At a free event hosted from 1 to 4 p.m. June 20 at The Woodlands Family YMCA at Branch Crossing, organizations such as the Montgomery County Hospital District and Texas Children’s The Woodlands Hospital are showing up to educate parents and children on water safety to prevent drownings from happening. Roxanne Davis, the YMCA’s community liaison and director of special events, explained the purpose of the SPLASH Day and the World’s Largest Swim Lesson event.
“We’ve all seen it on the news, but drowning is preventable. These deaths can be prevented with extra training and awareness,” Davis said, adding that eliminating drowning is one of the organization’s initiatives.
For their part, YMCA instructors will be giving a free 30-minute swim lesson for children ages 3 to 12. Parents are encouraged to register their children online for the swim lesson, but there are also other activities for those not participating in the lesson.
Jennifer Bailey, Texas Children’s The Woodlands Hospital’s community relations coordinator, explained that her organization is responsible for the SPLASH program , which stands for swim, play, learn and stay healthy.
Her staff will be giving program presentations at the event. It teaches community members how to prevent drowning accidents—one of those ways is by using the “water watcher tag” system.
“It’s a program developed for parties. When you go to ap arty, often parents are talking and not paying attention. This program was created to identify a specific person whose job it is to watch the kids in the pool and make sure they’re being safe,” Bailey said.
Water safety is also an initiative for The Woodlands Township this year. Program Coordinator Susan Martin said her staff will be there sharing information on pool barriers.
“We’ll share information on requirements, the standards we have on having a pool in your yard. We want to remind people of things to remember when they’re around pools, bathtubs and lakes,” Martin said.
Other elements of the event include CPR instruction and life jacket sizing and safety.

Source: Houston Chronicle