For kids who are already strong swimmers in their neighborhood pool, going to the beach can be another story altogether. Water activities are fun for kids of all ages, but to ensure that your family has the best time on your vacation this summer, put these beach safety tips into practice:
1. Watch out for rip currents. Rip currents are often called undertows or rip tides and are areas where the surf pushes water toward the beach while gravity pulls it back at the same time. This creates small surges of moving water offshore that can cause a swimmer to become trapped in an undertow. Unfortunately, up to 80% of drowning deaths are a result of rip currents.
To stay safe, spend time on a beach with lifeguards to greatly reduce the risk of danger in the ocean. If the surf is high, then it’s best to stay closer to shore and away from rip currents altogether. Bottom line? Don’t ever fight against a current because you won’t be able to overpower it. Teach your kids to tread water in a current until a lifeguard can bring them back to safety.
2. Don’t float out too far. If your kids have rafts in the ocean, it’s still important that they don’t float out farther than they’re able to swim. It’s possible for kids to slip off of floating devices or lose them altogether, leaving them stranded in deep water.
3. Swim in the daytime. Although shark attacks are very rare, you can minimize your risk of a shark related injury by swimming in the daytime and not wearing shiny jewelry in the water. Most shark bites are thought to be because of prey misidentification where a shark thinks a swimmer is a seal or a fish.
4. Always wear sunscreen! There is nothing that will spoil a vacation sooner than getting a nasty sunburn on your first day. Make sure that your kids load up with waterproof sunblock and reapply regularly, preferably every 30 minutes. When choosing a sunblock, check that it blocks both UVA and UVB rays, which are responsible for aging or burning. This will give your kids the broadest protection and make it less likely for them to burn badly after a day spent out in the sun.
5. Stay hydrated. Last but not least, hot temperatures on the beach make it easy for kids to get dehydrated. Keep cold water and Gatorade in a cooler, and give your kids snacks regularly so that they can keep their energy levels up and prevent exhaustion.
Bethany Ramos works at home full time as a freelance writer, and she also co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump.
It only seemed fitting to do a home manicure post after last week’s 
