WA lifeguards beg parents to watch kids at swimming pools this summer, saying ‘we’re not babysitters’

“STOP! Do not just drop off your children!” The large sign is hard to miss. The all-capitals plea confronts every visitor to Terry Tyzack Aquatic Centre in Inglewood. But at pools across the State, some parents are failing to take heed, lifeguards have warned. Instead, they treat pools like a “babysitting service” — with potentially fatal consequences. — “It happens all the time,” Leanne Coverley-Brandis warned. And with more than 35 years of life-guarding experience, the Royal Lifesaving WA business manager has fished out her fair share of flailing kids from the water. “A parent will walk in with the child, then wait a bit and go out and do the shopping,” she said. “Or they’ll drop them for the swimming lesson, but won’t come back until long after the lesson is ended. “In the meantime, the kids will be swimming around until we spot them and think — where are their parents?” Royal Lifesaving WA sets clear guidelines for pool safety. Children under five must remain within arm’s reach of a parent or guardian, in and out of the water. Parents must also “constantly supervise” children between the age of five and ten, and maintain clear, constant, and direct access to the child. But in practice, these rules are constantly flouted. “It’s really stressful when there are lots of children in the water,” Ms Coverly-Brandis warns. “You spend your whole time scanning and trying to group them, trying to link them to an adult,” she said. “Meanwhile, a child could be in trouble, and we can’t be everywhere at once. “That’s dangerous.” At most public pools, entry for kids is less than five dollars. An average babysitter charges between $20 and $30 an hour. But treating the pool as a cost-effective crèche isn’t safe, lifeguards warn. Royal Lifesaving WA estimates that “a lack of direct supervision by a parent or carer” is a “contributing factor” in 70 per cent of all drowning deaths at public pools across Australia. Between 2005 and 2015, nine children died after drowning in public and commercial swimming pools in Australia. Near-misses are also terrifyingly common. The leading age group for non-fatal drowning is children aged 0-4 years (45 per cent), followed by children aged 5-9 years (25 per cent). Amongst the former age group, there are eight non-fatal drowning incidents for every death. Every year, around 42 Australian children under 10 years of age are hospitalised from immersions at public pools. According to Rachel Murray – the coordinator of Royal Lifesaving WA’s ‘Keep Watch’ program – public pool safety is a “shared responsibility.” “Lifeguards are really well trained to respond during an emergency,” she said. “But things can go wrong very quickly around the water, and lifeguards can’t be everywhere at once. “A child could slip, or panic, or get knocked into the pool, and this can lead to a disaster.” Royal Lifesaving WA runs the Watch around Water — an education and awareness campaign on pool safety — at 131 pools throughout the State. RLWA recommend four safety tips to prevent child drowning. Firstly, supervise children around the water. Secondly, restrict their access to water. Thirdly, teach children water safety skills. Finally, learn how to respond in case of an emergency. Since the introduction of the program Watch around Water in 2004, there have been no fatal drowning incidents involving a child at a public facility in Western Australia. But vigilance is of the utmost importance, said Ryan Scally, a lifeguard who works alongside Ms Coverley-Brandis “Even when parents do come in with their kids, they’re often not watching,” he warned. “They’ll be on their phones, or they’ll wander off. “We’ve even seen parents with their phones in waterproof cases around their necks in the pool.” Ms Coverly-Brandis can recall several instances in her career when she was forced to call the police to come and collect abandoned children at closing time. Neither lifeguard is trying to give parents a hard time. But they know first-hand the danger kids can face. “Parents are really busy these days, of course, we understand that,” Mr Scally said. “But it’s about understanding the possible consequences of not watching or of wandering off. “I sometimes nearly snap and feel like saying to parents – do you want to go home with one less child?” As the Christmas holidays roll around, safety messaging is even more urgent. Roughly 38 per cent of child drowning deaths occur during the summer months. In WA, a shortage of instructors has forced at least eight public primary schools to scrap swimming lessons for 2022.