Safe Kids urge parents and boaties to "be vigilant"

  • 27/12/2015
(Water Safety NZ/Facebook)
(Water Safety NZ/Facebook)

With the drowning of a three-year-old and a 12-year-old already this summer holiday period, the message from Safe Kids is clear; "stop and think before you go near the water".

On Christmas Day a three-year-old drowned at Ocean Beach in Hawke's Bay and a 12-year-old died while sea biscuiting on Blue Lake in Central Otago.

READ MORE:

Director of Safe Kids Anne Weaver says parents need to be extra vigilant and be in close proximity to a child that's around water.

"Our message is it's an arms-length away from a child," she says.

"We really want people to remember to be really hands-on with their children."

She encourages parents to participate with children in the water instead of chatting on the beach, and to always have someone nominated to look after them.

"Sometimes when we're in a group of family, everyone thinks that somebody else is minding the children. So another idea that we have is always have an appointed adult as the child watcher for taking an hour a turn or something like that."

She also says it's hard for boaties to spot small children in the water, and warns them "to be really careful, particularly close to shore".

"It just takes the split second from someone else coming along in a different direction to miss looking out for children," she says.

"The number one rule with any kind of water sport is they should have a life-jacket on."

3 News / RadioLIVE