommends wearing life jackets but noted that wearing a life jacket should not take away supervision from children in the water. Parents also need to check that the life jackets are in good shape by making sure the buckles work and that there's nothing loose that could get tangled in the water.

"If parents are going to utilize life jackets, make sure they are Coast Guard-approved, appropriately sized and that all of the features on them work," Kaiser said.

The YMCA's goal is to make sure that every person of all ages can swim safely. Kaiser encourages people to learn how to swim and to do it through offered swim lessons. The Y is offering lessons with many options. Anyone can contact their local YMCA or can go online to register for lessons.

Kaiser also noted if you join the Y, which is a nonprofit organization, the funds go back to the community and are returned through the agency's swim lesson programs to help strengthen safety around water.