May is Water Safety Month

Here at Breakwater Beach, water safety is our top priority. Yes, we love to have fun and we want our customers to have fun and enjoy the waterpark, but we also want to make sure that our customers have a safe experience WHENEVER they are around water. 

This is why we have worked so hard through the years to teach water safety and awareness. It is also a mission of ours to spread awareness of the importance and learning to swim.

With the beginning of the summer season approaching (a.k.a. swim season) we wanted to share some water safety tips with you and your families.  These tips aren’t just for visiting waterparks. They are also for visiting the beach, lakes, hotels, family and friends with swimming pools, and even for your own pool at home.  Having discussions with your children regarding water safety can save their lives.

Tips

• Learn to swim! The best thing anyone can do to stay safe in and around the water is to learn to swim.
• Always swim with a buddy; never swim alone.
• Swim in areas supervised by a lifeguard, or by an adult.
• Read and obey all rules and posted signs.
• Never leave a child unobserved around water. Your eyes must be on the child at all times. Adult supervision is recommended.  Our motto is “If your child is in the water, you should be too!”
• Keep toys away from the pool when it is not in use. Toys can attract young children into the pool.
• Use feet- first entry when entering the water. Not just in pools but also in the ocean and lakes where you cannot see the bottom or how deep the water is.
• Set water safety rules for the whole family based on swimming abilities.
• Pay attention to local weather conditions and forecasts. Stop swimming at the first indication of bad weather.
• Be knowledgeable of the water environment you are in and its potential hazards, such as deep and shallow areas, currents, depth changes, obstructions and where the entry and exit points are located. The more informed you are, the more aware you will be of hazards and safe practices.
• Know how to prevent, recognize and respond to emergencies.
• Have young children and/or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard- approved or USLA-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
• If you have an above-ground pool or inflatable pool, remove access ladders and secure the safety cover whenever the pool is not in use.
• Ensure that pool barriers enclose the entire pool area, are at least 4 feet height with gates that are self closing, self latching and open outward, and away from the pool.  The latch should be high enough to be out of a small child’s reach.
• Don’t think you will hear a child who is in trouble in the water.  Child drowning is most times a silent death, with no splashing to alert anyone that the child is in trouble.

For these and more water safety tips you can visit www.nationalwatersafetymonth.com/water-safety-tips.

We look forward to a safe, fun and enjoyable summer of 2012!

As a part of our effort to promote water safety, Breakwater Beach will again be a host facility for the World's Largest Swim Lesson on Thursday, June 14. The free event will take place at the waterpark from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., with the lesson beginning at 11 a.m. 

To pre-register email bwb@casinopiernj.com. If you would like to check out more information on this event "Like" Breakwater Beach Waterpark on Facebook and visit our event listing there.