With children consistently accounting for the highest proportion of RNLI lifeguard incidents on Wales’s beaches each year, and with school summer holidays approaching, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is urging parents and carers to put safety first when taking children to the beach this summer.
Of all the people RNLI lifeguards helped in 2009 in Wales, 65% (853 people) were children.
At RNLI lifeguarded beaches across Britain, 63% of those assisted were children.
The 2009 figures are consistent with previous years where children typically accounted for around two-thirds of incidents that RNLI lifeguards responded to each year.
Of all the children that RNLI lifeguards in Wales helped last year, 65% required minor first aid and 33% were major incidents including rescues.
As well as the children in need of rescue or assistance, a large number are also accidentally lost or separated from their parents on the beach.
On RNLI lifeguarded beaches around the UK last year, 1,544 children went missing or were found wandering – not what any parent wishes their child to go through on the family holiday.
Steve Wills, RNLI Beach Safety Manager, said: ‘Days out at the beach are obviously meant to be great fun but, on a busy beach, children can get into danger or go missing very quickly. Each year, children account for the largest proportion of incidents that RNLI lifeguards respond to, so we’d encourage parents and carers to think about the safety advice we’re offering.
‘The best way to keep your child safe at the seaside is to choose a lifeguarded beach and stay in the area between the red and yellow flags, which is the area monitored most closely by the lifeguards.
‘Children are safest when supervised, especially when in or near the water. As soon as you get to the beach, agree a meeting point in case of separation. If the beach runs a child safety scheme, using wristbands or tickets, take part.
‘Inflatable toys are very popular with children at the beach, but can be very dangerous as it only takes a light offshore breeze for them to be swept a long way from shore. If inflatables are used in the sea, they should only be used between the red and yellow flags and never taken out in big waves or strong winds.’
The RNLI’s beach safety roadshow, supported by Goodyear, will be present at various events throughout the summer, and is a great way for children to actively learn about safety at the seaside.
To find out where the roadshow will be, or for further beach safety information, contact [email protected] or call 0800 328 0600.
To help people avoid the panic of their child needing rescue or getting lost on the beach, the lifesaving charity is offering some top safety tips:
- Choose a lifeguarded beach and stay in the area between the red and yellow flags – this is the safest area as it is monitored most closely by the lifeguards
- Keep children nearby and watch them closely, especially when near the water
- While in the water, stay close to the shore and always swim or play between the red and yellow flags.
- Never let your child swim alone
- If inflatables are used in the sea, they should only be used between the red and yellow flags and never taken out in big waves or strong winds.
There are more than 330 lifeguarded beaches around the coasts of the UK and RoI. To find the nearest lifeguarded beach, visit www.goodbeachguide.co.uk
