Water Babies, Ireland’s leading baby and toddler swim school are celebrating this week as they have been honoured with a ‘Community and Social Responsibility Award’ by Irish Water Safety at the organisation’s annual awards ceremony which took place on Tuesday, 18 November at Dublin Castle.
The Community and Social Responsibility Award is awarded to individuals and organisations in recognition of the support given to Irish Water Safety’s community work, charitable activities and commitment to drowning prevention initiatives and the reduction of aquatic related injuries.
Water Babies was recognised for their Summer Safety Campaign and promoting Irish Water Safety’s guidelines during National Water Safety Awareness Week. Water Babies conducted an extensive PR & Marketing campaign over the summer months and created a water safety awareness information postcard for parents, sponsored by Glohealth. Postcards were distributed to thousands of parents at Water Babies classes and were also available at selected retail outlets and crèches nationwide. By following the guidelines outlined on the postcards, parents and carers can minimize the chances of a tragic incident befalling their child.
Carol McNally, Water Babies said “We are so honoured to receive a ‘Community & Social Responsibility’ award from Irish Water Safety in recognition of our efforts to promote water safety through our Water Safety Awareness Campaign last summer. We look forward to working with Irish Water Safety again in 2015.”
The water safety awareness campaign also included Social Media #summersafetytips which provided daily tips highlighting how parents can be safe with their children near water. The campaign also highlighted how a young Dublin toddler Lizzie O’Rourke, who had attended Water Babies classes, was able to save herself when she accidentally fell into a swimming pool.
Water Babies and Irish Water Safety recommend that children learn to swim from as early as possible so that they are less likely to experience any fear if they do fall into water. In most cases it’s the shock of sudden submersion that causes children to panic.
Carol McNally explained “With progressive training, babies can be taught life-saving skills very early on such as turning onto their backs or, following a sudden submersion, swimming to the nearest solid object. In the last few years at least ten tiny Water Babies pupils have saved their own lives, five of whom were just two years old at the time. It’s fantastic what vital skills children can learn, and it’s so important that they do so as soon as possible.”
Water Babies operate classes in Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Louth, Galway, Sligo, Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary, Kilkenny and Wexford. For more info on Water Babies classes, check out https://www.waterbabies.ie/