Beach safety.
The beach is one of Australia’s most important and enjoyable features. Everyone will visit the beach at least once in their life and sometimes as often once a week or more. Unfortunately the beach has hidden dangers that you may not be aware of, so it’s important that you follow some simple tips so you can enjoy the beach safely.
What you should be looking out for:
- Red & yellow flags - show the supervised area of the beach and that a lifesaving service is operating.
- Lifeguards & lifesavers - are persons there to supervise you and provide advice on beach conditions. You should check to see what uniform your life saving service is wearing when you get to the beach so you know what to look for in an emergency.
- Warning signs - Warning signs will highlight any potential hazards you should be looking out for such as "UNEXPECTED LARGE WAVES" or "NO SWIMMING".
To enjoy the beach safely, remember:
F - Find the red & yellow flags and swim between them.
L - Look at, understand and obey warnning signs.
A - Ask a lifeguard or lifesaver for advice before you enter the water.
G - Get a friend to swim with you.
S - Stick your hand up, stay calm and call for help if you get into trouble.
Keep an eye on the kids!
While lifeguards and lifesavers are there to watch over you and your children when in the water, children require constant attention and parent/adult supervision when visiting the beach or around any body of water. A lack of direct adult supervision regularly results in lost children or in the worst cases child drowning deaths.
Supervision of children is vital and the best form of supervision at the beach is to actively interact with your children. This means that children should always be within arms reach and observing them should be your constant focus when around the water.
For more information and tips on beach safety, visit www.beachsafe.org.au.
