Children’s safety
THERE’S that much hyped up incident with Karen Davila’s son suffering abrasions on the torso from learning how to surf in Siargao. Then there were the deaths of two five-year-old children and a man in separate incidents in Cebu.
It’s summer, the summer heat is on, and everyone is heading to the beach and rivers and pools. With the people coming in droves, the chances of accidents are likewise increased.
There has been no report, yet, from this side of the region. Let us pray that there will be none until the break ends, or even for the whole year, or forever. But we know, there will always be accidents. Thus, the biggest prevention mode is taking precautions.
In resorts, there should always be trained lifeguards and not just any random errand boy made to sit on the lifeguard station. Especially for Department of Tourism and City Tourism Operations Office-accredited, these establishments should not even wait for inspections, but should take the initiative to live up to these accreditations. It’s called service to the people from whom you derive profit and livelihood from. Yes, just in case business establishments forget... customers are who brings in the profit and thus you are ingratiated to them, not the other way around. Take care of them.
But of course, there will always be the unscrupulous, who will try to scrimp and do away with safety equipment and personnel, thus the DOT and CTOO should make sure these are identified and corresponding penalties be meted out.
The greatest care, however, should be from the people themselves. Accidents happen, take extra care that these are minimized by keeping an eye on your children, making sure they are wearing the necessary safety gear, and parents should exercise caution in allowing children to try extreme sports. We’re not saying that we will become helicopter parents hovering around the children, we’re saying that if your child is not trained for something extreme or sporty, then make sure he starts out with baby steps.
Even licensed adult scuba divers start learning the basics in swimming pools, children learn swimming in swimming pools as well under the watchful eye of their instructors, why should first-timer children be allowed to venture in uncontrolled environments?
Prevention is always better than a cure. Take care. This is just a summer break, do not make it a break for life.