20 | Spring 2022
S A F E FA M I L I E S
Former Lifeguard Reveals Five Secrets You Should Know CHERYL MAGUIRE
contributing writer
Summer is soon approaching, which means pools, lakes, and beaches will be opening. While your kids are having fun splashing around it is important to keep water safety in mind. When I was 16 years old, I got my first real job as a lifeguard for the public town pool. Now that I'm a mom I understand how necessary it is for me to watch my children and not rely on the lifeguard. According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), an average of 3,868 deaths
per year occur due to unintentional drowning in the United States. Children ages 1–4 were most likely to drown in a swimming pool. People in the age range of 5-19 were most likely to drown in natural water such as an ocean or lake. Based on my experience as a lifeguard, here are a few reasons I watch my own children when they swim: IT WAS MY FIRST JOB Translation: I had no experience. Sure, I got the proper certifications, but I never had a job and
I never was responsible for ensuring the safety of other people's lives. I don’t think I really understood how serious it was to be entrusted with this job. I thought being a lifeguard sounded like fun. I was getting paid to sit in the sun and socialize with my friends—that’s how teenagers viewed it. IT WAS LOW PAYING Granted this was a while ago and the pay can vary depending on where you work, but my first lifeguard job I was paid $4.25 per hour (it wasn’t a lot back then either—today’s dollar equivalent
