Taking your kids swimming? Put your phone down, Lifesaving Society urges

The Lifesaving Society continues to hear "more and more" about children drowning while the people watching them are distracted, often by cellphones.

As Canada heads into a long weekend, the Lifesaving Society is urging parents and caregivers not to have their phones in hand while watching children playing near water or swimming.

The society says there has been a spike in drowning deaths this year, particularly in Ontario and Quebec.

Last week alone, three people — including two young children and a 24-year-old male kayaker — died in three separate drownings in Ontario.

Although the specific circumstances of the deaths aren’t known, senior communications officer Stephanie Bakalar says absent or distracted caregivers are a factor in more than 90 per cent of drownings among children under five in Canada.

“Drowning is fast and it is silent and it can happen before you even realize it, which means that we have to have our eyes on our kids at all times,” Bakalar said.

The Lifesaving Society continues to hear “more and more” about children drowning while the people watching them are distracted, often by cellphones, she said.

“If you are going swimming, leave your phone somewhere on a table, face down, make sure you can call 911 if you need to, but do not have your phone in your hand. Do not look at it. Keep it away from you,” Bakalar said.

Whether it’s at a pool, at the beach or at the cottage, drownings can happen when the supervising adult looks away even for a moment.